November 2011

The Giro d'Italia has often let its riders play their games in the mountains of Northern Italy. The Dolomites mountain range, found just north of Venice has seen some of the greatest battles and for 2012, the race organisers are planning more of the same. Stage 17 of the 2012 route sees the circus move over the Passo Valprola and the Passo Giau, the same climbs as those found on the fabled Maratona Dles Dolomites.

The Maratona is held in such high regard in Italy that it could be classed as Italy's national sportive. The event's route doesn't change year on year as per the Etape, as the three routes around the Dolomites have proven to be a winning formula, attracting riders from all over Europe. In fact, we've ridden the event a few times, consistently going back to the region because of its infectious enthusiasm for cycling culture and the tasty mix of Austrian-Italian cuisine. We can certainly recommend an early morning leg spin followed by a coffee and slice of apple strudel!
Even Rapha used the back drop of the Dolomites to shoot their Autumn / Winter range back 2010.

The summer sun in Italy is strong but up in the mountains the temperatures are a few degrees lower and much friendlier to the riders that converge on Covara, the starting point of the race. The event itself is superbly organised. The organisers include small details which add up to a great experience. For instance, at the top of each of the climb you'll receive a text letting you know you overall place, how you're faring in your category, and your climbing times. Within hours of the event finishing the organisers invite you to tap in your rider number on their site and watch yourself cross various check points along the mountains. It's not quite like being a pro but there's something very satisfying in being able to watch yourself climbing the very mountains climbed by the legends of cycling. Some of those legends actually participate in the Maratona as last year's celebrity riders included Mario Cipollini and former pro British rider Jamie Burrows.

It is the time of the year when we all begin to plot our next challenge so we can dine off the stories from the ride at café stops and pub lunches for a year or so after. We can certainly recommend the Maratona as the perfect Italian sportive for those stories.

Entry is limited for the event and the lottery has already taken place for 2012's race. However, Love Velo provide an excellent experience and one of the recommended tour operators for the event, have just a few spaces left on their Maratona experience. They can guarantee entry so if you like the sound of the ride, check out Love Velo at :

http://www.lovevelo.co.uk/come-cycling/the-maratona

Here's our new game. Its all about handling and finding the final point at which the tyres grip. It may look easy, but you'll see.

1. Place 4 markers on a flattish patch of short grass
2. Cones should be a couple of bike lengths apart
3. Ride in a circle as a group at an easy controlled pace
4. Front rider 'chips off' and riding faster than the group
5. Front rider must try to reach the back of the group
6. When the rider re-joins the group, let the group know.
7.The new leader can now take their turn to ride off the front.

The smaller the circle, the dizzier you will feel.
If you don't have cones, bags, trees, pile of jumpers will all do a good job.

Words: Claire Beaumont
Pictures: Andy Waterman

I don't hate winter, I embrace it.
It is this mid point in the transition to winter that I don't care for. While everyone is still trying to hang on to temperatures in double figures, I yearn for it to drop and stay low.
Yesterday it was biting and cold, today a little mild. If I wear leg warmers I'm too hot. Should I start in a gilet? Arm warmers aren't quite suitable anymore. Should I go with the 3/4 fleece-lined tights or stick with bib shorts and knee warmers? My glove choice is always off and I end up with sweaty palms after about 40 minutes.

What I want is the cold. I really enjoy ambling along a lane, pulling my buff up around my face and snuggling in.
I have this pair of Endura bib longs that I've had for years. They fit really well, just by chance, I think because I bought them in a rush for about £10 in the sale. The Roubaix fleece comes right up my tummy like a security blanket. There are these foot loops too and they keep the cuffs in place and wrapped around my ankles.

And, you know what else? I love those moments when you stop at a traffic light, look across to your companion and see steam rising off their body.

How about that feeling of when your face is really chilly and your eyes feel a bit strange and you have to blink a bit. Then they go a little watery. That's the cold and that's winter.
I like seeing the fog and mist below me, stuck down a valley or a hill. I like to see a rolling view not blocked by the tree leaves. I like getting up in the morning and riding from darkness to dawn to daylight, watching everyone wake up.

When you finally get to your cafe stop or back home and walk indoors, that whoosh of warm air sweeps over you, cheeks turn pink, nose shines red like a beacon and toes tingle. Most people just take a moment to sit there in their baselayer and tights. I sit there smiling smugly.
"Yeh, I've just been out, in the cold. Now for something hot and well deserved. Maybe a mince pie or bit of crumble."

I find myself perusing winter clothing with great enthusiasm. In the summer I never normally pay attention but the winter presents itself with a real need to be dressed correctly, and as you'd imagine I have a fair collection of winter apparel. But, I want more. I get engrossed in technical features. Maybe I like the winter wear because you get all tucked in, covered up and look rather svelte. Christmas excesses disguised under a thermal wrap.

My winter rides are, as they should be at, base tempo for a couple of hours. However, as a cyclo-cross racer, this is my time of year, I ride like to ride at a fair old lick around Regents Park to keep my fitness up. I meet with my fellow female accomplice on Tuesday evenings for some covert cyclo cross in a dark park. We do a fair bit standing around, working out mini courses. Then we smash about like idiots and stop and decide what drill to do next. Thus my outfit must be breathable, not flap but also be comfy and warm.

For those that dread the season all I can say (and it's such a cliche): there is no such thing as bad weather just bad preparation.