Having returned from Mongolia, Leah and I did something at the other extreme of cycling this past week, Eroica Germania. A Eroica is part festival, part cycling event and a lot of fun. The Eroica Germania took place in the small village of Eltville, about 45mins north of Frankfurt, on the Rhine River and in the middle of the Rheingau wine region. A great place for a cycling festival.
What is a Eroica cycling event?
A Eroica cycling event is a mixture of a cycling event and a cycling festival. The first took place in the 1990s in the small Italian village of Gaiole-in-Chianti. Now there are Eroica cycling events and festivals all over the world. To take part in the race you need to ride a vintage bike. An Eroica ride’s other unique feature is that the often include long sections of unsurfaced roads. In Italy these are the strade blanche (literally white roads) and are a characteristic feature of the landscape of this part of Toscana. In other parts of the world these can be anything from gravel to forest to farm tracks. There are requirements for your bike and clothing to enter a Eroica:
Bicycle requirements:
Our old bikes. Mine is a 1987 Colnago Master and Leah’s is a early 1980’s Colnago Master
It must be from prior to 1987. The older the better!
Cables must be routed on the outside of the handlebars
It must have down tube shifters
No clip pedals, and flat or “rat-trap” style pedals
Be made of steel
Clothing requirements
Leather old style shoes
No cycling cleats
You must wear clothes from the era, preferably wool cycling top
Wool cycling bottoms
Helmets are optional, although we wear ours.
As you can see this ride is not about speed, but about enjoying the day out, and drinking wine and beer after the event, and sometimes during the ride as well. The feed stations are “well” stocked.
Eroica German is in it’s 3rd year and this year they offered 3 cycling routes, 41km, 77km and 130km, as well as a three day festival. We opted for the 77km option, as we were still recovering from Mongolia, and did not feel like a very long day out. The 77km still take us just under 4hrs on the old bikes.
The old bikes just move at a different pace, and that is the joy of riding them. The downtube shifters require practice to get to used them. There is no idea shifting, and you are always tweaking the shifting to get it perfect. You do not make a fast shift with downtube shifters, simply as you need to reach down to change. All at a different pace.
The gearing on the old bikes does not favour spinning. My best gearing is 42-25, so you do not spin up hills, rather grind up. I now understand why the old cyclists were big strong riders, as they raced 42-22 gearing and climbed mountains with this gearing. A 10% climb feels very steep, and 15% is almost unrideable, but that is the fun of the bikes.
The bikes are also heavy. The frames are made of steel, and the wheels are old school 32 spoke wheels, also making the bikes heavier. With this in mind, and the gearing, it can make for a long day out on the bike if there is too much climbing.
Leah enjoying the start of the Eroica Germania day out, in the vineyards near Eltville
The 77km loop this year had about 1,500m of climbing. The course left from the center of Eltville and ran parallel with the Rhine, but in the vineyards for some way, before heading into the hills for a testing first significant climb. It is not uncommon to see riders walking in an Eroica event, and today was not different, as the hills combined with the lack of gearing is just too much for some riders. Fortunately after the climb there was a good descent down to the Wisper river valley and a long false flat climb. This was a beautifully smooth and very gradual climb up towards our high point of the day. The road follows the river and twists and turns through the trees and shade, which was appreciated as it was hot day.
All good things must come to an end, and in this chase, the push up to the final feed station was significantly steeper and we were rewarded with views out over the river valley, as well as a German pipe band welcoming us. After a quick stop to fill water bottles and eat a couple of slices of cake, we continued climbing up the high point, before dropping back down towards the Rhine and back to Eltville and the start.
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2646405241
Eroica Germania was not an easy day out, as can be seen by the profile.
