The Case for Bicycle Commuting

There is a very good article by Michael Hartford at opensalon.com, which you can look at here.

The Lost Boys 2009 Tour of Europe: the Südtiroler Weinstrasse

Wednesday, August 12: After a night of violent thunderstorms (a regular occurrence in summer in this mountainous region, it appears), we had yet another gorgeous, sunny day for our next cycling adventure.  The plan was to do something a bit flatter, given our Stelvio climb of the day before and our plan to ride the Sella Ronda on Thursday.  I had worked out a route to take us along the Wine Street and the profile looked reasonable.

Of course, the profile may have looked reasonable but once again we got seriously lost on the outskirts of Bolzano as the road markings did not make much sense.  At one point we almost ended up in a very nasty tunnel on a limited-access highway but we managed to turn everybody around before we became traffic fatality statistics.  As it was, the road we followed was quite busy but eventually we were able to get off of it and turn towards the west.  After crossing a small bridge we turned south and found ourselves on the Weinstrasse, according to the signs.

This was good but to get to the Kaltern See, the lake on our route, we had to climb up and over the massive ridge parallel to the road we were on.  With Stelvio-tired legs, this was not so easy as the 3 km climb included sections that were 16 percent grade.  At the top we had great views of castle ruins, vineyards and the lake below.

Stealing grapes

A quick downhill run brought us to a restaurant on the edge of the lake, where everyone thought we should stop for coffee and the inevitable strudel.  It was quite hot by now, and it was refreshing to sit in the shade and watch people enjoying the grassy beach nearby.  I was tempted to go swimming myself but instead we got back on the bikes and headed in the direction of our goal for the day, Trento.

The road was very nice, but not really all that flat and I was beginning to feel tired between the climbing and the heat.  We passed through the villages of Tramin, Kurtatsch and Magreid and approached Mezzocorona, which seemed to be a crossroads.  We looked for a place for lunch but nothing was open so riding under the autostrada we came to San Michele all’Adige, which looked a bit bigger.  After some searching in this totally dead village we did come across a restaurant that was actually open, although the menu was limited to three kinds of spaghetti.  It was actually quite expensive compared to what we had enjoyed so far but we were all hungry.

And feeling pretty tired.  We asked about where we could find a train station and it turned out we had to return to Mezzocorona for that.  Taking a different road, we got there very quickly and soon a train arrived that took us back to Bolzano for $5 each.

Although it felt like a lot more, we had climbed 524 m for the day, riding 64.52 km in all.  We did make it quite to Trento but this was plenty for a “recovery” day.

A shower back at the hostel and a change of clothing and I felt much better.  After a restorative ice cream at the House of Infinite Choice, we walked over to a restaurant I had put on my list while still in Canada.  It was the beer hall of the Forst brewery, which is actually based in Merano.  A beer hall is not really a very good description as the inside was quite elegant and we sat in the nice garden, looking out over one of the streets of the old town.  The menu was also much better than a typical beer place and I had the opportunity to indulge my taste for chanterelles and polenta.  This was a much more refined version than what I had had at the firemen’s festival and the beer, with a full line to choose from, was probably the best in Italy.  And of course we had to have yet another ice cream on the way home...

The Lost Boys 2009 Tour of Europe: Baths and Hairpins

In every trip to Europe we calculate at least one day off the bicycle in order to have some flexibility for bad weather, sight-seeing or simply recovering (this last is a bit hard to believe, I know).  Waking up the morning after our very successful Mendelpass ride, it looked as if cycling was out of the day as it was raining heavily.  I had learned from a previous trip to always pack a folding umbrella.While in the Black Forest on previous trips, we had enjoyed European spa life and our plan for a rainy day in Südtirol was to indulge ourselves although nobody suffered much from sore muscles yet.  But first several of us decided to wander around Bolzano a bit more.

In spite of the rain, this was great fun as we went to the fruit and vegetable market in the old city and had a good time poking around the beautiful produce, as well as buying some pastry.  The hostel breakfast was fine but basic so we bought some cheese, bananas and other fruit to bring back to our rooms.  After I bought a kilo of  mirabelle plums, I was about to walk away when I spied some gorgeous peaches.  I asked the vendor if they were local and he said that they actually came from Verona.  I was overcome with the urge to try one and since the vendor said they were ripe I did not resist.  A few steps and I had bitten deep into a marvellous fruit that had clearly ripened on the tree.  We turned around and bought a bag of them...

We stopped at the Citta Hotel for a coffee under their elegant arcades and soon the rain let up.  It was late in the morning but some of the group planned to go for a ride, while others of us headed to the main station and set out for our spa journey to Meran/Merano.

Although Bolzano is the larger of the two, Merano is certainly the bigger tourist attraction.  Our train filled up rapidly and we quickly rolled through the orchards and vineyard of the Etsch Valley, arriving in Merano (which is also a transfer point for another rail line) in an hour or so.  Just before you come to the station you pass a large racecourse, an indication of the city’s role as a major entertainment/watering/social place of the Hapsburg empire prior to 1918.  It was walk of about 15-20 minutes to get from the station to the centre of town, and we passed an interesting plaque commemorating the career of the late Marco Pantani, who began to make his mark in pro cycling when he won stages of the Giro d’Italia in the region.

Merano on this day (August 10) was totally packed with visitors.  This was the week when everyone in Italy takes holidays and it seems that a good number of the country’s inhabitants come to the Dolomites–and, as Corey explained, the locals went elsewhere.  We fought our way through the charming streets, lined with solid but elegant buildings and soon came to the original casino/spa buildings, which looked exactly like the kind of place Emperor Franz Josef II would have hung out.  There was a nice garden by the river, including some in-ground palm trees. Merano has a micro-climate and it was already getting quite warm.  Today’s spa finds itself across the river housed in an ultra- modern glass-and-stone building, with a large outdoor area of green lawns and pools as well as the indoor/outdoor thermal baths and sauna areas.

We lined up, got our tickets and checked in.  I always find it interesting in Europe that the thermal spas, which seem so 19th Century in concept (“taking the waters” and all that) have computerized systems for keeping check on how much time you spend (pricing is in time blocks) and which control which areas of the establishment to which you have access.

We enjoyed the thermal pools, which included the kind of water jet massages I had enjoyed in Germany, and swam in the outdoor pools as well, which come in a range of temperatures.  The weather was spectacular but I enjoyed the spa so much I did not mind we were missing some riding for one day.  Then it was off to the sauna area.  Although it was textil-frei, as in Germany, the Italians were pretty anxious about keeping on their towels!

No matter.  Our three hours were up and feeling pretty mellow we sauntered back through the thronged streets to the train station, stopping for a slice of fresh pizza on the way, and returned to Bolzano and our hostel.  After the usual celebratory ice cream, we wandered back to the old city for an excellent dinner at an Italian restaurant, with half the crew having pizza and the other half going for pasta.

Tuesday, August 11 was meant to be a red-letter cycling day and the weather played along.  Although it was clear when we got to the Bolzano train station, the clouds began to roll in a bit as we headed back to Merano, where we transferred onto another hyper-modern little train.  Luckily this was the departure station for the train going to Mals/Malles since it rapidly got very crowded.  As we came to more stops it became even more very crowded.  It puzzled me that the railroad would only run a three-car train during what was clearly the busiest season as hikers with backpacks, cyclists with their bikes and locals with baby carriages got on board.  We were unable to sit during the two hour ride but at least we got on, unlike a number of cyclists further up the road.

Our big concern was getting through the crowd and actually getting off the train at our stop.  Luckily we had positioned ourselves to make the rapid escape we needed and soon found ourselves at the station platform in Spondigna.  Of course, before doing anything it was time for a bracing coffee in the little station restaurant, then we headed out towards our goal for the day, one of the world’s greatest ascents for a cyclist, the famed Passo dello Stelvio, known as the Stilfserjoch in German.

Of course, I immediately went the wrong way as I followed the “helpful” bikepath signs and lost everyone behind me.  It turned out that in fact I was going the right way, even if that meant riding some dirt and gravel sections of bikepath before coming into the little town of Prato allo Stelvio.  I waited a bit and eventually joined up with two others from our group and we turned to face southwest and the beginnings of the climb.

I rode this climb in 2005 when I did a week of riding in Eastern Switzerland, with this incursion into Italy.  It had thrilled me then but always wanting to see new sights I was not inclined to do it again but everyone was so keen I agreed.  As I found a different route back from the summit compared to what I did four years ago I thought this was count as undiscovered country.  But of course, to get to the undiscovered part you have to get through the first part.

The ride along the nicely-paved S38 road takes you through the hamlets of Gomagoi and Trafoi on a gentle upwards incline.  Spondigna is at 885 m ASL and by the time you reach Trafoi you have climbed to 1543 m in 27 kms.  Now the serious fun begins as you navigate 48 hairpin turns (each one marked with a sign) and head through some heavily-forested sections.  The road pitches up quite steeply in places (I had forgotten about this–ouch) and then you when you break out above the tree line you see the last dozen curves ahead stacked up in the distance almost like a ladder.  It is an extraordinary sight, both ahead of you and behind, and you will share the road with motorcyclists and sports car drivers (and even buses), as well as with like-minded cyclists wanting to partake of the Stelvio legend.

Although the weather had been somewhat overcast in Spondigna, the route up the valley was clear and it was fantastic.  I felt good and kept pace with Dr. Chef, stopping to take photos as the mood struck, and we soon caught up to a tall rider in a “Flanders” kit.  He was a young Belgian cyclist and we kept each other company all the way up to the top, although it was evident that he was more used to cycling those flatter roads back home.

Even if you have done it before, crossing the summit of the Stelvio (2760 m ASL, the highest road in Italy) gives you a terrific feeling of accomplishment.  After the obligatory pass sign photos, we tromped in to the nearest restaurant for hot chocolate/latte macchiatos/strudel.  Mariette, who speaks Dutch, could communicate with our new Belgian friend, who had very limited English, and he was delighted to accept a soft drink from us.  We seem to have done something for world understanding since he thought that Americans were not very nice but now that he had personal experience with them he found this not to be the case.  Of course, I would like to think it was also the Canadian influence.

Warmed up and, more importantly, dried off, we put on our cold-weather gear since a cold wind always blows over the summit from the Bormio direction.  But today we were not heading downhill towards Bormio, as I did in 2005.  Instead, we rode down the road a short way and turned right onto a very small road, soon passing an unoccupied border post.  We were now in Switzerland!

The 17 km road to Santa Maria, down the Passo di Forcola, has to be one of the most enchanting rides I have done to date.  There is no traffic to speak of and the scenic vistas of the Müstair Valley are exceptional.  The road is quite good until you suddenly hit a section, perhaps 3-4 kms long, of gravel.  This is not something you want on a rapid downhill with curves but all of us managed to get through.  We were then rewarded with some of the best pavement I have ridden on in a long time (Ottawa roads make anything else seem like velvet, except Quebec ones) and we rocketed down the hairpins into the village of Santa Maria.  Regrouping, we turned right onto a main road, Rt. 28, and enjoyed a fast downhill ride that brought us to the border crossing back into Italy at Tubre/Taufers.  The border post here was occupied, as Dr. Chef and Zeezu discovered when they tried to sprint for the border sign, to the extreme annoyance of the guard.  He did not think Americans were so nice, although here I did point out that I was a Canadian.

Rt. 28 turned into an Italian road, S41.  We continued downhill, passing through the walled town of Glurns and turning right to follow the bikepath along the Etsch, parallel to the S38.  Some of the group continued on past Spondigna, but three of us stopped there to take the train back to Merano and connect to Bolzano so that we would get back in time for a classical concert with an orchestra of young EU musicians.  Of course at the Spondigna station we celebrated once again with excellent coffees after figuring out how to buy tickets from the automat since there no longer are any humans representing the railroad at the station.

The loop we rode was just over 69 km long but featured over 2000 m of climbing.  My maximum speed was 70 km/h, which is not bad considering all the tight turns we had to descend.  A glorious day indeed and something I would recommend as one of the best rides in Europe.  We were fortunate as a few weeks later the road was closed to motorized traffic for Stelvio Day and the cyclists who came for that “enjoyed” a ride in pouring cold rain.

A Cyclist's Dream

Cyclists are obviously more mainstream in France as they are deemed worthy of being fooled on television.  The host of this program has played a wonderful trick on unsuspecting riders here as they suddenly discover they have won a race they did not know they had even entered.  All the touches are here: the motorcycle with the time blackboard, the following Citroen 2CV, the Devil, the Podium Girl with the trophy, and, of course, the mandatory drug test!


Funny Tour De France Prank - Watch more Funny Videos

Mauerfalltag 2009! The Wall (and Not Wall) by Bicycle

It was on November 9, 1989 that a great moment in history took place: the opening of the Berlin Wall.  There are a lot of celebrations going on in the city today (and I really wish I was there!) and a lot of memories brought back.  The unexpectedness of the event was truly amazing and people around the world were deeply moved.

In 1988, British actress Tilda Swinton (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress last year) starred in a short film, "Cycling the Frame," in which she rode a bicycle 160 kms around the Wall.  Now, twenty-one years later, she has done it again in "the Invisible Frame," a 60 minute film that recently was shown at the Vienna Film Festival and, paired with the first film, has made appearances at various Goethe Institutes around the world to mark the anniversary of the Wall's opening. 

Ms. Swinton had not been back to Berlin since her earlier film, a clip from which I am unable to find.  However, here is a clip from this most recent voyage of rediscovery in one of Europe's bike friendliest cities:

If you do not have Flash installed, you can go to this website for the preview.

If your German is good, you can read more about this in the Berliner Morgenpost here.

The Lost Boys Tour of Europe 2009: On to Italy and the Mendelpass and Gampenpass

Strudel time!
(photo by Patrick Dominic)

On August 8, we got up insanely early and prepared to leave Rosenheim. The plan was to ride our bicycles to the nearby train station, and have our luggage sent over with a taxi van. There was a bit of panic when the van we ordered did not show up, but luckily there was one parked down the street waiting for clientele so it worked out fine.

It was not clear where we were supposed to meet our big tour bus and we were on the wrong side of the station when he came. Although the driver was very nice, he was surprised that we had come with our bicycles. I had organized this months in advance, so I was a bit annoyed. But there was plenty of room and after removing our front wheels and seatposts ten bicycles were nicely arranged. We got into the large, comfortable bus and headed out of Rosenheim. It was just after 6:30 a.m.

The bus we were using was actually a tour bus that takes people to Bolzano every Saturday for sightseeing and shopping, so all the other passengers were locals. Of course, this being Germany, the bus driver (who was actually very nice) had to apologize as he picked up passengers because he was five minutes late (thanks to us, of course). But soon enough everyone was picked up and we were soon on the autobahn heading south. Everyone settled in and half the group fell asleep.

This was unfortunate as our route was absolutely spectacular. Leaving Germany, we entered Austria at Kufstein and continued along the A13 highway, climbing steadily. Our driver, Ricci, gave a running commentary on the countryside. We passing Innsbruck, host to the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976, and I was surprised how built up the Inn Valley looked here. The city has only 117, 000 inhabitants but looks quite urban, albeit surrounded by stunning alpine scenery. Another 30 kms along the highway and we came to the Brenner Pass, marking our entry into Italy. The pass crests at 1375 m ASL.

The drive then took us past Brixen, descending on the A22 and on into Bolzano which, surprisingly, is only at 262 m altitude. The bus took us into a large underground parking garage and we unpacked our bikes and prepared to discover Südtirol, or the Alto Aldige as it is known in Italian. The first trick was to get from the bus station, which was connected to the main train station, to our hostel. One of our group, Mariette, met us with a car and Dr. Chef and I drove over to the hostel with some of the baggage but due to construction and the fact we were not sure where we were going we ended up taking a major tour of Bolzano. In fact, the hostel was just further down the street the railway station was on so in the end everyone walked over. Five in our party had accommodations elsewhere in Bolzano but they were not far away.

The hostel, unlike those I remember from cyclingtouring in Europe in the 1970s, was a modern building with all kinds of useful facilities, including laundry. All of the rooms had ensuite showers and three in our group had single rooms. The large room for four that three of us shared was really nice, with a huge balcony and lots of space for our gear and even desks where we could write. The furniture was kind of IKEA-ish, simple but clean-looking. There was a breakfast room in the basement of the hostel and a large courtyard where we were able to keep the bikes. Internet access was available and there was even a vending machine that provided espresso. It was quite comfortable, conveniently situated and very reasonably-priced. Unfortunately, the single rooms faced out onto the main street and the railway, so there was noise since without airconditioning you really couldn’t close the windows. Our room was quite as it overlooked the courtyard and some apartment buildings beyond.

On this trip, we had been fortunate in having excellent weather but here in the valley surrounded by mountains we found that the climate was very changeable. It was hot when we arrived in Bolzano but soon after arriving in the hostel and sorting out our gear it began to rain. I had not planned to go cycling anyway but wanted to want around in the city, and we proceeded to do this.

Bolzano (known as Bozen in German) is a city of around 100,000 people that is considered, after nearby Trento, as the city with the highest quality of life in Italy. It is the biggest city in Südtirol, the only province of Italy that is official bilingual. Originally part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Südtirol was split off from its northern half (still called Tirol, in Austria) after World War One and given to Italy by the victorious Allies. In the 1920s, Mussolini brought in a large number of Italian-speakers to settle and dominate this overwhelmingly German-speaking region and this was to have repercussions over the years, including home-grown terrorist attacks, until Südtirol was made it an autonomous region and both German and Italian were made official languages with equal standing. Apparently the Dalai Lama has visited the area several times, considering it as a possible model for a Tibetan province inside China. The cities of Merano and Bolzano are where most of the Italian-speakers are (73 percent of the population, in the case of the latter), while German-speakers are represented by the population in the more rural areas. As a German-speaker myself, I lean towards the German usage but will use both place names in describing our adventures. But not always, as it is kind of unwieldy.

Bolzano is probably not a big tourist attraction on its own although it has very nice architecture and a huge main square, named after the medieval German lyric poet, Walther von der Vogelweide, a famed Minnesinger who, as far as my research has taken me, does not seem to have had anything particular to do with Bolzano. He does, however, have an excellent statue on the Walthersplatz, surrounded by excellent cafés. I have looked up some of his poetry which is written in archaic German but quite lovely. I am curious whether the famous avenue in Berlin, “Unter den Linden,” actually derives it name from his poem of the same title and the linden trees were planted there for this reason. He flourished from c. 1170-1230.

Anyway, we reached the Waltherplatz after only a five minute walk from the hostel. The square is dominated by a massive cathedral, and ringed by the aforementioned cafés and restaurants. Walking further into the heart of the old town, we found ourselves in the Lauben, a medieval arcade section which now houses expensive shops. Of course, we had little choice but to stop for gelato, finding what our strongest rider, Zeezu, would name “the House of Infinite Choice,” a gelateria with flavours of ice cream I never knew existed. Some days we were to hit it several times, since cycling lets you eat anything you want.

I had contacted a fellow www.pezycyclingnews.com author, Corey, who lives in Bolzano about going for a ride and I called from the hostel and confirmed arrangements with him for the next day. I had discussed rides we could get to easily from the hostel and agreed that we would head out to the Passo di Mendola/Mendelpass.

Sunday, August 9 was another fine day, although a bit overcast. Corey, wearing his excellent Pez jersey so I could identify him right away, was exactly on time and eventually our group, a dozen strong, was ready to roll–not always the easiest thing to do! Most of us were wearing our beautiful Lost Boys 2009 jerseys, with the Bolzano-Gries poster design on the back. Corey led us at a good pace right through the streets of the old town, and it was good he was leading as I became almost immediately disoriented. Soon we were zooming down some astonishingly good bike paths, broad and well-marked. Bolzano sits at the confluence of the Adige/Etsch and Isarco/Eisack Rivers and the bike routes, with their own bridges, pass back and forth over them. The paths were well-used, judging from the number of cyclists already out on this Sunday morning.

There were some nice little climbs as we made our way to the crossroads of Appiano/Eppan, and with a right turn things started to get serious. As is typical of all climbs, our group broke up into different little units as everyone rode at their own pace. I knew that we would have a week of great climbing and I did not want to blow up on the first pass on the first day. Of course, it was also necessary to stop for photographs, a major part of any trip I take. After the first few turns, we had an excellent view of a small lake, the Kalterer See, below us.

With its summit at only 1363 m (4471 feet), the Mendelpass is open year-round but since the road has a lot of hairpins and is pretty tight in places, trailers are not allowed on it. There are impressive cliffs overhanging the road, and apparently these are rather unstable and major work was undertaken in 2005 to prevent rockslides. At various points I saw long section of gabions holding back the rock. The road was built between 1880 and 1885. There was a fair amount of traffic but drivers usually passed us with room to spare as cyclists are not an unfamiliar sight in this part of the world.

I had a very pleasant climb riding alongside the oldest member of our group. Janice is 67 and she is an impressively strong cyclist, thanks to all those rides in the mountains of Virginia and Maryland she has done. During the trip she never shied away from a challenge and was an example to us all. We cruised up the pass at a steady pace, except when I popped up the road for a photo, and we were joined also by Terry, another older but strong rider. The pass is 14.8 kms (9.2 miles), with a gain of 958 m (3143 feet). Although the steepest section is 12 percent, the average grade is a reasonable 6.5 percent.

The Sprocketboy and Dr. Chef excited by yet more food
(photo by Patrick Dominic)

Reaching the top of the pass, we quickly found the others who had arrived before us already digging into the strudel (a leitmotif of this trip!) and enjoying their cappucini. Everyone was in high spirits as the weather had cooperated, we had had an excellent climb, and in the busy restaurant we could stuff ourselves with giant pieces of cake. This is what holidays are about.

With everyone eventually together again, we posed in front of the pass sign for the obligatory col photo. I chatted with a group of German mountain bikers and we took a group photo of them after they had done one for us. Corey, who had been an invaluable guide as well as excellent company, turned back for Bolzano at this point and on we went.

Zipping up the windvest and putting on the armwarmers and long-fingered gloves, I was ready for the next stretch. We had a reasonably quick descent that took us to Fondo, where our next pass began.

The Passo della Palade/Gampenpass is also open all year and the grade from Fondo is a pretty easy 4.1 percent average. The pass is 13 kms (8.1 miles) long, reaching an altitude of 1518 m (4980 feet), giving an altitude gain of 538 m (1738 feet). The road is pretty straight, taking you through some dense forest and with views of impressive gorges.

At the top of the pass we assembled for our group photo and then began the long and exhilarating descent back to the Etsch Valley far below. The road was excellent and I enjoyed the views, stopping for more photos. The faster riders actually ran into a bit of rain on the descent but except for a few droplets I had no issues. Except for the fact that it was here that my camera batteries decided that they had done enough for me.

Down, down, down the road went and soon (much too soon) we were at our crossroads near Tesimo/Tisnes. The scenery was spectacular, with orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see, old castles and flower-bedecked (overwhelmed, in some places) villages. At one of the villages, Nals, we arrived just in time for the local fire department festival and of course this meant we had to stop and enjoy the accordion music, the draft beer and the rustic food. I got to indulge my love of chanterelles yet again, this time with polenta. Listening to accordion music at long tables, drinking our beer and enjoying the brilliant sunshine–I could not have planned it better.

A Dirndl Girl with Weisswurst
(photo by Enrique)

We swiftly rolled back on the excellent bike path that parallels the Etsch and found our way back to Bolzano, getting lost on the outskirts of town (a theme to be repeated for the remainder of the week). Our first cycling day in Italy (nearly 84 kms/52.2 miles) had gone well and we celebrated at a rustic restaurant featuring local Südtirol specialities.

The Compleat Tour de Basement (Part 6): Doing the Italian Job

We are living in an age of great richness when it comes to what we can watch on DVD as we are exiled to the Tour de Basement, riding our trainers.  There are videos that show us indoor training classes, videos that take us outside for training sessions, and others that just show scenery or help us stretch or strengthen our mental fortitude.  Into this mix comes a series of very interesting DVDs from Cyclefilm, based in the United Kingdom and yesterday I enjoyed watching two of their DVDs while training at home.

A Gran Fondo, or cyclosportive, is an organized, long-distance, mass participation cycling event, generally held annually.  A route would not only be lengthy but include challenges such as hard climbs or cobbles.  It generally has food stops enroute and a time limit for participants.  Although technically not a race, riders have numbers and often finishing times are taken.  The fastest riders do in fact ride them as a race and although directed at amateurs, these events have seen their share of pros, both active and retired, participate.  Among the most famous are l’Etape du Tour, which began in 1993 and traces one stage of the Tour de France during that event, usually on a rest day.  L’Etape sees the roads closed to vehicular traffic, which is not always the case.  The only classic Gran Fondos I have ridden were the Eleven-Cities-Bike Tour in the Netherlands(with 15,000 participants), the Tour of Lake Constance and the Tour of Flanders and the roads were not closed for any of these.

These are often huge events.  L’Etape is limited to 8,500 riders, while South Africa’s Cape Argus Cycle Tour is the world’s largest timed bike tour with over 40,000 participants.  The latter is only 109 kms, compared to the typical 180-300 kms length of a Gran Fondo.  Many Gran Fondos offer shorter routes in addition to the “classic” one as well.  The increasing popularity of road cycling and the interest of people in participating in these events has caused a small niche travel industry to pop up as tour companies arrange to get cyclists to these events as part of a trip package.

For participants, there is clearly a significant investment in training time and travel costs, in addition to equipment.  To get the maximum from one of these trips, Cyclefilm has come up with a series of “reconnaissance ride” DVDs to familiarize you with what to expect on the route and it was with great anticipation I opened the box for “the Italian Job, Part 1.”   This contained two DVDs: l’Eroica and the Nove Colli.

I have written here about l’Eroica and my interest in riding this classic course along the bianca strada, or “white roads” of Tuscany.  The DVD is 45 minutes in length and opens with two very fit-looking cyclists, Ian Holt and Ross Muir, in matching kit, explaining that they will be leading us through the ride.  Actually, Ian does most of the talking as Ross disappears pretty soon into the video.  He keeps up a steady monologue talking about the road surface and the climbs as he pedals.  There is some music, with lots of electric guitar in the background.  As Ian rides, every so often a profile appears, with a red section highlighting where we are on the course.  Tips are flashed on the screen, indicating where you have to be careful or where the climbs are particularly hard.  He also gives a nice demonstration of the famous “sticky bottle” technique for getting some speed from your team car.  Since this is a pleasure ride, halfway through the course Ian takes a break in Montalcino with a glass of the local vino.  The route through the quiet Tuscan countryside looks remote but quite beautiful.  The course for l’Eroica is marked with permanent signage so if you want to ride it outside of the Gran Fondo in October with its 2,500 retro bike fanatics, you can do it as Ian is doing it here.



L’Eroica is, of course, meant to be ridden on period bicycles but I, for one, will ride it with a helmet.  I was thinking the famous gravel sections did not look all that bad but then in the second part of the 205 km course the roads look pretty frightening, with some sections of gravel road having sections near 20 percent grade downhill.  In parts of the video, the image is speeded up, particularly in the descents, to get you on to the next segment.  Ian suggests keeping off the brakes and using your knees to turn during these fast downhills.  He also tells you where to try and save energy as you approach the finishing stretch.  As he rolls into Gaiole, where the course begins and ends, light is starting to fade and you feel that you have climbed those 3,800 vertical meters yourself.

At the end of the show we see some outtakes showing the crew, and then we learn that Ross overcooked a turn in the gravel and fell off, images captured on video that he will always be taunted for but a reminder of the trickiness of this course.  I would definitely recommend it for anyone considering riding l’Eroica but also if you enjoy training to beautiful Italian scenery.

The second DVD in the box is the route of the Gran Fondo Nove Colli, featuring the famous nine hills course in Emilia-Romagna.  The program is structured in the same way as the l’Eroica DVD, with Ian Holt, joined by Cameron Fraser and Ross Muir (who finishes the ride this time), riding the entire course and pointing out features to be aware of.  Although this route is entirely paved, I suspect that the challenge at the beginning will be dealing with the 11,000 other cyclists who will be with you.  The three seriously underfed cyclists here are by themselves, yet when they ride side-by-side they take up most of the road!





In terms of the production, we have some more funky rock music in the background, but the sound quality when the cyclists are providing information on the road is distorted badly in the first part of the ride, although it improves after they stop for an espresso break halfway through.  Also, when the course profile appears there is no red marker as in the first DVD so you have to count off the climbs.

Ah, the climbs.  Each of the nine climbs is highlighted as the trio rides them and while individually each col looks manageable, their cumulative effect must be pretty wearing.  As in l’Eroica, there are permanent signs marking the Nove Colli course.  One of the cyclists mentions that the Gran Fondo, held in May, has all its registration space filled by the previous December so it is important to get in early or else to sign on with a tour company.  Ian Holt and Ross Muir are principals of a bike touring company, La Fuga, specializing in Gran Fondo events in France and Italy, and although they wear their own company clothing and the La Fuga name appears in various places, the DVDs are definitely not infomercials.  The outtakes are fun as well: at one point, one of the cyclists plaintively says: “I’m good at beach volleyball” as tall, bikini-clad Italian girls play on the beach in Cesnatico.

The Gran Fondo experience is a marvellous one that I would highly recommend.  And with experienced racing cyclists taking you through the course in the loving detail shown here there is no excuse for not being properly prepared.  At £21.99 (roughly US$36, or 24.50 Euros) for a double DVD set, they are a bit more expensive than some of the other DVDs I have reviewed but are very enjoyable.  “The Italian Job” is actually six DVDs in total and the complete set is £59.99 (US$96.65 or 65.70 Euros); you probably won’t have to come out of the basement for weeks.  Cyclefilms also has a set of three Gran Fondo DVDs, each of which goes for £14.99 (US$24.55 or 16.70 Euros), and cover rides in France, Italy and Spain.

The DVDs may be ordered directly from Cyclefilm at their website.

(Incidentally, I see that they are producing a “rider profile” series and the first will be about Liz Hatch, cycling’s most recent It Girl and the subject of a Maxim photospread.  This probably has better market prospects than a DVD about, for instance, a climber nicknamed “Chicken”.)

Book Review: From Scotland to Syria by Boat and Bicycle

Rowed Trip
by Colin Angus and Julie Angus


In the realm of adventure travelling, participants have to come up with more and more peculiar trips to attract attention (just check out my review of “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”) or to make a statement. I recently attended a talk by one adventurer who ran across the Sahara Dessert (7,000 kms in 110 days) to draw attention to the region’s water crisis. The idea of having two showers in nearly four months was not appealing to me, but how about a nice holiday to visit the family?

A young Canadian couple, Colin and Julie Angus, decided to do just that. His relatives live on the windswept islands off the coast of Scotland, while her mother is from Germany and father from Syria. Linking these places together would not normally be all that difficult but this is not a normal couple. Colin was, among other adventures, the first person to circumnavigate the world on human power alone, and Julie was the first woman to row the Atlantic, so just getting on a plane and do some short flights was not going to work. Instead they realized that to a large extent you can make your way across Europe by boat by using open waterways, rivers and canals. But the difficulty is in the portages necessary to get from one canal to another. The answer, of course, is riding bicycles and towing the boats. This, obviously, presents some logistical challenges as to how to haul the boats and what you do with the bicycles and trailers once you reach your canal.

Colin and Julie are clearly the kind of people who relish these kind of challenges. They came up with special lightweight trailers that could be easily dismantled, and of course finding a folding bike is not too difficult. Although they do not refer much to the bicycles, which are clearly tools secondary to the boats, the photographs indicate that they used Montague folding bicycles, which are well-designed full-sized mountain-type bicycles, sturdy--and pretty heavy. They soon came to realize that there were no boats on the market that would meet their requirements for seaworthiness, speed and storage of the bicycles and trailers onboard so having no experience in boatbuilding they built a pair of rowboats. Named for two minerals produced by Commerce Resources, a key sponsor, Tantalum and Niobium looked like broadened sea kayaks and were built with the stitch-and-glue technique used for making wooden sea kayaks. I found this particularly interesting as I actually have had a set of plans for a 17 foot kayak to be built in this way for years but my lack of mechanical skill has always made me hesitant to build it. The Anguses, on the other hand, spent only a year in preparation for the trip all told.

Leaving Scotland on a cold windy day on March 9, 2008, they begin by towing the boats and would continue to do so until reaching suitable water five days later. I, for one, would have liked to have been present when the bikes and trailers were folded up and the whole circus transformed into two decked rowboats. Or when they landed somewhere and did the process in reverse. As well, the two boats could be joined up to form a catamaran with a deck where their tent could be erected if there were no camping spots to be easily found.

The book is highly entertaining as Colin and Julie alternate in the telling of the story. From intransigent and useless Scottish lockkeepers, to the enchanting Oxford Canal, to floating overnight near the Hammersmith Bridge on the Thames in the heart of London, you will find the couple excellent company. Their route took them across the English Channel and after suffering through the industrial canals of northern France (and having one of their custom-built boat trailers stolen, of all things) they reach Alsace and Germany, where paddlecraft are actually catered-to by having their own access through locks.  They even rode along two of the nicest bike routes in Germany, through the Altmuhl and Tauber valleys, that I have ridden myself.

But the real drama heart of the story is their cruise along the mighty Danube, which is not blue in the least, but as they head into Eastern Europe becomes polluted and dangerous.  The irony, of course, is that the canals that made their trip possible marked the beginnings of the industrialization of Europe, with all its social and environmental effects.

From orderly Germany and Austria, they find points east more difficult. Although they write that Serbia was one of their favourite spots on the trip, it is regretted that they do not explain why this is since the countries around them, particularly Romania, sound pretty awful. In fact, the nastiest part of the trip, besides the places where they run into bad weather that actually sounds quite risky, is when they reach Romania’s frightening so-called (with good reason) Death Canal. This is more of an obstacle than a highway for them but eventually they reach the Black Sea.

Leaving their boats for shipment back to Vancouver via Turkey, they cycled the final portion of the trip, arriving at their final destination, Aleppo in Syria, on September 18, 2008. They had journeyed a total of 7150 kms, probably using their bicycles more than they had expected.

The expedition was followed on-line by schoolchildren, who asked questions and made suggestions about the trip. There is interesting social commentary, along with a fair amount of history, in the account, alongside stories of the struggles involved in moving onwards. The book includes appendices with distances covered, tips on kayaking or canoeing in the countries the Anguses visited, and even a chapter on how to build a rowboat in your backyard.

For a wonderful slideshow of the trip, go here.  They have several websites devoted to their travels, including the Rowed Trip online journal.


Julie and Colin Angus are now undertaking a 21 city tour to promote the book and I will see them speak in Ottawa on November 19. Their final stop will be in Washington, DC, where they will speak at the National Geographic Society, the organization that named them “Adventurers of the Year” in 2006 on November 24.  I am looking forward to their presentation and learning how they found adventure in a part of the world that might be considered more prosaic than, say, the high Arctic or Mongolia.

(Note: all photos are by Colin Angus and Julie Angus) 


Rowed Trip
by Colin Angus and Julie Angus
Doubleday Canada, 2009

Hardcover: 384 pages 
ISBN-10: 0385666330
ISBN-13: 978-0385666336
Suggested retail price: C$29.95 (but you know where you can do better...)

The Compleat Tour de Basement (Part 5)

Virtual Rides in Vermont and Maine

As the temperature drops and the days go markedly shorter, I can feel my fitness and motivation levels begin to drop.  At this time of the year, it is hard to battle the inevitable and switch from the pleasure of outdoor training to the grind of indoor training.  But, as I have shown previously here in my Tour de Basement™ DVD review series, it is not always a grind at all.  In fact, with the right DVD, meaning great scenery, a challenging course and suitable music, training sessions can fly by.

epicRides™, the productions from Vermont-based epicPlanet.tv, fall fully into the latest trend of outdoor training ride DVDs.  The press release notes that the DVDs are intended to complement indoor drill-type training DVDs and not replace them, but I think the producers are being overly modest.  The two discs I have ridden to so far are slickly-produced, attractive numbers with some innovative features.

The first ride I enjoyed (and I have actually ridden it two times in a row!) is “Epic Vermont.”  From the charming village of Waitsfield, Vermont, you ride with a group of four local cyclists (including a hammerhead in his 70s) towards the Appalachian Gap.  There is a five minute warm-up sequence, followed by ten minutes of easy climbing.  Now begins the serious stuff, with 20 minutes of hard climbing to the top of the Gap.  After the successful ride to the summit, you get to spin downhill rapidly for five minutes and then roll into Bristol, Vermont for the last five minutes of cool-down.


This totals 45 minutes, and one of my criticisms of these kind of DVDs is that while they might be ideal of indoor training in a spinning class, they are actually a bit short for the kind of training dedicated road cyclists need to do.  That said, epicPlanet.tv has come up with some interesting variations on the theme.  Each of the DVDs comes with a downloadable training guide.  Besides the usual disclaimer–do people who actually aren’t very fit buy these DVDs?  Has anyone ever dropped dead while doing them?–there is some background on training zones and how to use them.  There is an image of the digital dashboard used in the DVDs (we’ll get back to this in a moment) and then three suggested training rides: one to improve your VO2 max; another to strengthen aerobic capacity; and the last to serve as a recovery ride.  All of these use the same 5/10/20/5/5 minute sequence shown on the DVD.

The digital dashboard used on the epicRides™ is exceptionally well-designed.  It is simple and does not interfere with the image on-screen.  In the upper left corner is an indicator of the segment (for instance, “HARD CLIMB”) while a thin strip at the bottom has all the other information.  The indicators are: training zone; average grade in the segment; a terrain profile with a marker to show where you are on the ride; and a timer showing elapsed time.  The only unnecessary thing on the screen is the occasional appearance of “bike cam,” which is pretty obvious.  The dashboard cannot be turned off but not only is it unobtrusive I found it very useful and probably the most thoughtfully designed one of its kind I have seen.

Music, as the epicPlanet.tv people note, is a pretty subjective thing.  Some of the DVDs I have reviewed have no music, while some have very good original scores and some of the others make me wish they had no music at all (we can always press “Mute,” of course).  The music on “Epic Vermont” is okay, although I personally prefer trashy, beat-heavy Eurotechno when I work out.  But here too the folks at epicPlanet.tv have come up with something novel.  Don’t like the music on “Epic Vermont?”  No problem–just download a new companion mix from Cadence Revolution, a workout music specialist based here in my city of Ottawa, onto your MP3 player and run it in sync with the muted DVD.  I tried this yesterday after making a CD of the new soundtrack and it worked beautifully.  It is possible that you could get a whole series of different soundtracks for this one DVD so those long winter months will fly by.

The other innovative feature offered by epicPlanet.tv is that you can save the shipping costs of the DVD and simply download it directly from their website to your iPod.

The second DVD I have had the chance to use is “Epic Acadia,” which also has a downloadable training guide.  This ride, through Maine’s Acadia National Park, is somewhat more elaborate than the Vermont one.  Leaving Bar Harbor with three local racers, there is a five minute warm-up, followed by fifteen minutes of rolling hills.  You then get into a power paceline for ten minutes in preparation for 20 minutes of what looks like pretty serious climbing (7%+) up to the top of Cadillac Mountain.  Fast spinning again follows on the descent for five minutes and then a cool down for another five as you come back to Bar Harbor, so the workout totals 60 minutes.



The ride is an autumn one and the trees are in full colour, reminding me of my own rides in Gatineau Park here.  However, the scenery in Maine, with views of the water and the mountains, is much more impressive.  This ride was the subject of another, simpler DVD I have reviewed here.

The dashboard is pretty much the same as for “Epic Vermont,” but there is an added indicator to mark intervals during the climbs in the upper right corner.  This is a valuable feature for pacing climbs.

epicPlanet.tv has recently launched their third production, a double DVD of rides in Tucson, Arizon, totalling 110 minutes.  I am looking forward to reviewing this as well, although the ride up Mt. Lemmon is one I have already done on another training DVD.  The world might be a small place but I hope that there will be less duplication of riding routes from producers.  There is a lot of great riding in areas such as Colorado and Utah and Virginia and North Carolina, if you are looking for adventure in the United States, not to mention the vast number of possibilities in Europe.

So, to summarize the offerings from epicPlanet.tv, these are innovative DVDs produced to a very high standard and useful training tools.  At US$29.95, they are certainly competitively priced.  I liked them so much that I think I will take advantage of yet another downloadable feature: detailed route maps that would allow me to get out to Vermont and to Maine and actually ride the courses outdoors.  After my typical October-April Tour de Basement I will ready for them!

For more information, and to order the DVDs, go to http://www.epicplanet.tv/ .

Gatineau Park Ride: The Best Way to Spend a Saturday Morning in Ottawa

On Saturday I joined a group of cyclists, all members of the Oakville Cyling Club visiting Ottawa for the weekend, and took them on a loop ride through Gatineau Park.  The weather was cold but clear and we had a great time enjoying the fall colours.  It was pretty early in the day so the traffic that plagues the park at this time of year had not yet materialized.

As usual, the route took us through the park, up Camp Fortune Road and on to Champlain Lookout.  I checked my GPS and for the first time saw that our altitude was 387m ASL.  Not exactly the Alps, but a good view nonentheless!  By the time I got home I had ridden 74 kms and climbed about 1000 m.

I have not had the chance to do group ride since the end of my European trip, so thanks to Tim, Ian, Paul and Robert for the great outing.  I have ridden with the OCC when down in the Oakville area to visit my mother and hope to ride with them again next summer, or when they are back up here.  One of the great attractions of cycling, to me, is the camaraderie of the open road and the good friends I have made in this sport.

(photo by Paul Castonguay)