We’ve already been back home for a few weeks following our trip to Italy. I’ve wanted so much to share with all what an amazing trip we had and how mind blowingly awesome the l’Eroica event was but I’ve felt daunted as to how to encompass our epic adventure as well as felt humbled at how lucky I am to not only fulfill a dream but also sharing it with my good woman and best friend, Mrs. Spirito. So many highlights … so many sweet memories.
Below is just a smidge, mostly of the l’Eroica ride and the start of our fun in Roma. When I figure out the interwebs I’ll share the whole gamut of our trip (with a gazillion pics) and fill in the details.
It really is a very special day and those roads and are as challenging as they are beautiful to ride through. We had the time of our lives. Quit your dog, sell your jobs … do whatever you can to ride l’Eroica one day !!!
Mrs. Spirito’s bike was a kerbside no-name find that had a cracked headlug. I thought it had some potential so after a refurb and restore including backyard application of Lamborghini Miura Lime paint (actually Hyundai Funny Yellow, don’t tell her that) it saw life again.
Mine is a self built proto-Spirito. It will get some fancy paint (after an acid dip) once I settle on a final configuration. I only rode it for a 200m test ride which was at about 11pm the night before we flew out. I’m proud to say we had no mechanical’s and no flats on the day and both bikes handled the Strada Bianche and Tuscan roads perfectly. And my biggest fear of them being damaged on the flights, in the back of cabs or on the regional trains en route to Siena went unrealized which was a great relief.
Last pic is of them lined up with another frameset that was self made by a guy from the US who I knew only from the interwebs prior to this event. He not only had paint and decals but his own branded jersey … I’m so far behind !!!
Thanks Bro … where would I be without a mate with a lathe who could knock one out for me in panic time before l’Eroica.
Btw, I explained to Irio Tommasini that I was still finishing a few things on the frame and I was as yet uncertain about what type of rear housing stop bridge to braze on. He likes it just the way it is and says it looks “elegante, simpatico” … so there. It stays as is.
I guess that makes my frame famous - touched by more than one great frame builder: Tommasini & Kumo !!!
Oh … I was thinking of you and did inquire if the contents of this bucket was possibly for sale. They thought I was completely mad, I know I am
