Douglas Burns completes the 135km Eroica Chianti

Maybe I could blame Tom Pidcock and Tadej Pogačar for their epic battle in the 2025 Strade Bianche for getting a 72-year-old with arthritic wrists and a dodgy knee to think it would be a good idea to sign up for this year’s Eroica, but in reality it’s probably just that I figured if I don’t do it soon it will probably never happen. The final deciding factor came when I was in Greece sailing with a neighbour and her partner on their yacht and finding out that he had a bike that would meet the criteria for entering the event. 

It only took seconds on seeing the 1989 KoM in Ruby Flame paintwork with gold lined lugs in excellent condition for me to become the proud owner of a Mercian (justified as an early Christmas present to myself). Apart from a couple of changes to meet the regulations (new downtube shifters and brake levers to replace the original shifters), new cables and a thorough going over and the bike rode like a dream. OK, so maybe it took a while to get used to - not having DI2 and disc brakes like my Specialized Roubaix - but once I had done a few miles on it I began to realise what a joy it was to ride, and it rolled as well as any of my other bikes (I know, I have too many, but don’t we all).

We stayed in San Sano, a small village that I had been lucky to book only a few kilometres from the town of Gaiole, where everything happens. It really was a lovely location and can recommend it to anyone planning on doing the Eroica in the future. Having assembled our bikes the next day we got ready to set off on a shakedown ride. Unfortunately the standing start on the 1 in 10 hill immediately outside our apartment was more than the chain on my bike could cope with and it parted company on the first turn of the crank. Luckily I had a chain tool with me and after some minor intervention we were at least able to get out for a very gentle ride, followed that afternoon by a trip into Gaiole to source a new chain. 

The following day, with new chain duly fitted, we did a longer ride in the morning before heading into Gaiole to complete the necessary signing on procedures and collect our various documents and the very generous rider gift pack, which includes a bottle of Chianti - to be consumed at the end of the big day and definitely not the evening before. The atmosphere in the event village was fantastic and an experience not to be missed.

The day started at 4.30 in order to get to the start line for the 6.00 departure with people riding the 135 route. Dark for the first hour and a cool 7 or 8 degrees, but the first climb of the day arrived soon enough and with the requisite woollen jersey and bib shorts on as participants are supposed to wear (although there was definitely a lot of lycra on show) it wouldn’t be long before being too hot was the major concern, as the temperature rose to 30 degrees for a much of the ride. The first uphill gravel stretch was encountered before sunrise and the tree lined route is lit with candles making for wonderful experience and helped put all thought of what was to come briefly out of ones mind. As the sun came up and the sky took on a rose pink glow the first kilometres were taken up with getting a feel for how the bike handled on the Tuscan gravel. At first cautious, but eventually settling into a rhythm on the rolling terrain, all the while trying to avoid getting in the way of the faster riders and avoiding the slower ones (yes, there were even some of the latter).

The white road sections were very dry and dusty with quite extensive areas of deep gravel or sand that could cause unpredictable handling or an abrupt deceleration and the occasional passing vehicle, including on a few occasions ambulances rescuing those unfortunate enough to have misjudged the terrain, threw up clouds of dust to fill the air and the lungs. Probably the most difficult aspect to deal with were those sections where the road had developed a washboard surface. Hitting these on a fast descent was distinctly hazardous, throwing one violently off course and also not great for my hands and wrists. 

I have to confess that at times I felt that maybe I had taken on more than I could cope with and yes, there were a number of occasions when I had to get off and walk up the climbs - but so did a whole lot of people much younger than me. But ultimately there was always the thought of the next feed stop to look forward to. These were in some fantastic locations - breakfast stop in the Piazza del Campo in Siena was memorable - and the quality and variety of food available was excellent. 

After almost exactly 13 hours and nearly 2,500 metres of climbing since leaving Gaiole we rode across the finish line to a town buzzing with cyclists and onlookers and an incredible party atmosphere. It really was an amazing feeling to have completed the challenge I had set myself all those months ago.