Vital rides

A journal through my daily rides, out and about on the saddle, not just trainings but also experiencing and feeling the countryside and the surroundings.

[vitalrides]

Dunes of Holland part 2

nother one from the Dunes of Holland, but this time different part. This one it is the stretch connecting Noordwijkerhout to Zandvoort going north across between the region of Zuid to Noord Holland. Probably the wildest one, considering the amountvof fauna you will be able to spot sometimes in distance. I really like this bike path, but unfortunately I dont ride this specific segment so often as I turn out being a big loop to do on a week day after work ride. Yesterday was thevperfect time for it, gorgeous afternoon with no wind at such, rare thing for this latitude. Zone 3 up and down from Wassenaar all the way through these Dunes, like I said on my strava activity, two good quality hours.

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Dunes of Holland

Autumnal days these ones, here showing the landsdape you will get to see going through this coastal path, for the most known as Dunes, here in Netherlands. Indeed when it is sunny, the colors of grass an bushes are turning into these coppery/brownish shades very typical of the season we are.

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Halloween came earlier

Halloween came earlier.. Yesterday I went for a recovery ride and like sometimes, I took the chance to do some shopping on my way back. You know, I can not resist to the temptation of this kind of shopping especially when the route planned is taking you through lots of bits of countryside with farms which they are selling thier fresh seasonal stuff at the front. At the end I came back with a couple of massive courgettes and a pumpkins.. Probably a bit more than 2 kg extra all together to carry despite was a recovery. Suppose my matchy matchy @lecoluk kit was just a good coincidence for the occasion!

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Free like Horses

Into the elements, on two wheels.. My favorite playground, the ultimate way to escape from daily routine and ultimately, feeling free like horses! The Dutch part of the country where I live has lots to offer, probably more than what people think and the Dunes along the coast are the best spot to live the contact with nature purely and in a close range.

Morning lights also are the best for photography from my point of view and the quietness you experience at time of the day it is unique and so rare.

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Repete Verne

Few weeks ago I was picking up this beauty in Czech Republic. Clearly something I needed and wanted for long, it is already giving me so much fun riding it and I hope some of these pics I took at the workshop in Prague can make some justice. Handmade steel frame, size 54, columbus tubing, campagnolo components, fizik finishing kit and custom matt paint. A real jewel . Massive Kudos to @repetecycles for making this happen, I am so stoked about it and I really look forward to more adventure together on the tarmak and offroad. And a reminder, to my self as well..  Do things you like, in life! #cyclingdiaries

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Colorful Netherlands, the Tulip season

Spring in Netherlands it is for most associated with the time of tulips. Zuid is that part of the country where I live and where for a stretch of 3/4 weeks in April you can appreciate and enjoy very colorful fields. This period in fact it is called the Tulips season! Every year all the country roads around the plantation are getting crowded of tourists arriving from all over the nation and also the globe to admire and buy the geometry, the smell and the vibrancy of these flowers fields. It is for me this one the second April I am spending in Leiden. This time, since I have been riding around for few months already, I know the roads and every possible route quite well. I can make a loop of 60km, my usual week day ride, with no brainier touching every single road or bike paths around them. The weather this time it is perfect, despite the very wet february since march we had glorious sunny days and warm ish temperatures, the atmosphere, instead, around the Tulips it is indeed different. Some fields are even left out and not taken care. 

We are in deep period of Pandemic, the Covid 'thing' is alarming majority of people around the globe and there are lots of restrictions in place in every country to contain the spread of this disease. For this reason the roads are now pretty empty and we only get to see people, only dutch, walking and cycling by on the weekend. Nevertheless, I am quite motivated and luckily there are no imposition at such for us cyclist, nd I can still, even if on my own, keep on training  and browsing around. It is impressive to see these vast fields all colored and even if as I mentioned some are a bit abandoned the majority of them are still so full of life. A friend of mine from here once told me at my question, that it is a bit of a dutch thing, based on proudness the idea and practice to keep these field looking good even if we all know that the business of these flowers this year will be very much affected by this situation. 

Riding it through it is something so difficult to describe with colors everywhere and such an intense smell coming from the flowers and rising from the ground. For some the best time to ride your bike in the Netherlands it is summer abusing of good warm weather and long days but to me, this one in April it is probably the most enjoyable one and if anybody ask me when it is time to come visiting I always have the answer ready, in fact, I am becoming a little bit proud my self of this beauty.

[vitalrides]

Doble Rio Hermoso, Patagonia

I want to talk about when I had the chance of racing in south America, last December. As I probably mentioned before my girlfriend she is Argentinian and this year we decided to go visiting her family for Christmas. It would been a long holiday abusing also of the few national days off everywhere between Christmas and new year. So we did, we spent 3 plus week over, in sunny and warm Patagonia, on  the southern hemisphere.

This time was my 3rd time in Argentina, and considering, the family of her lives there plus the 3 legs journey on a plane it is very laborious and expensive I decided to not bring my bike across, but to get a new one there to use for the time being and leave it for every time I will be visiting. I did my maths and trust me, was worth the effort doing in this way.

The day after my arrive I went to few local bike shop to see which were the options and what was available. After some indecision I finally made my mind up and bought an aluminium Specialize Allez, old shimano groupset with 16 gears but internal cabling and all in all decent bike for the budget I had in mind. 

Nico, the guy of Sun & Ski Sport, the shop where I got the bike anticipated me that the day after a race organized by Los Bomberos (the fire brigades) would have taken place in town involving lots of bike enthusiasts. How could I have possibly missed this opportunity, so with new bike and all my good intentions I accepted and went for it. Nico invited me the same day also for a ride with other local guys around and that one was a good opportunity to understand the quality of the field and become a good friend with them. The following day it was race day and at the start line a big mix of road cyclist and mtbiker were sharing the road. In fact there was the possibility to compete or with your road bike (70 km with 1400 of elevation) or mtb (50 km), so the route was the same, just shorter in one case. The peloton appeared since the beginning a mix of amatorial and elite cyclists. In  San Martin de Los Andes, the place where I was, there are lots of opportunity to do outdoor activity all year round  with fantastic trails, a lake and a ski resort nearby, so all the locals are very much actives and sportive guys. The race started with the peloton compact, but after the 5km the big climb began and few of us started peeling off from the leading group. I managed to remain in the second group and even with lots of suffering I managed to go through it and place 24th overall. Such an amazing experience that was, sharing the roads with people from literally another continent talking a different language and surrounded by the Andes. At that time of the year I definitely wasn’t in my best shape but thanks to my resiliency my body was able to sustain those 2h effort without any issues the day after. I am hoping to be able next year to repeat it and possibly get there more trained, just another one on the calendar. I love it like that.

[vitalrides]

This is not Belgium, actually eventually was

It is November already, and my mate Tim is coming from UK visiting for the weekend. We know since few years ago when we met at some fixed gear crit races we both used to do, and since then we kept in touch and even rode together once in Derbyshire. The plan is to go south Limburg area to do some climbing on the bike. I must admit it will be a novelty for me, as in all the rest of the Netherlands you really struggle to go over 100 m of elevation gained over a 100 km ride. We set off early from Leiden and after a change in Utrecht we are in Maastricht. Radu a friend of him who lives in Amsterdam joined us already half way on the journey on the train. In Maastricht we decide to do an initial pit stop at the famous bike café’ Alley cat bikes & coffee. Finally then we start and after some indecision we approach the route of the Amstel Gold Race, cant exactly remember which was the edition Tim picked, but so we did. After few kms we have already understood that going clockwise the wrong choice but still, at this time of the year with shortage of daylight we can’t afford to go back and start again, and again, we gonna have plenty of meters to climb. The day is one of those typical days of mid autumn going into winter, cold and wet but potentially sunny. We start seeing lots of other cyclist around and immediately understand that this is a popular route. After some time we start understanding why this race, is considered a classic, cracking landscape, steep climbs and so sketchy descends. Probably the worst of all day will be the Keutenberg, a segment of 600m with gradient of 14% average with peak of 22%, and we are doing it going down.. on the wet, not nice indeed. The company is good and Radu is very well equipped with his bike, ready for proper bike packing with all sorts. The day and the weather start suddenly to improve and as soon as we get to the top to another big climb, the highest point in the Netherlands it is all clear and the sun is warming up our day. From there it will be a constant cross of border into Germany and Belgium, with roads always quiet and pretty. Unfortunately we only managed to do 100 km (110 in total) that is already night and we don’t want to risk it too much so we head back to Maastricht where we will recharge with some food and wait for our train. In Limburg they might speak an unusual Dutch (for now is not a problem for me) but the vibes and the roads are good so I might pay vsit again soon. It can be addicting.

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Lesson learnt

Hitting the deck like a pro.. yes I want to tell you why is so important to wear gloves while you going on a bike ride. Recently I crashed, trying to avoid an obstacle which I did not see. I lost the control of the front wheel and the bike slid on the side with me as well. Long story short fortunately the frame wasn’t damaged but I had to replace shifters and handlebar tape, with consequent rerouting at the bike shop of all the cables.. this fall also cost me a small fracture on the tip of the bone near the elbow and lots of road rash. Yes lots of it. I could say that the following week has probably been one of the worse of my life. The open cuts on my palms, both of them, were brutal, and the process of healing took so long, too long, probably 2 weeks and half. I could not do anything with it, somebody had to feed me, sleeping in bed became impossible if not In a crucified position and even holding a phone was impossible. So yes, please wear gloves any time you cycle. Even if you not racing or doing anything challenging, you just never know and road rash is a painful thing.

[vitalrides]

Wind is the dutch hill

One of the things I was expecting to miss the most moving to the Netherlands were probably hills and the possibility to do some climbing on the bike. The landscape here indeed is very flat and in the best scenario you can head towards Harlem having a go to the Kopje Van Bloomendal, a short cobbled climb with peak at 9%. What people are not taking into account tho, is the fact that riding in Holland means, for the majority of the year, dealing with a strong wind, sometimes too even strong to be able to take one hand of from your handlebar.

That is what exactly happened to me yesterday. I meant to go for a 3 hours loop towards Amsterdam but I literally had to cut it short of a third, since the power of those gusts where too much. The water from the canal was reaching my legs and even if I averaged 40kmh on the first 15km , when suddenly I turned into the head wind, I was struggle to hold 25kmh putting down 300 Watts.

Oh well, lesson learnt I suppose, maybe I should live with the idea that when wind blows at 90kmh it is just too dangerous to go out, and rollers are the best options.

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Well that was sad..

A mix feeling and emotions just gone through my mind. Today was my last ride in England with my mates. Soon I will move to the Netherlands and a new adventure will start. I will miss you boys. Alistair and Zlatan, what a coincidence of living in the same block of flats, such a privilege getting to know you both and sharing ideas, emotions and lots of rad times together.

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Winter miles

It’s Christmas and I am Italian, which mean coming back home to spend a couple of weeks riding where you used to years ago. I am from Tuscany, and the landscape here offer lots of opportunity to do some good training, climbing and exploring nice routes through vineyards and olive trees. The two favorite ones which I went back doing this time are the San Baronto & the Serra.

The first one is a local climb near Vinci, 3 k of length with some nice panoramic spot from where to see all the valley. The Serra instead is indeed a proper climb, 11km with 7.8% of gradient average, made it tough also by the road conditions and the oppressing feeling of being enclose by the trees and narrow turns. The effort at the end is paid back from the view you will get from the top of the antennas.

This part of Italy is also home for some pro cyclist and if you are lucky enough you will might share some miles at their wheel.

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Was it muddy?

This week it was so intense at work that I decided no matter the weather to just get my bike and ride. Ok, is winter and Britain is not the best place to be at this time but I never expected to find all this mud on my way. At some point I had to dismount with 30 km to go and deflate a bit my tyres. Wise choice after all considering for how long I had to ride in those condition. Definitely Strava Route builder is not clever as it seems and trusting it blindly sometimes bring you in places you would kindly avoid. Someone suggested me to use Komot instead, I might really give it a try.

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Started getting colder

Another winter is just about to start. This year I will be sponsored by LeCol, and with a friend of mine we decided to go for a 3h ride north into the Peak district national Park. I am pretty excited to wear my new kit and even if I have the choice to put on a more wintery one I am quite optimistic and I go for the short sleeve jersey with warmers. Inside of me I am thinking that is better to suffer a little of bit of cold at the beginning but not find yourself in the middle of some climbing with too many layers. Le Col or Le col Wiggins considering the very close relationship between the brand and the British Champion is a well known brand already out for some time but since the last years they became very popular across the Pro continental peloton. The design is very classy with an ignition of tech and the fit is super cool. I am really looking forward to represent them and bring those jersey with me around the globe. The ride a expecting wasn’t disappointing and some of these country lanes are just spectacular, definitely worth all the effort.

[vitalrides]

Misty Peaks

It is autumn, and this morning was unexpectedly quite special. With Zlatan and Alistair which will eventually remain in bed at the very last minute decided to make some good miles towards Buxton. 

The atmosphere was since the beginning very strange, but in a good way. Almost immediately in fact, after we left the city and got into the countryside we have been surrounded by a thick layer of fog. The more we climbed north the thickest it was and the funniest became. 

Some people prefer riding out in sunny days but for me days like this one are always the best. This is what cycling is about, connecting with the surroundings and enjoying the silence and that silence, maybe augmented by the fact we were isolated and into the fog was surreal. 

Poor Alistair missing that ride, for us definitely one of the bests, very close to perfection.

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End of Summer?

It is September, and this weekend me and  good friend Zlatan finally are managed to find some time to ride together after a long time. It is one of those days where the weather is a bit unpredictable and we had all week of rain here in England. 

As always, when we decide to ride together we most likely going to hit the Peak District, our local national park here in Derbyshire, a perfect environment for cycling, nasty climbs but often paid back with cracking views. 

The day turned up being nice and our long sleeve gear adopted to feel comfortable in the early hours of the morning become a little bit of an excess when the sun goes up and the temperature star rising.

At the end it was a good ride, and our stop on the way back in Bakewell for a tart was a wise choice.

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That time we crossed the peak district brakeless

Still remember that day very well, Joe’s idea came to reality one day of 2 years ago at the end of march. 170 km with more than 1500m of climbing through a national park, connecting Nottingham to Liverpool, all on a fixed gear, brakeless!!

After sharing the intentions with the rest of the lads at NGFG (Nottingham fixed gear, later called Doom), the only two willing to embark in this adventure turned up being me and Joe, a crazy dude from Missoury US.

Even if we wanted to ply safe with the route, we still had to somehow face some brutal 15% gradient climbs and nasty descends. We worked on that day for sometimes and we arranged a courier  to pick up our staff and changes in Nottingham and get it delivered to another bike shop in Liverpool. In this way we would have traveled as lighter as possible and we would have collected our belonging only at destination.

The idea was to then to spend the night there in Liverpool, then the following day ride another 60 km to Manchester and then take a train back home on Sunday. At the end of it, looking back we must admit we have been quite lucky with the weather, we had cross wind all the ride and it was a very  dry spring day with lots of sun.

Overall everything went quite smooth as planned even if almost before hitting the Peak District, Joe realized its sprocket came loose, so we tried first to fix it with an hammer borrowed on a farm along the route, then we finally managed to find a bike shop in Bakewell and sort it out properly.

It was such a great adventure, I am glad I did it, and I will be definitely down for more in future.