and cantucci, a Tuscan specialty that’s basically a twice-baked biscuit made from almonds that goes a little too well with sweet liquor. If you like your food, you will not like your overall time. But then, L’Eroica’s not about racing, it’s about experiencing what it means to be a cyclist. And if you’re like most of the riders I met along the way, it’s about guzzling as much of the local vino as possible.
Each October now sees this picture-postcard town of Gaiole turn into a cyclist’s Mecca. The cobbled streets, coffee bars and trattorias are all swarmed with gear-heads and every square inch of the town seems to be covered in something bike-related.
This year, more than 4000 bike nuts from all over came and the result was an event like nothing else. It would have been far more, too, had the registrations not been so tightly controlled. Such restraints are necessary though, because the town is only home to around 2500 people, so when you add riders, companions and the odd curious tourist that L’Eroica week attracts, the population quadruples.
Everywhere one looks, there’s a classic bike or an almost-forgotten cycling curiosity to be seen. And ludicrously over-priced though the stalls may be, even the market draws you in. Time-trial frames from the great Francesco Moser sit easily beside classic Colnagos, immaculate Gios and Ciöcc and Bianchi racers all sparkle and bear perfectly-preserved Campagnolo groupsets. Sellers dig through boxes of spotless components that would start a major bidding war online. As I said, an event like nothing else. Anywhere.
Of course, it wasn’t always like this. When the first riders took to the road in 1997, they were few and their motives were simple: celebrate the golden age of cycling and protect what’s left of the region’s iconic strade bianche by raising awareness.
The roads were fast succumbing to modern asphalt, and while for the most part this kind of surface is better for everyone, it lacks the history and charm of its dusty predecessor. Fifteen years on, and the white roads that so epitomise the old, rustic charm of Tuscany are protected by local government and preserved to torture cyclists for decades to come.
As for celebrating the golden age of cycling, the whole thing speaks for itself. The brainchild of local doctor Giancarlo Brocci, L’Eroica has become a byword for classic cycling, and evokes almost childish excitement and envy in riders everywhere.
Brocci is still at the heart of the event, though along the way he’s had to enlist the help of countless volunteers and fellow appassionati. The Tuscan has called Gaiole in