Brussels Express

A short movie about bike messengers in Brussels

GIOS

A representative of the Gios family was present at the Retro Ronde 2014. He said the family wanted to continue to produce a limited number of high-end frames. Mass production is not on their roadmap. The family retained the right to the GIOS Torino brand, but only for Italy.
The web site is: www.giostorino.it
He also mentioned a new brand "Prodigiosa" they want to start: www.prodigiosa.it. The family will use this name to sell high-end bikes on the international market.
It seems a Taiwanese company has bought the name GIOS for the international market. They are manufacturing frames in Taiwan. This is the 'other' gios web site: www.gios.it

Custom Frames

I just read an article about why it makes more sense to buy a custom steel frame than a 'standard' carbon frame.

It is true that having your own custom frame has tremendous appeal, and the argument of supporting your local traditional frame makers appeals to me.

Here are a few 'local' framemakers.

Jaegher

Located in Ruiselede, Bruggestraat 120, in Flanders, Belgium.
Family tradition since 1934.
They sponsored the 2014 Retro Ronde. I had a good look at the frames on display, absolutely beautiful.

www.jaegher.com

Noble Cycles

Jeune artisan, super sympathique. Commence très petit, ne fait que du 'sur mesure'. Il est partenaire de la randonnée La Savoureuse en Condroz.

www.noblecycles.be

Classic Cycling Tours

Retro tours

These tours are only for classic bikes

• L'Etrusca Ciclostorica, Livorno - Cecina, Italy
  www.letruscaciclostorica.it
• Retro Ronde in Oudenaarde, Belgium
  100km, some sections on cobblestones and some challenging little hills.
• Eroica Britannia in Bakewell, UK
  160km, 2300m elevation. Beautifull scenery. Some sections on white roads, but mostly flat sections. The challenge are the numerous climbs, some very steep.
• Anjou Velo Vintage in Saumur, France
  Nice region, initial max distance was 100km, but they added a 150km in the 2014 edition. Very nice vintage customes. Most participants are there for the fun and do the short distances.
• La Moserissima, Trento, Italy
  www.discovertrento.it
• La Savoureuse in Ciney, Belgium.
  Very nice region, local organisation, very friendly and layed back atmosphere.
• La Carrareccia around the lake of Bolsena, Italy
  Beautiful scenery, 130km including 3 serious climbs, a lot of it on dirt roads. Mostly locals with some odd tourist and an adopted Briton.
• L'Eroica in Gaiole in Chianti, Italy.
  The original, best ever, classic tour. Tends to be overcrowded with tourists, few are doing the actual heroic distance of 205km. Scenery is superb, quite a challenge because of the elevation and the 'strade bianche'. I strongly advice to equip your classic bike with wider tires (at least 25mm) and mountain gears.

Scenic tours

These tours are not limited to classic bikes

• Jotunheimen Rundt in Norway. 430km, elevation 4609m
• Paris - Brest - Paris

Check this out: BOY

'BOY,' written by British Airways Great Britons winner Prasanna Puwanarajah is a moving short film starring actor Timothy Spall and was inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Gold-platted fixies

Came across a danish company that sells some very stylish (and exclusive/expensive) fixies, with gold-platted components: Aurumania.

How I got started...

First age: BMX

Raleigh Grifter 1978

When I was a kid I received a Raleigh Grifter for my 10th birthday. I loved that bike. It had fat tires and 3 gears, I spent many hours riding it in the forest, At some point I outgrew it, and never got a proper bicycle after that.

Second age: MTB

Around the year 2000, I bought my first brand new bicycle for around 500€. It was a Decathlon mountain bike, which I used to cycle around Isola d'Elba, Italy. Very sturdy bike, my kids still use it.

Third age: Racing bikes

Around 2004 a friend of mine had me try his racing bike.  I enjoyed that gliding sensation so much while riding at high speed on smooth tarmac, that I decided I needed my own racing bike. I bought a cheap second hand bike (a refurbished Peugeot frame, with a mix of high-end Campa and Shimano components, and Bianchi stickers) which turned out to be very good.

Fourth age: refurbishing old bicycles

A few years later I found some bicycles parts on the metal scrap heap in my village. And then some complete bikes. And lots of spare parts. Some bicycle where just old and dirty, but otherwise in working order. Others had a broken or bent frame, but valuable components.  That got me started... I started to rebuild bikes using spare parts salvaged from the scrap, and some new parts (tires, cables).

When I talked about my new hobby to my friends, some gave me their old bikes. I started exchanging them for other things.

Fifth age: classic rides and vintage bicycle collection

In 2012 my wife and I went on our first classic bicycle tour, in Saumur, France: the Anjou Velo Vintage. This turned out to be a very enjoyable experience, a great combination of sightseeing, socializing and sporting. So in 2013 we did more classic tours:

• Retro Ronde in Oudenaarde, Belgium,
• Anjou Velo Vintage in Saumur, France,
• La Savoureuse in Ciney, Belgium,
• La Carareccia in Bolsena, Italy,
• L'Eroica in Gaiole in Chianti, Italy,

Now I regularly buy second hand bicycles, classic or modern, fix them up a bit and ride them. In this blog I want to share my bicycle collection, and other subjects related to cycling:

• custom frame makers
• technical tips
• classic racers and races
• fixies
• ...