London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

http://www.eroica.it/eroicae.htm


i have blessing from this missus so its green for go... anyone fancy joining me or already going?

tom

i'll do it if i can borrow claus's colnago master :p

looks awesome.

must be a themed ride because most italian blokes ive seen are the type who wear pointy shoes, designer haircut & makeup etc..

I have something very similar to the path racer in the first pic. But I bareley manage to get it round town, running brakeless, flat pedals. It also has bulges in tyres & dents in the rims. Still a lot of fun though.

Ill be at uni in october, otherwise would love to come!

aww. thats the problem, i don't have a vintage bike but doing it fixed i think is enough of a challenge, i am not going to do the 205km one though! i was think the 135km would be enough

anyone? i am going whatever but would be nice to know if another person who definitely speaks english is there...
t

I'm off to the Giro di Lombardia. That doesn't help at all, does it.

Actually, I only mention because I'm feeling particularly smug.

swine.

Lil' Jon and Jacqui did it a couple years ago. Hardcore apparently. We did a story on it in my magazine too. Great event.

Ha! Make that two of us - are you riding the Gran Fondo the day after?

where would be a good place to find other people from the uk who might want to go?

lil jon is still going this year i believe. You need a bike pre-1980. and they are pretty hard core about it ... you bowl up at sparrow fart o'clock *6am and there are 3 old dudes who check your bike over and decide if you qualify..at least in 2006 that is how it happened. it's totally worth it. Highly recommend the experience. I am not in shape to do it this year. ;(

[FONT=ARIAL]
[/FONT][FONT=ARIAL][FONT=ARIAL][SIZE=+1]ADMISSION - [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=ARIAL] Though this is a "period" rally, modern bicycles and cycling clothing will admitted; mountain bikes are not admitted. A special commission will award prizes to the best "heroic" riders judging bicycles, clothing and characterization. To partecipate to these prizes the bicycle has to be registered; registrations will begin on saturday morning at the town Gymnasium. [/FONT][/FONT]

jacqui what kind of shape do you need to be in to do this? about 100 miles right? Terrain? Did you roll fixed?

tilover I may just be up for this dude... plus I can get by in Italian. This looks like a beautiful ride.

its gravel dude..a whole new way to roll. Yes we did it fixed. there are some very steep switch backs and it's very hilly..
I was riding 50miles at a shot training for it and doing reps up north london hills.. i am not the strongest of riders, and I found it very hard. That year i did the dynamo easily. I believe when eggpie and our mate did it they were in pretty stellar condition, and JUST finished in the alloted time to be "heros"

hmmm, when i was there in 2006 they were saying nothing post 80s. But if you got it off the oh so brilliantly translated site, it must be true. ;)
did you see the bit about "foot stopping crates?" that was the best.

hmm.. though it's plainly a beauuutiful ride to undertake I fear you were about 50 times fitter than I could get.. grit you say? Intriguing. How loose? I only remember loose grit rides on "racers" from when I was a kid and in my memory it wears you out due to the give.

What gear inches were you doing it on Jacqui? And what size tyres?

Sorry for all the questions, just sounds fascinating and I was thinking about some kind of bike-based visit to Italy early autumn..

tilover I presume you are depressingly lithe and capable..

an hour on and I'm still thinkin about this. Those photos are so seductive....

hell no pajamas, i am rubbishly unfit but like a challenge, i wont be doing it fixed, i think singlespeed will be the answer...just because downhill fixed on gravel spells disaster for me. the 75k route is looking more and more appealing too, it just looks like a fantastic ride! (and an excuse to grow a handlebar moustache)

will pm you when i get to work


tom

heh - probably not. I ought to do a couple of UK sportives first, I think.

pm'ed

so its not pre 80's right? i wouldnt want to have to buy a bike specially... i do have a 30's hercules at work though! (shame it weighs 50lbs)

anyone else thinking about it?

am booking my flights tonight but would be good to see someone else up for it

i may well make it out. not 100% yet, will let you know if i do. may be one other person i know going. not sure what bike to ride.. you don't have to ride a museum piece do you..?

Looks like a lot of fun... Hardcore though. Lemme see how I feel after the Dun Run!

have booked my flights! check.

unfortunately i dont know how i will manage to navigate a big bike in a box for the 3 days before the event in venice... think i could hire one out there?

you can ride any bike as long as its roady (or cyclocross)

some people ride tandems, penny farthings or even scooters

i cant wait!!!

4 of us going now, anyone else?

I might still be up for this, might have to go and see a man about a dog in Perugia around that time.. you decided which ride you're doing yet tilover?

and can we get the vintage thing cleared up - is it pre 80s only?

jammers, i'm sorry but i think your dawes would have a hard time qualifying

word teddy, it's a bit neo-classicist for this kind of thing..

however, I might think about a new ebay scour for this...

nah, you can ride anything it seems, seen pics of people riding mtbs which is apparently against the rules too.

doo it.

they have a seperate mtb class and course

aha. thats cool, well i am borrowing a bike so am gonna just do what i can. hope its fixed

sorry for the delay jammies, i don't recall the gearing 50/18 i think.. it hurt.

just 4 days to go till we fly out, anyone else booked to race?