This post is very much a follow-up to my post about Eroica California 2019 so if you haven’t read that older post you might want to do so. Towards the end of that post, I said “As I think about it, whether I go back next year or not depends on Roger and Janet and David and Sarah. If they go, I go. The best part of the event was hanging out with them.” They decided to go back, so as the 2020 running of Eroica California approached, I signed up. And then COVID struck. Eroica was postponed from April to September, and then as the pandemic continued, it had to be postponed again until April of 2021 and then again until April of 2022. Roger and Janet and David and Sarah still wanted to go, so I went as well.
Just like in 2019, the two events in which I participated were the Concours d’Elegance on Saturday, April 30, where I again showed my 1963* Bianchi Specialissima, and the 35 mile long Pedras Blancas ride on Sunday, May 1. As was the case in 2019, none of my friends participated in the Concours and Roger and David rode the much more difficult 73 mile Santa Lucia route. However, this year Janet and Sarah joined me on the Pedras Blancas ride. The two rides left at the same time and the photo at the top of the post is the five of us ready to go.
I had a whole bunch of Lessons Learned from 2019 that I planned to use to make my 2020 (2022) experience better. Quoting from that older post:
- “I don't think I should use my Specialissima as both a display bike and a riding bike.” What other option did I have? Well, between 2019 and 2020 my 1967 Hetchins became rideable while remaining Eroica Legal. At first riding it wasn’t an option because my son planned to ride the Hetchins but even when he dropped out, the logistics of taking and managing two bicycles seemed daunting. In retrospect, I think my concern on that point was well justified, I had enough trouble taking care of my Bianchi without worrying about another bike. So, once again, I was forced to ride the Bianchi with all its limitations. Again, because I opted for the short (35 mile) ride, those limitations did not prevent me from completing the ride.
- “Either I have to find another bike for the ride, or give up on the Concours.” Just as in 2019, my beloved Bianchi won no prizes at the Concours in 2022. This is despite the best efforts ofGebhard at my LBS to make it ready, correcting as many of the problems the judges had with it in 2019 as possible. Unfortunately, there are two fundamental problems with my Bianchi that Gebhard could not fix. First, I have used and maintained this bike. When parts broke or wore out (which they do when you use a bike) I replaced them. Insofar as possible I replaced them with the same item that had originally been on the bike. As just one example, when the original Brooks B17 saddle fell apart in 2008, I replaced it with an identical Brooks B17 saddle. (The design of the Brooks B17 has not changed since it was first released in 1898.) The judges noted, however, that the saddle, despite now being 14 years old, is much newer than the bike, and that was a strike against it. Second, Bianchi Specialissimas from the 1960s are fairly common, it is not a particularly unusual or interesting bike. Nothing can fix these deficiencies. For these reasons I have decided that 2022 will be the last year I will show this bike. That said, now that I am free to drastically modify it to make it more rideable, I am finding I don’t want to. Partly it is because the Hetchins is available to fulfill my desire for a classic yet comfortable bike. So, although I plan to stop using my Bianchi as a show bicycle and start using it as a bicycle to ride, I don’t anticipate it changing much. Rather, I plan to live with all the problems I experienced in 2019 and 2022, at least for now.
- “Whatever bike I choose for the ride, and whatever clothing I select, should be ready weeks in advance so that I have plenty of time to test them and I don't run into problems like I had with the shoes this year.” Because I wanted to keep the Bianchi clean for the Concours, I could not do that. There were some things I managed to test, my shoes for example, and there are some things I probably could have tested, should have tested, and just didn’t, my handlebar bag for example, but the big thing I couldn’t test was the bike itself. Fortunately, it worked flawlessly. Thank you, Gebhard!
- “I was lucky with my sew-ups, they survived for 35 miles despite being in rather rough shape, but I would not want to count on that again, certainly not if I opted for a longer ride. So whatever bike I ride should have clincher tires so I can easily fix any flats along the way.” Gebhard put new sewups on the Bianchi. These are not as easy to change in the case of a flat as are clinchers, but being new, they were less likely to fail.
- “[D]espite the fact that the gears on the Bianchi worked fine for the short ride I did, I definitely would want lower gears before attempting a more challenging ride.” Since I did not choose to do a more challenging ride, it was not necessary to lower the gears (although it would have been nice.)
- “One argument in favor of purchasing [a Peugeot PX10 bike that was offered for sale in 2019] at this year's event was that it [could be made into] a comfortable but Eroica-legal riding bike and I am still wondering if I should have grabbed it for that reason alone. But, ‘A man's got to know his limitations’. Frankly, I have way too many irons in the fire these days, I don't need another project bike. And who knows? Maybe one of those other irons will pan out.” The Hetchins was one of those irons and it has most definitely panned out. If I want a more practical Eroica bike, the Hetchins is the logical choice.
The ride started at 8 am at which time the temperature was 47 degrees, at least according to Google. I felt like I had not brought enough warm clothes for 47 degrees so wore everything I had; a helmet with a Bianchi cycling cap underneath, a windbreaker over my Bianchi Jersey over my Icebreaker wool underlayer, wool cycling shorts, and my 1960s cycling shoes (without socks.) In fact, the day felt warmer than the numbers so I ended up removing the windbreaker before starting and that turned out to be perfect for the ride. Both my Bianchi cap and my Bianchi jersey were visible, putting me into the spirit of the event.
Unfortunately, there was confusion about the route. There were two maps available on the website, one for 2019 and one for 2020. The 2020 route was similar to the 2019 route with two changes. First, the 2019 route had left Highway 1 in spots on the way back to both get us closer to the ocean and to add a few miles. In 2019, most riders ignored this, continuing back on Highway 1 the way they came. Perhaps as a reaction, the 2020 route followed the lead of the 2019 riders, making up the missing miles by continuing past the rest stop at the lighthouse before stopping on the way back. Since 2022 was just the delayed version of 2020, I assumed the 2020 route was correct. Janet was less sure, introducing some uncertainty in our minds. In my post on the 2019 ride, I complained about the lack of signage along the route. At least back then there was a printed map in the registration packet so that, when in doubt, I could refer to the map. This year, not only was there no signage along the route, there was not even a map with the registration packet. Janet commented that even a poster at the start showing the route would have reduced our confusion. As a result of this confusion, when we got to the turnoff to the lighthouse and there were people there halting traffic and waving us in, we went along with that. On the way back, I noticed some riders taking the 2019 route, but again due to lack of certainty, we continued on Highway 1. I ended up making up the missing miles by riding to and from the start from my AirBnB which was about 2 miles away, but I found the uncertainty annoying.
Last year I complained about the food at the rest stop. I had no complaints this year, the food was delicious and plentiful. That said, Roger and Dave had complaints about the availability of food and especially water on their longer ride, supplies were not where they were most needed. Last year, I noted that a lot of my concerns were echoed in the Classic and Vintage forum of the Bike Forum website. There were fewer complaints this year and there were a large number of participants pushing hard on the message that this was a remarkable achievement in the face of the COVID delays and that despite everything, it was a wonderful experience. Though they were few in number and though the pushback from the voices of positive thinking were strong, the critics made their opinions heard, including some who speculated that Eroica California was dying. After the ride, we all went to Roger and Janet and Sarah and David’s AirBnB and talked about how we felt about the event. Roger has been going to this event for years. He is much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about old bikes than I am. And yet, he wondered if this would be his last Eroica California. After 2019, he had no such doubts.
Is this negativity towards Eroica California unfair? After reflecting on it, I feel like that is the wrong question. The question I am asking myself is what does Eroica California have that I want? Let me start with some positive reflections. I like remembering my long history of cycling. I love that the bike that I was riding and showing was the same bike I raced on during the 1970 season and the same bike I rode from Boston to Montreal in 1972. I love that the handlebar bag, which admittedly wasn't so practical,
was the same handlebar bag I used so often so long ago. This is all very personal but it is not just me who feels this way. Janet took her husband's Modesto Roadmen Jersey and retailored it to fit herself. That is the jersey she wore for Eroica California 2022. Nonetheless, if I add it all up and decide it is not enough, then it is hard for me to see why I should attend. Eroica California is not a charity, if there are systemic benefits to the community from its existence, I am not aware of them. “But if you don’t support it, then where will we go to celebrate classic bikes?” This question assumes that I feel a strong need to celebrate classic bikes and that Eroica California is effective, or at least potentially effective, in accomplishing that goal. Reasonable people might disagree as to the value of Eroica California and I would enthusiastically encourage those who see more value in it than I do to keep it going, in no way do I want to discourage them. I am just wondering if I am really part of that group. Towards the end of our time together, Roger's decision to not attend in 2023 began to waver. Ideas (which I will not leak) for fun ways to participate in future Eroicas began to occur to him. So in the end, I am right back where I was in 2019. If Roger goes, and better yet, Roger and Janet and Sarah and Dave go, I will probably go as well.
* I have previously described this as a 1960 Bianchi Specialissima. I purchased it used in 1970 so I don’t actually know the model year. That 1960 date was based on the bike’s serial number. If there is an official database of Bianchi serial numbers, I have not been able to find it, but there is some user-derived information available here and there online. Either because I am reading the information differently or because that information has changed, I am now thinking my Bianchi is more likely to be a 1963.
