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road.cc Italy Week 2014

road.cc ups sticks and heads to Riccione for the week
by Mat Brett
Mon, Oct 06, 2014 07:00
13

So, road.cc is in Italy for the week. Yep, we’re running the whole shebang from out here on the Adriatic coast courtesy of our hosts at the Belvedere Hotel, Riccione.

Now we know what you’re thinking: “You lot have just swanned off for a holiday in the sun.”

Holiday? Us? As if!

Italy has the cycling culture, the weather, the hills and mountains, the coffee, the ice cream… so we’re here for a week to take it all in and share it with you. Since you can’t be here with us, it’s the least we can do. No, really, you don’t need to thank us.

We’ve sorted out a whole bunch of bikes to tell you about while we’re here, all but one of them from Italian brands. These are they:

• Wilier Zero 9
• De Rosa King XS
• Colnago V1-R
• Bianchi Infinito CV Disc
• Raleigh Revenio Carbon 4 (think of it as the Mini in the Italian Job plus it has an Italian sounding name)

The Wilier, the De Rosa and the Colnago are all built up with components from Italy’s Campagnolo. Oh yeah, we’ve not just come up with a shoddy justification for going on holiday, we’ve come up with a well thought through justification for going on holiday.

So, you can expect ride reports from us on all of these bikes over the course of the week, plus some stuff on where we’ve ridden, an Italian focus in the news (the route for the 2015 Giro d’Italia will be announced on Monday, for example), and anything else Italian that comes our way, ice creams frothy coffees that sort of thing.

If it makes you feel any better, it’s not all fun and games for us out here. Oh no, hang on. It is.

Anyway, ciao for now.

Hotel Belvedere Riccione
Wilier
Travel
Riccione
Raleigh
Italy Week 2014
Italy
De Rosa
Colnago
Bianchi
Belvedere Bike Hotel
Mat Brett

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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13 comments

Avatar
vito | 9 years ago
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It's been great to read your blogs about your time in Riccione. I grew up in Rimini and started cycling there years ago so familiar with all the routes. Glad to see somebody else thinks it's a great place for cycling, thought I was just biased!

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Jkarbel | 9 years ago
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Have a wonderful time. I've just returned from a week there at the Hotel Dory. Go test the bikes up the Barbotto climb then tell us all how you went.

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Ducci | 9 years ago
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Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

Avatar
thesaladdays replied to Ducci | 9 years ago
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Ducci wrote:

Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

And take 3 arancini, one stuffed in each pocket, for every ride. Did you know arancini are made in that size and in batches of 3 specifically to fit in jersey pockets? It's true! 19

Avatar
notfastenough replied to thesaladdays | 9 years ago
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thesaladdays wrote:
Ducci wrote:

Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

And take 3 arancini, one stuffed in each pocket, for every ride. Did you know arancini are made in that size and in batches of 3 specifically to fit in jersey pockets? It's true! 19

Really?!

Avatar
thesaladdays replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
0 likes
notfastenough wrote:
thesaladdays wrote:
Ducci wrote:

Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

And take 3 arancini, one stuffed in each pocket, for every ride. Did you know arancini are made in that size and in batches of 3 specifically to fit in jersey pockets? It's true! 19

Really?!

No, not really.

Still might not be a bad idea though, I'm sure the rice and filling would keep the legs turning for a quite a while, especially if you prefer savoury over sweet foods, though I'd put them in a plastic bag first, they can be a bit oily.

Avatar
Ducci replied to thesaladdays | 9 years ago
0 likes
thesaladdays wrote:
notfastenough wrote:
thesaladdays wrote:
Ducci wrote:

Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

And take 3 arancini, one stuffed in each pocket, for every ride. Did you know arancini are made in that size and in batches of 3 specifically to fit in jersey pockets? It's true! 19

Really?!

No, not really.

Still might not be a bad idea though, I'm sure the rice and filling would keep the legs turning for a quite a while, especially if you prefer savoury over sweet foods, though I'd put them in a plastic bag first, they can be a bit oily.

That, and the fact they're Sicilian, Romagna mia!

Avatar
thesaladdays replied to Ducci | 9 years ago
0 likes
Ducci wrote:
thesaladdays wrote:
notfastenough wrote:
thesaladdays wrote:
Ducci wrote:

Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

And take 3 arancini, one stuffed in each pocket, for every ride. Did you know arancini are made in that size and in batches of 3 specifically to fit in jersey pockets? It's true! 19

Really?!

No, not really.

Still might not be a bad idea though, I'm sure the rice and filling would keep the legs turning for a quite a while, especially if you prefer savoury over sweet foods, though I'd put them in a plastic bag first, they can be a bit oily.

That, and the fact they're Sicilian, Romagna mia!

But quite ubiquitous throughout Italy, I found. Unlike the delicious grilled, stuffed intestines that I only recall seeing in Sicily that you could buy from sellers at the roadside. The name of those escapes me...

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David Arthur @d... replied to Ducci | 9 years ago
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Ducci wrote:

Be sure to stuff yourselves with piadina, it's the done thing.

We sure did last night, very very nice. Followed swiftly by dinner

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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So did no readers take you up on your offer then? If I was still single/childless I'd have been onto it pronto (not that I'm suggesting dating one of you lot, before you start! 4 ).

If just one person had joined you, I'm sure an extra review bike could have been found...

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twowheeltoys | 9 years ago
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After a hard month of looking at and reporting all things new and shiny at the trade shows, then taking off on your holiday do you think we are jealous at all? As Septembers missing rain attempts to fall from the sky all in one day you are missing out on being the first this winter with a comprehensive mudguard test. The words work and shy come to mind.
PS. if you find you do not think much of the Wilier Zero 9 I might be willing to offer it a home.

Avatar
Jonny_Trousers | 9 years ago
0 likes

Hang in there, guys! Sure, you're suffering now, but you'll be back home enjoying the cold, grey weather and the pothole strewn roads soon.

Avatar
RobD | 9 years ago
0 likes

Lucky Gits...

Enjoy

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