So, at the end of last week Roger and I spent a hectic three days visiting Milani and Pegoretti in Italy. Too much eating, too much drinking and too much driving (I think Italians must be the worst drivers in the world!).
The Milani workshop is in Gallarate, 50 or so km north of Milan. It’s where Milani orignally began and where the complete bikes are now built up and frames stored. Celeste Milani showed us round and we watched as Emilio (ex Italian Cyclo Cross champion, now in his sixties) built up bikes for customers. The evening saw us out on bikes (very nice Milani N107 full carbon) for a couple of hours on Celeste’s regular route - a lovely warm evening with the sun setting behind the Alps on the horizon.

Thursday we visited the frame factories where Milani’s are handbuilt. Framebuilding in Italy is struggling as an increasing number of brands take the cheap option of outsourcing production to China. This is something Celeste Milani has no interest in, preferring the higher quality and customisation possibilities available in Italy. All Milani frames, whether carbon, aluminium or steel can be fully custom built. The carbon and aluminium frames (carbon road and cyclocross, alloy track and cyclocross) are built in a factory in Rosa where a team of three guys handcraft the frames from raw tubes. The steel frames are built in Padova by artisans with a huge amount of building experience, real engineers. Milani currently produce just two steel frames which are both lugged, we spoke to Celeste about the possibility of producing a tig-welded steel frame - watch this space!

And so on to see Dario Pegoretti in his workshop in Caldonazzo, a small town nestling amongst the mountains in the Dolomites. It was great to see Dario looking well and in good spirit after his health problems of the last couple of years. He and his co-workers Pietro and Daniel are busy working away on a long backorder list which is a testament to the Pegoretti believe in the continuing strength of steel as a frame material and the importance of comfort and efficient power transfer in a frame.

(click here for more pictures)

So the spring weather continued and saturday February 28th found me out on my mountain bike for a birthday ride. A week of good weather had left the local trails dry and fast and meant the bike could be put away without the usual half hour cleaning session which often puts me off getting the MTB out in the first place. I have to say I really enjoy my mountian bike rides - a chance to hone riding skills, check out quiet corners and in three hours give oneself a great workout, the leg strength taining on a mountain bike is second to none.
Then into week 10 of Base training and the legs are beginning to feel the effects after six weeks without a break. The idea of base training is to get the body ready for the tougher training and racing ahead and for me this winter has consisted of regular two hour commuting rides, weekend road or MTB rides and a couple of strength training sessions a week. I’m into my final week of it before an easier week and then a few weeks of faster riding with intervals thrown in before the racing season proper kicks in. Once racing starts in earnest things get simpler and more fun - race, recover, race, recover…..
The birthday reminded me of the increasing years and the inevitable slower recovery between workouts, so I found myself asking my wife for a pair of Skins to celebrate another year added! She did look at me slightly oddly but when I explained more fully the look turned more to one of bemused acceptance.Anyway what are Skins? Basically fancy looking, very close fitting and expensive tights which claim to aid circulation post exercise thus helping with removal of lactic acid from the legs and aiding recovery. The idea is that you put them on as soon after a workout as possible and wear them overnight. Having tried them a few times now I would say they certainly help, my legs have felt fresher than I would normally expect after some hard workouts.
Sunday saw me out with 300 fellow riders enjoying the sunny if windy conditions enjoyed on the South West Road Clubs Reliability ride, actually they now insist on calling it a Sportive but that’s just marketing. Reliability rides are traditional early season events designed to test the legs of the aspiring racing cyclist before the season proper begins. The idea is to complete the route in a set time and they inevitably end up in a good burn up as the finish approaches, often tougher than the races for which we are preparing. These days the lure of the bike reaches out beyond the mysterious world of the club cyclist and events such as this regularly sell out. A great ride in good company, hopefully a sign of the year to come.
Next week Roger and I are off on our annual Italian sojourn to visit Dario Pegoretti and, for the first time, Celeste Milani. What better way to spend a recovery week than talking bikes, eating Italian food and drinking good wine?