A couple of weeks before going to Eroica Markus went to a bike shop in Chiasso, Switzerland, very close to the Italian border. The owner, Fausto Stiz, used to be a road race cyclist in the 70s who won the Girobio in 1978, the so-called Baby Giro which is considered the amateur version of the […]

The day started beautifully with candles lighting the way up the first climb to Castello di Brolio. However, on the way down to Siena we could see the first dark clouds in the sky and pretty soon it was pelting down with rain. Obviously our decision to leave our rain cover at home turned out to […]

Due to the fact that we decided rather spontaneously to take part in Eroica 2015 apart from finding a suitable bike another challenge was finding the right accommodation. After a few enquiries I realised that this might be even more challenging than finding a vintage bike. Most B&Bs in Gaiole, Radda and other towns in […]

In 2015 my preparations started with finding the right bike. I used to have a Bianchi road bike when I was 16 but I gave it away many years ago (it wouldn’t be allowed in L’Eroica though as it was built in the early 90s). In Austria the hype around vintage bicycles has only started […]