The cross country rider

We met a few weeks ago at a rally of bicycle lovers organized by the BiciRoma association in Piazza San Cosimato. What made me curious was his clothing, above all the woollen waistcoat on his shirt. It had nothing to do with the hyper technical suits of those who usually go by bicycle, apart from the age. 

As soon as I got closer he said something to me, he asked if I was a cross country type. I quickly noticed two things: the desire to speak in the attempt to make a new convert and the extreme skill with which he described his alternative route to reach the shore of Ostia by bike. Of the possibility to lengthen the cycling track, which runs along the Tiber out to the sea, has been spoken about for quite a while. It seems that the project has even been financed, but he seemed a bit sceptic to tell the truth and while he waits, he doesn't give in.  

The characteristic, in fact, that unites the true bicyclists is the stubbornness.In my childhood memories there is the image of foreigners that, in summer, appeared from nowhere.  Toiling uphill on bikes loaded with knapsacks filled with the improbable. They were years when cycle tracks were not spoken of and in Italy, along the public roads, you could see above all racing bikes on which usually pedaled the slim and lean.