L'Eroica 2011

climbing gear and another year for me... have a great time.

got a spare jersey if anyone's interested..

photo 1.JPG by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

photo 2.JPG by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

size 4, small/medium, i'm 6'1" and skinny and fits perfect, has dusty marks from the garage

£20 posted

and no sadly i have no idea what it says :)

Windy..... Strewth you guys have it tough....... 45mins to Gatwick for me

20 mins to Leeds Bradford for me on the shuttle bus 500metres from my front door!

Radsport means Cycling and vierkampf is 4 battle??? Loisachtal is a place in germany.

20mins to Edinburgh airport for me...

Windy..... Strewth you guys have it tough....... 45mins to Gatwick for me

Stornoway to Pisa in 21hrs!

Check in for the ferry is 1pm Tuesday and I arrive in Pisa at about 11am Wednesday.

The ferry to Ullapool takes 2hrs 40mins and the drive to Glasgow about 5hrs. Stopping overnight in Ayr and flying from Prestwick at 7am.

I chose Prestwick because it's a direct flight and I want to tag on a few days and visit my parents in Carlisle on the way back home.

My friends leave on the same ferry but fly from Inverness Wednesday morning and change at Gatwick and arr ive in Pisa at about 9.30pm.

It is possible to fly to Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness in less than an hour - but it's expensive and because of the small hold on the twin prop planes Flybe wont guarantee transport of the bike unless there is enough room in the hold after all luggage is loaded. So there's a risk that you could end up getting off the plane with the bike still being in Stornoway.

Windy, that is epic!
Peter, drive safely!

Just wondering what everyone is taking along for registration? All I have is paypal receipt for me and my friend Nick, didn't receive a confirmation email but we are both on the official list from L'eroica website. Cheers all, starting to get a tad excited now...

that's all you need - your good self and to remember your name

it's all a bit casual once you get to registration on the saturday - everyone is distracted by the shiny bike parts!

It says on the website now that you need a valid ID to collect your number.

So Windy, my 40 mins to Eurotunnel,40 mins crossing, 3hours to Paris, ride the first
http://www.lapatrimoine.fr/ last sunday doesnt really cut it ? lol.......

So Windy, my 40 mins to Eurotunnel,40 mins crossing, 3hours to Paris, ride the first
http://www.lapatrimoine.fr/ last sunday doesnt really cut it ? lol.......

lol, there are benefits in living on a Scottish island , travel to mainland Europ[e isn't one of them.

Like the look of the French event.... makes note for future ;)

minus 2 in early am

serious? i thought italy was hot! i'm staying here: http://www.campingchianti.com/it
but in one of their wooden bungalows which will hopefully at least warmer than a tent.

packing now. flying to pisa tomorrow. it's been a bitch of a week at work and i can't wait to get out there now!

tomorrow!? lucky swine... meet in the Market at 12.30 on the sat... main entrance of the registration hall.. look for sheepish pale English dudes

"meet in the Market at 12.30 on the sat" Maybe see you guys there.I 'm arrving in pisa on the thursday night and getting a hire car. Gonna drive straight to gaiole and sleep in the motor. We haven't organized any accomodaton or camping so hopefully we can just play it by ear. Probably get some riding in on the friday...... or maybe carb loading of the liquid variety.

just fitted a 30 inner ring on my Stronglight triple chainset......grrrrrrr bring it on baby............

Hi all, I'll be arriving in Gaiole next Friday so I'll come and say hello at 12:30 on Saturday. If you see a sheepish 6'6" pale-ish fellow with an old green farm-gate style bike that'll be me! Looking forward to it!

deadbob, john is right! it's freezing in the morning but can get mid 20's in the day time if we're lucky

It sounds like we need to pack gloves, Pullovers etc ?

What do you do with it all when/if it warms up ?

Also if it's dark when you start are you allowed to use modern lights - I presume you are.

Not getting to the area till sat afternoon, might see some of you out and about on sunday. Driving down from Ijmuiden (after overnight ferry from Newcastle ).
Probably going to be looked on as a bit of a heathen by the locals , I've fitted a Stronglight triple 46/36/26 in place of a Campag 52/42 on my Benotto. As long as it saves me using my 24''' gear (2 feet) I'm not bothered.
Good luck to all what ever distance you're on.

Not getting to the area till sat afternoon, might see some of you out and about on sunday. Driving down from Ijmuiden (after overnight ferry from Newcastle ).

Good luck to all what ever distance you're on.

Wow, that's a long drive, nearly 1000 miles!

Our party is down to 4, just Eve and myself riding the 135km (+ our partners). Stephan is being treated for small clots in his legs (not quite a DVT) and the doctor's advised him against flying.

i'm in pisa now and it's very warm.

does anyone know are there any bike shops here?

It sounds like we need to pack gloves, Pullovers etc ?

What do you do with it all when/if it warms up ?

Also if it's dark when you start are you allowed to use modern lights - I presume you are.

yes, it's actually compulsory to have lights if setting off before Dawn (before 7ish)- what ever lights you have are fine- I pack a pullover small enough to pack into my bag.

I did a dress rehearsal (sans moustache) yesterday in yorkshire, a quick 40km jolly to York which felt fine and the bike is working great but my knee is pretty sore this morning so I'll definitely just be doing the 135 on Sunday so anyone good to ride with me? john and Andreas are on the 205 still I think?

i'm in pisa now and it's very warm.

does anyone know are there any bike shops here?

afraid not! but if you are free for plans thus week definitely make your way 30km north to lucca- Tis a beautiful town and I found Pisa to be a bit of a shit hole
I can Reccomend a good hostel if you do!

It sounds like we need to pack gloves, Pullovers etc ?

What do you do with it all when/if it warms up ?

Also if it's dark when you start are you allowed to use modern lights - I presume you are.

expect i'll set off at 0530 again, so will be dark and bloody cold. don't worry about big lights, small single led on rear and slightly bigger one on front. u can always see people ahead/behind.
after almost dying of hypothermia first year, i now take kneewarmers and a tiny rapha stowaway jacket which keeps the wind off. will use some old socks over my leather race gloves, which ill chuck away once it warms up.
Sunrise is very welcome, but before too long it gets to about 27/28 degrees and u wish it was cold again. I always take sunglasses too, loads of glare and lots of dust from road.

"meet in the Market at 12.30 on the sat" Maybe see you guys there.I 'm arrving in pisa on the thursday night and getting a hire car. Gonna drive straight to gaiole and sleep in the motor. We haven't organized any accomodaton or camping so hopefully we can just play it by ear. Probably get some riding in on the friday...... or maybe carb loading of the liquid variety.

we normally ride up to castello di brolio to test the bikes out. it's castle/vineyard near gaoile. lovely quiet road up the valley, bit of a climb and it's always first part of the l'eroica so nice to familiarise yourself pre ride.