The 20th edition of the original Eroica ride in the heart of the Chianti hills attracted over 7,000 riders on Sunday 2nd October, all riding bikes from or inspired by the pre-1987 era. External brake cables, traditional pedals and down tube gear levers were obligatory, with most people showing off specially restored bikes and carefully selected matching clothing.
After riding the short 46km route, I watched as hundreds of riders reached the finish of the five distances (46, 75, 115, 135 and 209km) and grabbed some photos of the bikes I liked best. Those tackling the longer rides had set off in the dark and finished tired but happy after a special day out. Everyone got a medal, enjoyed a plate of pasta and promised to come back next year.
There are now Eroica rides in Britain, California, the Netherlands, South Africa, Japan, Spain and Punta del Este in Uruguay, giving everyone a chance to try riding on dirt roads with a vintage bike.
ADVERTISEMENT
Scroll through the gallery above for lots more photos of what we saw…
The special bikes of L’Eroica 2016
1. Bianchi Basso
Four gentlemen from Essex were the first to show BikeRadar their bikes after completing the 115km Eroica. We suspect the bikes were provided as part of one of the many of the holiday packages available, but the Basso was especially good looking.
2. Classic orange Tommasini
3. Dark blue Pinarello
4. Pink Mercier
5. Sannino with yellow Galli brakes
6. Stelbel Strada replica
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
via BikeRadar All the latest from BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/2dHdMUj
No comments:
Post a Comment