In early October 2011, PEZs own literary specialist Les Reissner joined some 3000 others riders for an epic day pedaling the ribbons of strade bianche across the hills of Toscana in the ride known simply as lEroica a true ride back in time. Heres how he spent 10 hours and 27 minutes from start to finish.I am not one of the original writers for PezCyclingNews, having joined on in (I think) 2007 but I suspect Literary Editor I have reviewed more cycling books in in the last fifteen years than anyone else! And as entertaining as those books have been, Pez has given me the opportunity to get out of the library as I rode in the Astana team car at the 2012 Giro d’Italia team time trial, met Didi the Devil Senft (the famous cycling fan) while covering the Rund um Koln race, had a tour of the Tommasini workshop in Italy, and rode a lot of the climbs described in the books I reviewed.Moving to Europe in 2010 I discovered an emerging cycling phenomenon, the retro ride. The most notable of these is l’Eroica, which began in 1997 as a way of bringing attention to the classic gravel routes raced in Tuscany in The Good Old Days. Equipping myself with a suitable bike, I made my way to Chianti in 2011 and enjoyed the medium-length version of this, although the 135 kms took me something like 12 hours! Being a glutton for punishment, I went back in 2013….
Pez Cycling News