L'Eroica: Italy's Loveliest Bike Race

I came across Italy’s L’Eroica bike race last year in a Town & Country magazine. They wrote a beautiful article on the event likening it to a ‘joyride’ when compared to the Tour de France, and joyful it certainly is.

After 7 years of dating and 8 years of marriage to a cyclist, I’ll admit that the sport does hold a place in my heart. Although cycling left me broken hearted by its cheating and drug scandals, the L’Eroica goes a long way to restore my love of the sport.

This event was created in 1997 to preserve the tradition of Tuscany’s white roads, which are the historic unpaved routes through Tuscany, and to represent a sustainable (and I’ll add, romantic) lifestyle. It seeks the authentic roots of a beautiful sport so that participants can “experience the atmosphere of cycling in another era.” See the event website here.

The event offers four courses ranging from 38 to 209 km, which is about 24 to 134 miles.  The long route includes one night ride past the Brolio Castle in Siena that is lit by candles.  Now that’s the kind of sporting event that I can get into!  Cyclists fully commit – donning traditional wool jerseys and snacking on prosciutto sandwiches and red wine. Again, I’m liking this more and more.

To me, L’Eroica has a strong community-building spirit for everyone involved. Local artisans, innkeepers and storeowners are given a surge in business while tourists and locals alike come together to celebrate something they love.  A travel company now runs year-round trips that follow the L’Eroica permanent route, so anyone interested can experience the nostalgia of cycling’s ‘good ‘ol days.’ This year’s event wrapped up on Sunday, October 5th.

- CMD