Granfondo Marco Pantani Weekend

Ciao a tutti,

After the last Italian trips we have decided to organise another trip to Italy for the weekend of the Granfondo Marco Pantani in September 2019.

You will be able to ride some of Marco’s Climbs.

You will be able to ride some of Marco’s Climbs.

We will be doing a long weekend leaving the Friday morning from London Heathrow & returning on Monday evening.

The trip include 4 days of cycling in Marco’s Land in the beautiful Region of Emilia Romagna, visiting some of the iconic places where he trained & lived, enjoying the sceneries,history & local cuisine.

Emilia Romagna is also land of many other professionals cyclists,champions of the past & present, hence the Giro D’Italia 2019 had 6 stages in the region including the start & the time trial up to San Marino.

The Granfondo is held the Sunday of the weekend of the 21st & 22nd of September, the day after the UCI 1.1 race which many Pro Tour Teams attend the event to pay respect to Marco.

Marco Pantani at the time of Carrera Team.

Marco Pantani at the time of Carrera Team.

We will be staying at 4* Hotel Lungomare in Cesenatico where will be enjoying the amazing facilities & the professional services provided by the hotel staff.

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A quick brief of the details are listed below & or you can click here for full details.

PROGRAM

Friday 20th of September 2019

  • Flight from London Heathrow to Bologna on BA 540

  • Private transfer to 4* Hotel Lungomare in Cesenatico

  • Check In Hotel

  • Buffet Lunch in hotel

  • 3 hours Ride with Guide

  • Return on the Hotel,relax in the wellbeing centre & yoga on the beach

  • Visit to the Marco Pantani Museum

  • Dinner in Cesenatico

Saturday 21th of September 2019

Sunday 22th of September 2019

  • Early Breakfast

  • Granfondo Pantani

  • Pasta Party

  • Return on the Hotel,relax in the wellbeing centre & yoga on the beach

  • Aperitif in Cesenatico 

  • Dinner in Cesenatico with Marco Pantani’s Mother

Monday 23th of September 2019

  • Breakfast

  • 3 hours Ride

  • Lunch back at the hotel

  • Dismount the bikes

  • Transfer to Bologna Airport

  • Flight Bologna to Heathrow BA545 18:50 arrive at 20:00

If you like to hear more infos please email us ride@saddledrunk.com .

Ciao for now from the SaddleDrunk Team.

SD

The Best Cities to Cycle in 2018,Part 1.

Ciao a tutti,

We will start a series of tips about cycling in Cities and telling about this is a special guest is Flora Dallas,she is a content writer for Fat Lama - the world’s fasted growing peer-to-peer rental platform.

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Copenhagen, Denmark

The prevalence of the cycling culture in Scandinavia make it hard to pick out a clear winner, however, if one had to choose, Copenhagen probably takes the biscuit as the ultimate city-cycle experience. You can explore one of the most picturesque harbours in Europe, via the 454 km of cycle tracks. In fact it is so popular that whole infrastructure in place to promote cycling - with bikes being given traffic light preference in rush hour, cycle only bridges and superhighways all in place. In fact cycling is so popular here that only 29% of households even own cars!  

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Cambridge, UK

If you are planning an easy city break ‘staycation’ then you could do a lot worse than exploring the ancient colleges, parks and, of course, punting in Cambridge. Though the UK is perhaps not as up to date as their Scandinavian counterparts when it comes to cycling; Cambridge is truly the exception, as its high proportion of students and flat landscape have cultivated a long history of cycling as the primary means of transport. Indeed, you will find it easy to navigate with 30% of the city being traffic free and over 80 miles of cycle tracks to play with. If you do not want the hassle of taking your bike on such a short trip, you can always borrow bikes locally and cheaply from people nearby on peer-to-peer rental sites like Fat Lama.

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Chicago, USA

If you are looking for a US city break with a cycling twist then look no further! Chicago with its famous Millenium Park and Navy Pier, make it an ideal candidate for cycle exploration. What’s more, it has the infrastructure to back it up, having undertaken some major cycle improvements in recent years through the Loop Link transport project. Currently, it has over 200 miles of cycle paths in place (set to rise to over 600 by 2020) plus the 18.5 mile lake front trail, making it the cycle-friendly major city in the US.

Until next time stay safe on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

Testing Oakley Sunglasses & Prizm Lenses

Nearly 6 weeks ago I was approached by Oakley Sunglasses through a SaddleDrunker (James M.).

They invited me to road test the Jawbreaker & Radar models, this was before the public launch.

I felt really pleased to have given the chance to try those before hitting the shops but due work commitment I could test them.

Uranium Collection Prizm Road Radar 

Uranium Collection Prizm Road Radar 

Finally I met with Geoffrey in Regent Parks to have as we say a "Meeting on Wheels". Geoffrey is the European Operation Co-ordinator for Oakley, where he explains to me everything about the 3 models he had with him for me to try.

Nothing to say that the first impact I had with the glasses were just fantastic.

Jawbreaker with Prizm Road

Jawbreaker with Prizm Road

We then set off with the Jawbreaker Prizm Road Lenses, the same as Mark Cavendish. The Frame of the Jawbreaker gives you an extra protection compare to glasses with the only top frame,which personally I prefer. Another point at first wearing  in my disadvantage was the width of my view was restricted on the side by a big piece of plastic where there is the big O.

After few minutes of riding, my visual perception drastically improved making the test ride more enjoyable. The lenses were really amazing bringing light to my ride and making a crystal clear view of my surroundings.

Jawbreaker with Prizm Trail

Jawbreaker with Prizm Trail

Next on the cards to try was my favourite model of sunglasses, the "Radar". The lenses were the same but the frame completely different. The Radar Frame is not bulky as the Jawbreaker, it is stylish & skinny. The combination of colour also sits very well to be seen during the hours of darkness. A good selling point is the reasonable price.

The last to try was the Jawbreaker with Prizm Trail Lenses built for Mountain Biking. Which I believe it is not still available in the market at the moment but it will be soon. 

The frame was as the Jawbreaker but those lenses made such a big difference. Those, I would say that they could be ideal for the British weather during cloudy & grey skies. They enhanced the lights and with sunset settling down my vision was perfect.I had the feeling I was riding in a sunny country during lunch time.

My test time was up, Geoffrey & I had to returned to our loved ones. It was nice meeting Geoffrey, and we (SaddleDrunkers) will be able to meet him again @ Oakley HQ to work together for a SD Special Edition Oakley Sunglasses.

More info to follow. Please get in touch if you like to visit Oakley HQ during our visit.

Thank You Oakley & Geoffrey & James.

Ride Safe, Share the Road.

SD.