For mrs non-fixie's Méral this was more or less its maiden trip. The frame is light and stiff, the SunTour Vx's shifting action got high praise but the brake lever reach was a bit too much (but manageable after I'd loosened the cable tension somewhat). All in all she was happy, especially since I'd found her a proper Méral shirt at the jumble sale on Saturday:



Another participant showed up on this bike. A hero in my book:



The lunch stop was nice and busy:



The usual snacks: cheese, sausage, bread with olive oil and salt, bananas and sweets, complemented with water or - of course - chianti wine:



L'Eroica weekends invariably start and end with a glass of wine at the Jolly Caffe in Gaiole:



Here we ran into our French friend Jean-Philippe, who always seems to be at the same events we are, and - a nice surprise - Marianne Vos. She told us she'd done only 80k, since it was a vacation trip. JP doesn't waste an opportunity like this.



Marianne's vintage bike, a mid eighties Giant Peloton, that she's very happy with. She said she couldn't imagine riding the strade bianchi on her carbon bike.



All in all, we had a great time. And like the three times before, we said that this was the last time we would do this. So don't be surprised if we're back in '21 ...