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Tag Archives: Cycling
Paved Magazine Dolomites Cycling
With this clip of recently published work comes an announcement for an exciting new high end road biking publication for America – Paved Magazine. From the publishers of Powder and Bike, and with acclaimed photo editor Dave Reddick at the helm, Paved is going to provide roadies with some quality content much needed in print form. Look for Paved on the news stand, but not online… yet. Their site is in the works, for now it is old school magazine fondling for your tactile pleasure.
A few months back, Dave Reddick came to us seeking Italian Dolomites road biking images for the premier issue of Paved. Of course a high end magazine wants the best of the best to make a good first impression – the Dolomites are just that. We have all the photos to accompany the story, however you’ll have to find the print version to see the rest of our two page spreads – but the opening image, one of our favorites, is a photo Janine made during the 2009 Maratona dles Dolomites. She was shooting the race from a helicopter which touched down on the Passo Giau. Out she jumped and ran through the wide open meadows to a vantage point to really get an overview of how the terrain looks, a snaking road covered with cyclists beneath towering Dolomite buttresses.
Many more of our cycling images from the Dolomites can be seen on our Dolomites Photo Gallery
2009 L'Eroica Photos
Simply put, I love bikes.
The culture of cycling is a large reason I have chosen to live in Italy, for the roots run deep and rich.
This past weekend we headed south to Tuscany to photograph the lifestyle around the 2009 L’Eroica. An event celebrating the culture of bike racing and all things that we humans have done with the bicycle. Ironically, in addition to the event I was able to also enjoy the town hosting it, Gaiole in Chianti, where I spent 6 months living on a ranch in 1997. What a joy to be able to play with photography, where I fell in love with photography.
For additional L’Eroica information, visit our DolomiteSport site’s similar page
Posted in Cycling, Life in Italy, Photography, Travel
Also tagged Bike Culture, Europe, Italy, road biking, Tuscany
23 Comments
Tuscan Truths
The word Tuscany conjures up many images, ideas, perceptions and perhaps even flavors. For the American it signifies a quintessentially Italian landscape, food and wine. Ironically, it is the same for an Italian. It is all things that Italy is supposed to be, for Italian and foreigners alike. Brunello, Florence, Michelangelo, Chianti, Under the Tuscan Sun, etc, etc, etc…
I am lucky enough to have had a long association with it. Like the Dolomites, I went there during travels years ago, fell in love with the place, and promptly went right back to spend time living and working in the Chianti Region. There I picked olives, made olive oil, built a vineyard, lost the hard “C” in Italian (Che hosa/hoha hola, etc…) and learned to swear like a true Tuscan, “Maremma……….”
Last week we spontaneously decided to head south for warmer temps, Tuscany was just the spot. For Janine, days of running and lounging in the sun, drinking fine wines and eating good food pulled her. For me, as usual, the bike. Training camp time.
Our first stay was in Chianti as I had a strong desire to ride the roads of the area in which I lived 12 years ago. Little had changed in all this time and in no time at all I felt I had never left. Next up we headed to Pienza, a small village we knew nothing about but which came highly recommended. There, we discovered heaven. The Val d’Orcia is a UNESCO region comprising of the famous Tuscan towns Montalcino and Pienza. Both, perfect medieval villages that are exactly as one imagines a Tuscan medieval village should be.
But the hero of the area is the landscape one looks upon from the villages. Where one typically marvels at nature’s creation, in the Val d’Orcia it is man’s sculpting of the landscape that keeps one staring with a kind of sublime respect for what humans are capable of. Nature, and mans place within it, as art, the landscape as an art piece, and most certainly a masterpiece of simple elegance. Why I had never heard of this area I have no idea, and upon returning home to the north of Italy, discovering that Italian friends know little of it has me further baffled.
When I set out on my first ride from Pienza, I dropped out of the walled village’s gateway and entered the landscape we had spent the evening staring at. It was morning and the sun’s gentle rays were dampened by mist. Within minutes I had extraordinarily strong sensations from the feel of the air, the scenery, the sounds and especially the smells. One minute I was reminded of Alaska, the next the plains of India, then Iceland, Chile, Eastern Washington, northern California, one after another, memories from all these other beautiful places. I realized it was because in Tuscany the landscape takes the best from everything and with a wave of the Tuscan hand’s magic wand combines it all to make what see in the postcards.
If you are a cyclist it goes a step further, not only is it a perfect landscape to enjoy, but the roads are nearly void of cars with the silkiest, smoothest asphalt one can imagine. A 5 hour ride is not nearly enough to satisfy the curiosity of what is around every S-curve or hilltop.
Simply put, go to Tuscany.
2009 Maratona dles Dolomites : Registration opens soon
This is for all the cyclists following our DolomiteSport site.
The 2009 Edition of the Maratona dles Dolomites is set for 5 July, 2009
To quote the organiser’s of the Maratona:
“It is a question of energy. The energy that comes from the Dolomites and embraces us. The positive energy of the collaborators who “feel” the Maratona just as you feel it, pedalling up and down the Sella Pass. And what about the energy you have used when you were training for months on end? It wasn’t wasted energy, it is the transformation of energy into something more important. It’s having created something that we can all benefit from.”
Registration for the event opens 16 October – this is a critical date for maximizing the odds of acceptance to the event. For 2009 there will be 8,500 participants, but perhaps as many as 20,000 will apply. Registration for the first drawing is important, visit the Maratona Web Site for all the details.
In addition to the Maratona, the week prior to the event is the “Rider’s Week” with daily events, group rides, training rides, and parties. If you are coming for the Maratona, be here also for the entire week preceding the actual race – it is as good as the event itself.
28 June is the Passo Pordoi Time Trail – a grueling uphill course on arguably the Dolomite’s best pass for riding. I will be training hard for this time trial…
DolomiteSport has more information about the Maratona after I did it in 2007. It is undoubtedly one of the best experiences any cyclist can have – read about it at DolomiteSport.
A few days of fun in the Dolomites
WARNING : FUN PHOTOGRAPHY AHEAD – NOT PROFESSIONAL…
The content you are about to view is made from cellphones, point & shoots and with an eye, not for work, but for fun and memories. It is not a representation of Dan and Janine, PatitucciPhoto or its affiliates. If you view the following material with a critical eye, it is your own problem, not ours, we have been busy having fun.
Andreas and Janine getting ready to drop to the Scotoni Hut
Not a bad spot to stumble upon in the backcountry – the Scotoni Hut, outside San Cassiano
Janine – Pre
“Ciccione” on the Passo Sella
The content you are about to view is made from cellphones, point & shoots and with an eye, not for work, but for fun and memories. It is not a representation of Dan and Janine, PatitucciPhoto or its affiliates. If you view the following material with a critical eye, it is your own problem, not ours, we have been busy having fun.
After 6 solid of months of work, shooting more than we have ever shot, traveling, daily packing and unpacking of bags, settling into a new home, and building business number two – we have started noticing a slowing down of the energy. Typically this feeling comes in late October, pre Autumn break. So, with great delight, we have been taking some time to ourselves before the fall colors come and we go back to work.
Andreas and Janine getting ready to drop to the Scotoni HutOur friend Andreas Irsara invited us to enjoy one of his favorite trail runs, together the three of us hopped onto the Alta Via 1 via the Capanna Alpina and spent two hours winding our way amongst towers and massive walls. Andreas pointed out a 200 meter deep cave where hundreds of ancient bear skeletons were found, apparently the cave was a destination point for the bears to call it quits. Unfortunately, this variey of bear as a whole called it quits, they are no more.
His next item to point out was the menu of the Rifugio Scotoni where we ended our run. The hut is famous for a platter of goodies straight from the grill, various meats, vegetables and a ball of cheesey polenta the likes of which I have never loved so much.
Not a bad spot to stumble upon in the backcountry – the Scotoni Hut, outside San Cassiano
Janine – Pre
Janine – Post Lunch
After lunch as we sat hoping that the coffee would speed up the early stages of digestion, Andreas, in one perfect line, described life here:
“Now do you see why the area around the hut is so big – lots of places to lay down after lunch.”
Quintessentially Italian.
Next up was a big road ride. Together with two Italian friends, Giorgio and Umberto, we spent nearly 5 hours linking most of the big, famous Dolomite passes; the Sellaronda and the Falzarego. On what may have been the best weather day of the 
year, the three of us enjoyed roads full of cyclists and few cars.
After riding these roads now for over a year, I am still in awe of the beauty and take nothing for granted. Passing through villages, I still marvel at the old houses, the flowers that everyone proudly decorates their homes with and of course the incredible number of people that wave or give thumbs up as you roll through.
On the passes, cyclists are approached by tourists wishing to ask what it is like to ride up the passes, and how fast we go down. They ask to lift our bikes, and laugh when they feel how light a carbon fiber bike is. They pat us on the backs, give an “Allez”, a “Hopp Hopp” or the local “Dai”. The culture understands the bike culture – for an American, this is always special.
Each pass has its hairpins numbered, 27 up the Pordoi, then 33 down the other side, each hairpin like a powder turn for a skier, the roads are banked perfectly and the bike flies through the apex – for me nothing beats this feeling, to be amongst friends, wheel to wheel, the sounds, the other rider to put things into perspective, makes it even better.
“Ciccione” on the Passo Sella
Posted in Cycling, DolomiteSport, Friends, Personal, Photography, Random Thoughts
Also tagged Alta Badia, Dolomites, road bike
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The Giro d'Italia
One look through our body of photography reveals we do not shoot much cycling.
Why, when I am all consumed by this beautiful sport do I not shoot it?
“Don’t combine work with fun.”
“Keep your personal and biz life separate?”
Yes, I guess these are the reasons.
But here and there we shoot it, and I enjoy it.
I grew up in America yet with a strange love for European cycling. Somewhere along the lines I found the sport and have been passionate about it ever since. From racing fulltime, to strict training programs, to just going out each day and being on my bike, cycling is the one sport that has 
remained with me all through my life, 30 years on my bike, always looking forward to it. It is also one of the primary reasons for living in Italy, for here it is a culture. The quality of the riding and those you ride with is something extraordinary.
And so a special day came along on May 26. The Giro d’Italia visited our town. It was a day that when I first saw it on the schedule, I would allow nothing to get in the way of me watching this stage, live. Even better, it was an uphill time trial on my very own training roads.
I left the house early on my bike, intending to ride up the course and check out the going’s on. I was not disappointed, like a river of people, uphill it flowed, all the Tifosi streaming up the course.
Names were being painted on the road, banners raised, good viewpoints staked out. As I pedaled up the 16% climb, I, along with all the other riders were cheered for. Everyone was getting in the mood to scream a bit louder.
Finally nearing the top, I realized I was surrounded by pro riders, they were on course checking it out. And there, right alongside me, Alberto Contador himself, looking focused and prepared to defend his maglia rosa.
I stuck around a bit, gawked, then descended straight to my house to get Janine and meet friends to head back up for the race.
At the house I decided, “Okay, one lens, I’ll shoot something”. Some part of me just wants to watch, to look into the eyes, to see the effort, not to be shooting. I have been shooting work each day, all week, now I just want to take it all in, be a tifosi and scream for each rider. But the camera, thankfully, goes along.
We take the gondola to the top of the ski mountain, get out and find ourselves in a sea of humanity, all there to see these riders time trial up a dirt and gravel road that rises as much as 24%. It is too much I think, ridiculous, just too steep. Torture. Even the motorcycles struggle to get up it.
As we begin walking down the course, the roaring begins, a rider is coming, and there, finally, not zipping by as is so typical when watching a pro race, but slowly, painfully even, rocking the bike from side to side, all the effort of 24% on his face. It is brutal, it is beautiful. Goosebumps cover me, I am in the tunnel of fans all screaming and pounding on the barriers.
Rider after rider passes, I shoot some photos, I talk to some fans. The older lady next to me knows each rider by sight, at 200 meters, she just knows. “Here comes Bosisio”, she gasps, and then, “Bettini!!!, Bettini is coming”, she sees the World Champion before I do, the intensity of the screaming doubles as Paolo rides by, he rises from his saddle and his back wheel spins a bit on the loose gravel, a small stone shoots out from his wheel and it goes between the woman and I.
Finally, the last rider appears, but before him, like a wave of energy, the sound comes. Screaming, sirens, stomping and pounding; the maglia rosa is coming on the back of Alberto 
Contador. Finally, I am witness to the sport I love so much. Contador passes inches from me, the old woman always keeping her hand on my shoulder in case I lean too far out while I make my photos.
I shoot, drop my camera, stare at this athlete and scream for the maglia rosa, for cycling (high drama for Italians!!) and for all the energy I am a part of. My own voice cannot be heard above the roar, I am just a part of it all.
Morris Possoni arriving at the steep
Giovanni Visconti, Italian National Champion rolls through
Alberto Contador in the maglia rosa
More images from the Giro:
http://patituccistock.com/giro/
Posted in Cycling, DolomiteSport, Photography
Also tagged Dolomites, Giro d'Italia, road race
3 Comments
Passo delle Erbe
My speed picks up, what was a casual, settled pace becomes frenetic. I’m entering a different place, the road is narrowing, more defined, soon it’s just a path lined with green, lush life. Still I climb, as I have been doing for so long, but suddenly it becomes purposeful, not for the top but for the feelings.
Eminem is along for the ride, reminding me of other ways, other styles, but universal words apply.
I got every ingredient, all I need is the courage
Like I already got the beat, all I need is the words
Got the urge, suddenly it’s a surge
Suddenly a new burst of energy is occurred
–Eminem: 8 Mile
Like I already got the beat, all I need is the words
Got the urge, suddenly it’s a surge
Suddenly a new burst of energy is occurred
–Eminem: 8 Mile
A sublime sense comes over me knowing that I am on my own path, the path I have earned, that I have created, not the path that I could be on. I have never really understood what drives me, what gives me the “Go” I have always felt for living the way I have chosen to live. I have never really understood why I ride like I do. This day helped me to understand. It is my dance, life’s rhythm that I move to, through the mountains, the environment or sometimes just the energy of life, on my bike, dancing – is enough for me. My temples pound, the sweat cools my brow, my jersey unzipped and wide open allows the cool mountain air to pass over my body. With hands on the hoods I rock the bike back and forth, legs churning with the rhythm of 25 years of experience climbing. I float upward, today there is no sense of fatigue, no questioning, no doubting, just existence, a presence that is too infrequently felt. Continuing on I am no longer sure if I am going up or down, nothing matters, only the rythm. The road twists, turns, rolls, steepens, yet I easily flow through it; present and, …what? The term awaits me, insight to that nagging question. Is being present enough?
Finally, and so simply, it comes to me… Having found my path, the next step is to experience it in the presence, honestly, and with no expectations. Always. As I consider where I am, my actions, I begin to feel at peace. I am present. The landscape is opening up as I near the top, the road is steep again just when it hurts the most, when I think I see the end.
I arrive at the top, just a word for where I find myself. There is still much ahead of me, the descent. But now I must find water and so I ask the only other person on the pass, an old man mindfully stacking wood, where I might find some. He is impressed when I tell him where I have come from and what I have done today. He points far below into the meadows, down all the many paths, to a village in the distance, his village, from which he has done so many things over a lifetime. I take my water and begin my descent from the mountain back into the bustling valley.
Posted in Cycling, DolomiteSport, Personal, Random Thoughts
Also tagged Dolomites, road biking
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