Laura's GOBA Adventure

You're wondering what is GOBA? GOBA stands for the The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. It is an annual one-week bicycle loop tour through Ohio, held each year at the end of June. GOBA features a different part of Ohio each year, travelling through peaceful countryside and stopping at interesting tourist destinations along the way. The week-long adventure offers fun, Ohio hospitality, and a challenging and rewarding vacation.

Myself, and two friends Scott and Brian from the Halton Outdoor Club decided to go for a one week cycling vacation. Being new to this type of trip I was thinking would riding 100kms per day for one week be challenging as I don't usually ride consecutive days too often. But I had no problem at with the riding and actually as the week went on I felt more charged up. Maybe camping under the stars as we chose to do made for a good night's sleep. Many other people chose to stay in motels, hotels or college dormitories.

We rode better than 700kms under the sunniest seven days we've ever experienced on a bike with all routes well-marked that we didn't have to use the maps provided making the riding that much more enjoyable. Most days the temperature were in the 80's and 90's and it was so hot it could blow out tires or fry eggs on the road. wearing sunscreen and keeping your bottles full was a must. People along the routes would be standing on their lawns with their garden hoses ready to cool off willing cyclists as they passed by. One day we even stopped to take a dip in a lady's pond on her invite to cool off from the scorching heat. That really helped us enjoy the rest of the ride to our next destination.

Most of the roads in this part of Ohio were flat as a pool table with some small rolling hills closer to the towns we rode towards. The entire area we travelled was once a swamp. Deep ditches drained off the water making farming possible. The most common crop we noticed was corn. The towns were far and few between and traffic was almost non-existent. Often the roads we travelled were no wider then the average paved driveway. And like a paved driveway most of the roads were smooth as silk.

Each day on the route there were at least two rest stations and a lunch break which supplied us with all the food and drinks to perform like athletes. They were manned by volunteers of non-profit organizations who used the profits to benefit the communities in various ways. We were always made to feel welcome and were often entertained with live music from local talent or high school theatre arts programs. Many of the rides were up before the crack of dawn and riding by 6am. We chose to get up with the sun and start are journey around 8am. Along the way we stopped in at local attractions including a working Gris mill, a small train museum and a fort. Plus riding through small towns was very pleasant with alltheir history, interesting homes and buildings.

On one of the two layover days we rode north to Lake Erie and enjoyed a dip in the lake's warm waters. We also enjoyed a great seafood lunch a one of the local haunts. Nothing better than a meal of fish and chips with a cold drink. There were also these pesky Mayfly insects found in ever area and they seemed to attach themselves to everything but are short-lived.

The other layover day was our chance for a century ride. Brian chose to attempt the 100 mile route while Scott and I chose more wisely the shorter 50 miles. Brian, however made a few wrong turns and thankfully ended up on the 70 mile route. Being the hottest day of the week with temperatures in the high 90's the organizers posted warning signs for diehard riders of the century route that if they had started by the crack of dawn there would be no support after the 70 mile route after a certain time. Only a handful of riders completed the ride and there were no problems.

Brian and Scott met people from previous cycling trips. These types of trips have quite the following. I have much to look forward to the years ahead when it comes to these cycling trips. The guys have informed me that next year we are going to Michigan state for a hilly ride trip. This winter it's back to the gym for more training.

Brian being experienced camper, hiker and an expert in canoeing and portaging he had me setting up my own tent and carrying my own canoe pack right from the start. By the end of the week it was a contest to who would be packed up first with the bags on the truck ready for their journey to the next rown and us back on the road again to our next destination.

There were may types of bikes from fixed gear, road, mountain and hybrids to quad tandems and all sorts of recumbant styles. People of all ages with children being pulled in trailers to young teenagers on road bikes to older adults on comfort bikes all riding the minimum 50 miles a day just maybe taking longer to get to the end. Afterall it's about the journey getting to the end not necessarily how fast you arrive.

Although about 2,500 riders started, not all finished. The first day sent some weaker riders packing for home. Then the sun persuaded more to pack it in on the second day. By the last day inexperienced riders in pace lines, gravel corners and various other hazards along the way had sent quite a few to the hospital for treatment from road burn to broken bones. Scott, Brian and I managed to avoid any mishaps along the way. Except for a few saddle sores and a bit of sun burn we easily handled the 50 to 60 miles a day rides.

GOBA was well-worth the taking and for anyone wanting to get away on a vacation with a different view than with a car or plane this may be just what your looking for.

International Cycle-1958

WWII handed Europe and it's citizens incredible disaster and destruction. In rebuilding Europeans and other war torn countries looked for prosperity and hope in new lands. The decade following the War saw many Italians immigrate to places through out the world. It was during this time that the Miele family had decided to search for new hope in another country; the hopes and dreams for a better life lay in Canada. The reasons for Canada were simple, my grandmother, was born in Canada in 1919 and immigrated back to Italy by 1925. The paperwork was clean and the econmy offered the family an opportunity.
Canada during this time welcomed immgriants to help build the Canadian economy and many resourceful people from Europe decided to make Canada their home. Canada encouraged entrepreneurship and the Miele family had the means to offer a new type of business and culture to Canadians. In 1958, after a few years of living and working in Southern Ontario, the Miele's decided to open a bicycle store at Keele and Wilson in North York, Toronto. The new store was called International Cycle and Sports.
The bicycle business at the time was made of practical offerings, heavy three speed english-styled or coaster-braked CCM cruisers. There very little understanding of the sophistication of the mulitspeed external geared drivetrains or frames designs to rocket downhill at high speed. There were no Campagnolo parts or Bianchi or Legnano brands. No one knew the Fausto Coppi or the Tour de France. The world of bicycles were made for light family leisure; a toy for families to spend their leisure time. Kids of the time enjoyed their first bicycle from Canadian Tire, an institution in bicycle retail.
Umberto Miele was an independant, proud man who was driven for business opportunities and my Nonna always supported him and the family in his business life.
There are no pictures of this first store but I was told a story by Klaus a German man two years ago, of my grandfather building wheels in a cluttered back room workshop, seated on a small wooden stool, crouched over spinning wheels with a cigarette in his mouth. He was described as a friendly but an intense man. Klaus at the time was a bicycle racer in his early teens and would do anything to earn his first racing bike, that he purchased from International Cycle.
International Cycle supported this new type of cycling that Europeans were excited to participate in. It was this spirit from new Canadians that began to build the cycling scene. To build a "culture" you need to particpation of people and the emotions to incorporate into daily life. It's a lifestyle chosen by people who find something special in their participation. Klaus described his passion for the sport, the respect he had for Nonno Miele, as well as the struggles he made to race for the store. FYI, Klaus in his eighties and still racing bikes and competes local as well as at International Masters events. His love for the sport will never wain and as he told me he will die on a racing bicycle.
International Cycle was born by Umberto Miele with the intention of getting back to his passion, but this land were not all Italians who supported cycling as integrated part of daily life and sport. This was a hard new land that challenged him in new ways, he and the family's determination were stressed and the finnacial investments needed time to nurture and grow.

Family Business in the Thirties

Umberto and Caterina Miele, my grand parents, had a family while the business flourished. My mom, Mirna, my aunt Diana, uncle Enzo and aunt Anna-Maria. Enterpreneurial circumstances are and were never easy but the children attended private schooling and never lacked comforts. The Miele family had success but at the sacrifice. As with many families in small business, and I know this from personal experience, will extend working hours into personal time. Throughout the years business relationships became personal ones and I am not contesting or proclaiming that this was wrong or disturbing to the family, I am stating that this is a consequence of being in business. As I reflect on this issue I think that it can be positive because it shaped each character and help inform a personal view of work/life balance.

With that said not everyone wanted to be in business and that is not only normal but healthy. Nonna Caterina told stories me of how they coped stress filled times and the emotional pitfalls on family. I call this "sweat equity" we all put in our time for long term reward, or at least we hope that our time is invested for the future. I have a young family of my own and I now appreciate this concept.

The thirties had brought many challenges the Miele family, to Italians, as with most of the world. The economic problems of the Great Depression, as well as political growth of Communism in Italy and Europe along with many other social and political unrest had witnessed a rise in strong authoritarian rule. Fascism demanded resolution between Church and State and determined to control captialism and industry through the State. These political ideas were strongly and violently nationalistic, opposed to liberal and democractic ideas, strongly anti-Semitic and racist, elitist and authoritarian. Heavy handed political, social and economic control came as a consequence to the turmoil within Italy at the time. Under times of great stress a consequence can be an appeal to the strength of law and order.

During the 30's and the lead up to WWII, Mussolini's Fascists took up the business of sport as the rallying cry for national propaganda. Victory, under Fascist control became a political message of strength and superiority. The Fascists gave great respect to cycling, showcasing and romanticizing the country and exhalting the strength of Italian athletes. The cyclists of this generaion were Ottavio Bottecchia grand winner for the Tour de France, Alfredo Binda winner of 5 Giro d'Italia, his predecessor Gino Bartali and the "il campionissimo" Fausto Coppi. Government invested in cycling to create sporting legends reasonant throughout cycling history.

Nonno Umberto had dreamed of creating a bicycle that represented his family name and involved his cycling knowledge and hertiage to professional cycling epic battles . His dream was to create a bike worthy of a Giro champion. In those days the mythic brands were Legnano and Bianchi. But I specificlally remember the Legnano name and that business model was one that he aspired to build. It no surpise after I read about the importance of the Legnano bicycle to the sport of cycling. It may not be a brand spoken about today but it's very important brand to Italian cycling.

Legnano was the Italian brand that steered many road champions to victory. It symbolized Italian pride. In 1924 the Legnano brand was popularized by the impressive cycling superstar Alfredo Binda. During the mid 1930s, Legnano's team, starring Alberto Binda but captained by Eberardo Pavesi, collected six world titles and won five Giro d'Italia, two Tours de France, four Tours of Lombardy, and numerous less famous races. To make matters more interesting (and no doubt profitable), the racing world promoted an emerging rivalry between the Legnano and Bianchi teams.

By the late Thirties and with Europe plunging into a war partly initiated by Germany's refinements of Mussolini's fascism, Legnano adds a pair of certified cycling all-stars to its team: Gino Bartali in 1936, followed by Fausto Coppi in 1939. This was the time that Nonno Umberto was in contact with the cycling elite and part of the racing culture in Southern Italy.
These are important times for the Miele family, it had planted the seeds for a future in cycling during a time of immense destructive change. No one in the family had the idea that everthing would be lost in a short period of time.

Baby We've Come a Long Way

“Bicycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by the wheel. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self reliance.”….Susan B. Anthony

Biography of Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was born February 15, 1820 in Adams Massachusetts. She was brought up in a Quaker family with long activist traditions. Early in her life she developed a sense of justice and moral zeal.

After teaching for fifteen years, she became active in temperance. Because she was a woman, she was not allowed to speak at temperance rallies. This experience, and her acquaintance with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, led her to join the women's rights movement in 1852. After that she after she dedicated her life to woman suffrage.

Ignoring opposition and abuse, Anthony traveled, lectured and canvassed across the nation for the vote. She also campaigned for the abolition of slavery, women's rights to their own property and earnings, and women's labor organizations. In 1900, Anthony persuaded the University of Rochester to admit women.

Anthony, who never married, was aggressive and compassionate by nature. She had a keen mind and a great ability to inspire. She remained active until her death on March 13, 1906.

ABOLITIONIST

After they moved to Rochester in 1845 members of the Anthony family were active in the anti-slavery movement. Anti-slavery Quakers met at their farm almost every Sunday, where they were sometimes joined by Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Anthony's brothers Daniel and Merritt were anti-slavery activists in Kansas.

In 1856 Anthony became an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society, arranging meetings, making speeches, putting up posters, and distributing leaflets. She encountered hostile mobs, armed threats, and things thrown at her. She was hung in effigy, and in Syracuse her image was dragged through the streets.

EDUCATIONAL REFORMER

In 1846, at age 26, Susan B. Anthony took the position of head of the girls' department at Canajoharie Academy, her first paid position. She taught there for two years, earning $110 a year.

In 1853 at the state teachers' convention Anthony called for women to be admitted to the professions and for better pay for women teachers. She also asked for women to have a voice at the convention and to assume committee positions.

In 1859 Anthony spoke before the state teachers' convention at Troy, N.Y. and at the Massachusetts teachers' convention, arguing for coeducation and claiming there were no differences between the minds of men and women.

Anthony called for equal educational opportunities for all regardless of race, and for all schools, colleges, and universities to open their doors to women and ex-slaves. She also campaigned for the right of children of ex-slaves to attend public schools.

In the 1890s Anthony served on the board of trustees of Rochester's State Industrial School, campaigning for coeducation and equal treatment of boys and girls.

In the 1890s Anthony raised $50,000 in pledges to ensure the admittance of women to the University of Rochester. In a last-minute effort to meet the deadline she put up the cash value of her life insurance policy. The University was forced to make good its promise and women were admitted for the first time in 1900.

LABOR ACTIVIST

Susan B. Anthony's paper The Revolution, first published in 1868, advocated an eight- hour day and equal pay for equal work. It promoted a policy of purchasing American- made goods and encouraging immigration to rebuild the South and settle the entire country. Publishing The Revolution in New York brought her in contact with women in the printing trades.

In 1868 Anthony encouraged working women from the printing and sewing trades in New York, who were excluded from men's trade unions, to form Workingwomen's Associations. As a delegate to the National Labor Congress in 1868 Anthony persuaded the committee on female labor to call for votes for women and equal pay for equal work, although the men at the conference deleted the reference to the vote.

In 1870 Anthony formed and was elected president of the Workingwomen's Central Association. The Association drew up reports on working conditions and provided educational opportunities for working women. Anthony encouraged a cooperative workshop founded by the Sewing Machine Operators Union and boosted the newly-formed women typesetters' union in The Revolution. Anthony tried to establish trade schools for women printers. When printers in New

York went on strike she urged employers to hire women instead, believing this would show how they could do the job as well as men, and therefore deserved equal pay. At the 1869 National Labor Union Congress the men's Typographical Union accused her of strike- breaking and running a non-union shop at The Revolution, and called her an enemy of labor.

In the 1890s, while president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Anthony emphasized the importance of gaining the support of organized labor. She encouraged Florence Kelley and Jane Addams in their work in Chicago, and Gail Laughlin in her goal to seek protection for working women through trade unions.

SUFFRAGIST

Susan B. Anthony was convinced by her work for temperance that women needed the vote if they were to influence public affairs. She was introduced by Amelia Bloomer to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leaders of the women's rights movement, in 1851 and attended her first women's rights convention in Syracuse in 1852.

Anthony and Stanton believed the Republicans would reward women for their work in building support for the Thirteenth Amendment by giving them the vote. They were bitterly disappointed when this did not happen.

In 1866 Anthony and Stanton founded the American Equal Rights Association and in 1868 they started publishing the newspaper The Revolution in Rochester, with the masthead "Men their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less," and the aim of establishing "justice for all."

In 1869 the suffrage movement split, with Anthony and Stanton's National Association continuing to campaign for a constitutional amendment, and the American Woman Suffrage Association adopting a strategy of getting the vote for women on a state-by-state basis. Wyoming became the first territory to give women the vote in 1869.

In the 1870s Anthony campaigned vigorously for women's suffrage on speaking tours in the West. Anthony, three of her sisters, and other women were arrested in Rochester in 1872 for voting. Anthony refused to pay her streetcar fare to the police station because she was "traveling under protest at the government's expense." She was arraigned with other women and election inspectors in Rochester Common Council chambers. She refused to pay bail and applied for habeas corpus, but her lawyer paid the bail, keeping the case from the Supreme Court. She was indicted in Albany, and the Rochester District Attorney asked for a change of venue because a jury might be prejudiced in her favor. At her trial in Canandaigua in 1873 the judge instructed the jury to find her guilty without discussion. He fined her $100 and made her pay courtroom fees, but did not imprison her when she refused to pay, therefore denying her the chance to appeal.

In 1877 she gathered petitions from 26 states with 10,000 signatures, but Congress laughed at them. She appeared before every congress from 1869 to 1906 to ask for passage of a suffrage amendment. Between 1881 and 1885 Anthony, Stanton and Matilda Joslin Gage collaborated on and published the History of Woman Suffrage. The last volume, edited by Anthony and Ida Husted Harper, was published in 1902.

In 1887 the two women's suffrage organizations merged as the National American Woman Suffrage Association with Stanton as president and Anthony as vice-president. Anthony became president in 1892 when Stanton retired. Anthony campaigned in the West in the 1890s to make sure that territories where women had the vote were not blocked from admission to the Union. She attended the International Council of Women at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

In 1900, aged 80, Anthony retired as President of NAWSA. In 1904 Anthony presided over the International Council of Women in Berlin and became honorary president of Carrie Chapman Catt's International Woman Suffrage Alliance.

Susan B. Anthony died in 1906 at her home on Madison Street in Rochester. All American adult women finally got the vote with the Nineteenth Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, in 1920.

Bicycles - "Instruments of the Devil"

Sabbath breaking and nonattendance in church increased markedly. At first ministers and priests called bicycles instruments of the devil, until succumbing to the joys of it themselves. The birth of the bicycle drew more than religious condemnation. As shameless women leaped into the saddle, doctors warned against "bicycle walk" and kyphosis bicyclistarism.

Woman in Bicycle Costume

Advertisement for Manufacturer Columbia Bicycles, about 1895

Eddy Merckx-The Cannibal

Eddy Merckx is simply the greatest rider of all time. Nicknamed “The Cannibal” for his insatiable appetite for victories, he won virtually every important race, most multiple times.
Born on June 17, 1945, Merckx rode for thirteen seasons, but thoroughly dominated cycling for a full ten years like no one else has before or since. Merckx won the Amateur World Championship Road Race in 1964 then turned pro in 1965.

His first major victory came in the 1966 Milan-San Remo at age 20. His last major victory was in that same race, ten years later. In his peak years, 1969 through 1975, Merckx won an astounding 35% of races entered.

He won the Tour de France five times, the Giro d'Italia five times and the Vuelta a Espana once for a total of eleven Grand Tour victories.

He won each of cycling’s five monuments (Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Tour of Lombardy) more than twice, for a record of nineteen victories in these races.

Of those races, he won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege a record five times and the Milan-San Remo a record seven times. His record of 525 victories, including 445 as a professional, is untouchable.
Between 1968 and 1974, he won a record eleven Grand Tours. He is the only rider to win all of the classifications (overall, mountains and points jerseys) in a single year at the Tour de France (1969) and the Giro d’Italia (1968).

He won the Tour de France - Giro d'Italia double in 1970, 1972, and 1974. He won the Giro d'Italia - Vuelta a Espana double in 1973.

He has 34 Tour de France stage wins (the record) including six stages in 1969 and 1972, and eight stages in 1970 and 1974.

In 1974, he won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the World Championship Road Race to achieve the “Triple Crown” in cycling. That feat has only been repeated one other time: by Stephen Roche in 1987.

Despite his successes, Merckx was not immune to injury and accident as this race in 1969 illustrates. Merckx was in a derny-paced exhibition race toward the end of the season. These are races in which cyclists each follow their own motorcycle pacer around an oval track.
A pacer and cyclist fell in front of Merckx forcing Merckx and his pacer to fall. Merckx’s pacer was killed instantly. Merckx was knocked unconscious and was bleeding heavily from a head wound.

Merckx suffered a concussion and required stitches to close the gaping wound. The worst lingering effect from the accident was that Merckx cracked one of his vertebrae and twisted his pelvis. This made climbing painful and, despite his amazing victory record, may have limited his winning to some extent.
Merckx experienced other injuries, but was determined to carry on his winning ways. In the 1975 Tour de France on the climb up the Puy-de-Dome, a French spectator viciously punched Merckx in the stomach. A few days later, Merckx crashed and fractured his cheek bone, but still did not abandon the race. In the end, he lost the Tour to Bernard Thevenet: but by under three minutes.

Merckx’s demanding schedule took its toll on him. He won his last Grand Tour in 1974 at the age of 29 and his last major classic in the spring of 1976, at the age of 30. He retired two years later on May 17, 1978, at the age of 32.

Text courtesy of: Cycling Hall of Fame

Photo coutesy of: Museo del Ciclismo

   

Umberto and Caterina Miele-The Beginnings

I was fortunate in my youth to have a fantastic relationship with my grandmother, Nonna Caterina. We spent many hours together through out my childhood and into my adulthood. This relationship introduced me to my heritage and allowed me to understand my family and my fanatiscism for the two-wheeled culture. I am convinced that it's in my DNA because of my obsession for everything fast, on the edge and without a motor. Who needs a motor when you have pistons for legs?
I have been posting cultural icons, athletes as heroes, and epic individuals in their adventures to endure. I think that if we are going to discuss cycling culture then you need to know some legends. Keep track over time as I populate the blog with stories of the legends of cycling.
My cycling story starts well before I was born. Let me take you back to 1920's Italy. My grandfather, Nonno Miele, was a young guy determined to make something of himself. His claim to independence would be through one of his greatest passions - racing . Umberto Miele was his name and at the ripe young age of 15 he was racing bicycles in his hometown of Monte Cassino, the region of Lazio, Italy. For easy geography that’s located about 80kms south of Rome. He raced bikes to victories in local races but his calling wasn't the bicycle racing of our cycling heroes. It was a growing commitment to bring together his passion for business, personal independence and the greatest sport on earth.
He opened a bicycle store at the age of fifteen. They must have been smarter back then because at fifteen I could barely tie my own shoes. That store began it all you could say , it has set the course for our family ever since. Both he and his brother, raced bicycles and then motorcycles and worked furiously to create a culture of excellence. The store survived the rise of Fascism, and through the Depression to the Second World War. He began a family and grew his store into multiple businesses that attracted the finest bicycle teams pre WWII.
I remember my grandmother telling me the story of the Bianchi racing team coming through the town to dinner at their restaurant. This was no ordinary bunch of riders, these were the pros, the great Gino Bartali and the "Campionissimo" Fausto Coppi, was over to have dinner and of course only the finest for these boys. “Un bello piatto di pasta e' fagiolli”; “A nice plate of pasta and beans". A hearty peasant meal made especially for the kings of the road. Nonna was the best cook ever, her meals were always enhanced by her great story telling. She was the collector of proverbs and she used them at will, which led to great discussions.
Nonno Miele was a determined businessman with all the pragmaticism of a farmer a pound of ambition to do great things and enough passion to always be involved when it counted. I have always admired the stubborn man who followed his dreams and spared nothing to achieve his goals. Like the fighting domestique who battles for a career of doing a job well done, not for fame, but for pride with the sole ambition of becoming greater than his dreams.

First Five-Time Winner of the Tour de France

Jacques Anquetil was born on January 8, 1934. He died on November 18, 1987.
Anquetil was the pre-eminent stage race and time trial rider of his day, and was the first to win five victories in the Tour de France.
Anquetil was also the first rider to win all three Grand Tours (Tour de France five times, Giro d’Italia twice, Vuelta a Espana once). His total of eight Grand Tour victories is third behind Eddy Merckx (11) and Bernard Hinault (10).
Anquetil was also 3rd in the Tour de France once, 2nd in the Giro d'Italia twice, and 3rd in the Giro d'Italia twice.
Anquetil won the Tour de France - Vuelta a Espana double in 1963 (the first rider to do so) and the Tour de France - Giro d'Italia double (the second rider after Fausto Coppi to do so) in 1964.
Anquetil won one of the cycling’s monuments, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He also won the Ghent-Wevelgem, and finished second and fifth in the World Championships Road Race.

In addition to the CyclingHallofFame.com designated races, Anquetil won the most prestigious time trial of the year, the Grand Prix des Nations, a record nine times, the first one in 1953 at age 19, and his last in 1966 at age 32. Anquetil also won the Paris-Nice stage race five times.
In all, Anquetil won an impressive 200 road races during his career.
Anquetil claimed that his sole aim was to make money in cycling and he chose his targets carefully to maximize his value.
During the height of his career, the French public viewed him as an emotionless machine and often sided with his beaten rivals, such as Raymond Poulidor who was nicknamed "The Eternal Second”.
His popularity wasn’t what it should have been because the French public found him too distant. It was thought that most of his wins were the result of his time trialing expertise, not necessarily by grit and determination.
Anquetil was also a known partier and consumer of fine wines and fine foods, as the next story illustrates.
On the rest day in Andorra during the 1964 Tour de France, Anquetil feasted on a slab of roast lamb while the other riders were out for an easy ride and a day of rest.
The next day Anquetil was dropped on the first climb and was behind the leaders of the stage by over four minutes.
Only after drinking a champagne-filled water bottle did his stomach troubles subside and allow him to rejoin the leaders after a considerable chase.Later in the 1964 Tour, on a stage up the Puy de Dome, Anquetil and Poulidor had a showdown. Poulidor was normally a much better climber than Anquetil.
This being the last major climb in the Tour, with Anquetil holding roughly a minute advantage over Poulidor, Anquetil bluffed Poulidor and rode side by side with Anquetil matching the better climber, Poulidor, with each turn of the pedal.
Anquetil finally cracked and Poulidor beat Anquetil by roughly forty seconds. The only decisive stage left in the race was a time trial which Anquetil easily won and stretched his lead over Poulidor by 55 seconds.
Anquetil retired in 1969 at age 35, and died from stomach cancer in on November 18, 1987 at age 53.
Text Courtesy of: cyclinghalloffame.com

Jean Robic: The little giant

Very tall men always stand out in a crowd, but then so too do very small men who reach greatness.

French rider Jean Robic was such a man; barely five foot tall one would have expected he would have been more suited to a career as a jockey, rather than a world class cyclist.

His small stature and obvious physical strength made him a formidable climber. On the decents his light weight was a definite disadvantage and he made up for this by taking chances and pushing his speed to the limit

He crashed often and it was probably because of this he always wore a padded leather helmet. Only track riders wore helmets back in those days, so it was unusual to see a professional road rider use one as a matter of course. This earned him the nick name of "Leather Head."

Robic won the 1947 Tour de France. This was the first Tour after WWII and his win was no doubt a huge morale booster for the French people. If Jean Robic was an unusual rider his win of the 1947 tour was no less unusual; he did so by winning on the very last stage without ever wearing the Yellow Jersey throughout the race.

Robic was not even in the running until the 15th mountain stage (Luchon - Pau ) when he took off on his own to win by 10 minutes over the second placed rider.

Early on the last stage Robic sprinted up a short climb to take a prime; or so he thought. He was not aware that there was a small break-away group ahead of him, and had he known he never would have sprinted.

This was not unusual back in 1947, there was little or no communication between riders and team support, in fact team support was minimal in those days. A rider could be in the middle of the peloton, and not know that a break had occurred.


Robic was joined by two other riders and because they thought they were leading, worked together, and rode hard, but when a rider dropped back from the leading group they realized they were a chasing group and because of this probably rode even harder.

They never caught the leading group, but because they had ridden hard all day chasing the leaders they took 13 minutes out of the peloton that included Pierre Brambilla in the Yellow Jersey who had remained back in the peloton. Jean Robic had won the Tour with the shortest overall time; Brambilla was relegated to third place.


Throughout the rest of the 1940s and into the 1950s Jean Robic held his own among other great riders of that time like Coppi, Kubler, Bobet, etc. In 1950 Robic won the first World Cyclo-cross Championship. (Left.)

He was one of my heroes when I started riding in the early 1950s. One of the most photographed riders of that era, I remember seeing so many close up shots of Robic, his face showing all the extreme pain and agony of the sport.

Other shots of him bleeding profusely from cuts to his face, elbows and knees after falling. He was depicted in cartoons riding heavily bandaged and with his arm in a sling.

I was a little surprised to find very few photos on the Internet, even on French sites. I am grateful to The Wool Jersey for the few great pictures I did find

The picture to the right shows Robic dealing with a flat tire in the 1948 Tour. As I said earlier team support was minimal and all riders carried a spare tubular, usually around their shoulders.

In the picture Robic has changed the tire, the punctured tubular lies in the road under his feet, as he struggles to replace the chain. Note the pump carried on his down tube, also he does not have quick release wheels but rather wing nuts on solid axels.

Also, take a look at his tiny bicycle frame. Judging by the way the top and down tubes merge together at the head tube, this frame is about 48 cm. and still his saddle is low by comparison.



Another photo from the 1950s portraying his tiny stature is the one above with Swiss rider Hugo Koblet (Left.) and Robic (Center.) as they pose with World Middleweight Boxing Champ, Sugar Ray Robinson. (Right.)

Tragically Jean Robic died in a car crash in 1980; he was still at a relatively young age of 59.

A monument to this little giant stands on the Côte de Bonsecours, in France, and of course, it depicts him wearing his trademark leather helmet.



Update July 21, 07: (Picture left.)
From the 1953 Tour de France. Stage winner and Maillot Jaune on Stage 11. Robic riding for a regonal team, was viciously attacked by a jealous French National Team on Stage 12, and a crash victim on Stage 13.
Robic crashed heavily while descending the Col du Fauredon, hitting his head and suffering a concussion. He was unable to start and abandoned the race the next day.


Picture from The Wool Jersey. My thanks to Aldo Ross for all the WJ pictures.

Fiorenzo Magni

Fiorenzo Magni was born on December 7, 1920.
Magni was long known as the Third Man of Italian Cycling behind Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.
The Italian rider won the Giro d’Italia three times.
Magni won the 1948 Giro d'Italia in front of Italians Ezio Cecchi and Giordano Cottur.
Magni also won the 1951 Giro d'Italia in front of Rik Van Steenbergen of Belgium and Ferdi Kubler of Switzerland.
In addition, Magni won the 1955 Giro d'Italia in front of Italians Fausto Coppi and Gastone Nencini.
Magni was also 2nd in 1952 Giro d'Italia behind Fausto Coppi.
Magni was also 2nd in the 1956 Giro d'Italia behind Charly Gaul of Luxembourg.
In addition, Magni won the Points Jersey in the 1955 Vuelta a Espana.
Magni was 2nd in the 1951 World Championship Road Race behind Ferdi Kubler of Switzerland.
Magni was also 4th in 1947 World Championship Road Race behind Theo Middelkamp of Holland, Albert Sercu of Belgium, and Jef Jansen of Holland.
In addition, Magni was 4th in 1952 World Championship Road Race behind Heinz Muller of Germany, Gottfried Weilemann of Switzerland, and Ludwig Hormann of Germany.
Magni won the Tour of Flanders Classic three times in a row, in 1949, 1950, and 1951.
Magni shares the record of three victories with Belgians Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman and Johan Museeuw.
Magni was also 3rd in the 1950 Paris-Roubaix Classic behind Fausto Coppi of Italy and Maurice Diot of France.

Magni might have won the Tour de France in 1950. He had just taken over the yellow jersey when an angry group of spectators accused Bartali of getting physical with Jean Robic, the 1947 winner from France, on one of the climbs. The crowd turned rather vicious and the next morning the whole Italian team withdrew from the race.
Magni was one tough individual. Note the picture of Magni from the 1956 Giro d'Italia where he held a rope in his teeth to help him get pedaling leverage because of a broken collarbone. He finished second overall in the race that year despite the broken collarbone.
One of Magni’s claims to fame was that he was the man who first introduced sponsorship from outside the cycling industry into trade teams. This rugged-looking man was sponsored by Nivea Cream.

Text courtesy of: www.cyclinghalloffame.com
Photos courtesy of: www.bikeraceinfo.com/oralhistory/magni.html