Histria, Istria the Croatian Peninsula

The beautiful Istria ,carries an immense amount of history that could be read while sitting on the beach, or disperse on the top of a small bar drinking coffee in the beautiful town Groznjan overlooking the panoramic views across the Mirna Valley.

Cycling through the cobble streets of Groznjan.

Few months ago I was out riding in Italy, cycling through the hills with a nice group of people from various part of Europe. Along this group there were Julius & Luka.

Julius from Austria & Luka from Istria were also invited to join in for a weekend of cycling and to share beautiful rides that we all have taken around the globe.

Sunset in Poreč

During the rides I discovered that both of them are working together in a cycling event the Istria 300 which take place in October every year. They decided to invite me over anytime to go and visit Istria. I was in Italy few weekends ago and decided to drive for few hours and spare a bit of time discover the beautiful area.

I was flabbergasted by the welcoming of the people along the various town we rode through, the amazing food which reminded me of Italy. I am talking the amazing olive oil grown there, truffle found in the forests which covers Istria,, the home made produced cured meats & cheeses, then to finish off with the fish & meat delicacies combined with the lovely wine from the area also.

Riding through old railway line.

I stop here now because I don’t want to spoil you. I strongly advise you to stop wondering which event and where to go this year in October for a long weekend. Just register yourself at Istria 300, it is a great event that you will be able to do all of the above while also relaxing by the sea, you can benefit a discount if you type “SADDLEDRUNK“ for entering the event.

There will be many of us there, join in the fun and get ready for a great weekend on 2 wheels.

SD

Polenta with Truffle

Guerciotti & SaddleDrunk collaboration in UK.

Buongiorno a tutti.

It seems that we are getting back to enjoy our passions again with just little restrictions. Passion in sport it is a vital key point to train, enjoy and succeed.

Thanks to the common factor of passion, I am please to announce that SaddleDrunk in collaboration with the Guerciotti UK agent will be the main seller in UK for their bikes.

Guerciotti has a range of bikes from road to track & time trial, from gravel to cyclocross for all levels of cyclists using multiple brands of components. The mix combination of Italian passion and other brands enables to deliver high end products.

Guerciotti is an historical company in the cycling business, who is getting ready to celebrate the 50 years anniversary. A compelling story started on 1964 when Italo, noted and expert cyclocross rider, decided with his brother Paolo to open a small show of 20 square meters for the selling and maintenance of bicycles in Via Petrella 4 in Milan.

We will launch the online shop where you can purchase the bikes from next week. We will also launch few test events in the next few months where you will be able to touch and feel the bikes.

We will keep in stock a selection of Road,Gravel and Cyclocross bikes.

For more information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Ciao

Corporate Clothing.

Ciao a tutti,

I hope you have been enjoying the summer holidays.

We have been working on this amazing project for a while now and the pandemic did not help but we achieved it with members of the project spread across different time zones,Australia,USA & London.

Amazing Team work provide an amazing result.

We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Northrop Grumman providing corporate clothing worldwide to their employees,clients.

We will provide Cycling, Triathlon, Running clothing 100% made in Italy by our small family business.

For us maintaining our key values are important. Quality,Customer Service & passion in providing the best for our clients are vital.

If you need any help in branding & marketing your company out with sport wear do not hesitate to contact us.Help spread the word.

Ciao for now and stay safe.

SaddleDrunk Family

2021 Mongolia Bike Challenge Raffle !!

Ciao Everyone,

I hope you are all well & safe during this uncertain times.

Certainly it could be challenging to those that love the Freedom.

Hence with one of our partners the famous Mongolia Bike Challenge , one of the top 10 MTB events in the world due to the beautiful sceneries & location , we have decided to have a raffle for anyone to win a free registration entry fee( worth over 2000 Euros).

It is easy to join and you will find the details here.

Share it out with friends & let’s the training start.

Come & Join Us in this amazing adventure.

See you there.

SaddleDrunk Team

The Sleeping Giant

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 

 “China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.” 

Photo Credit @ Nicole

In the last 6 months China has changed the world as Napoleon Bonaparte said many years ago.  

Our entire planet from the South Pole to the North Pole, around the Equator’s diameter , each single human living on Earth have altered their life path.  

Our grand children, great grand children will study this event at school and they will know the cause of this.Hopefully it will prepare them for maybe another Pandemic to come. 

Photo Credit @ Nicole

I have been fortunate enough to travel to China since 2010 constantly at least 3 or 4 times a year in taking part at cycling events or cycling around to discover the unknown of this immense country. 

Certainly during the years I have noticed amazing changes with people, nature, way of living and certainly a fast developing country that attract me more to discover more of their traditions. 

Photo Credit @ Nicole

During my trips I have slept in many different kind of accommodations, alone or shared , with electricity or without , with or without windows, freezing cold or really hot but still amazing experiences. 

 If you are not shy, timid, speaking & meeting people is a must when you travel the world, especially when you share your passion of cycling. The feeling of crossing another cyclist in the empty roads is astonishing, the silhouette of a cyclist far away in front of you is like a mirage that turns real. Indescribable joy, you can only try to experience it.I was lucky to meet amazing people that some of them will describe their experience of living and cycling in China. 

Photo Credit @ Nicole

Being Italian, by default I am a food lover, passionate about my palate with the will to experience more.I think when I eat, I encounter an extreme pleasure. Cycling in China every time you need to adapt to the local cuisines, hygiene and locations of your meals where in most occasions are well out of the Western Countries standards.

Photo Credit @ Nicole

I have asked a fellow cyclist about her thought of China and its beauties. She has been living over in China for a long time and has a good presence,experience within the Chinese Cycling Community.Lets hear from her below.

Photo Credit @ Nicole

Outside the big cities, China is an amazing place for road cycling/touring, which I don´t want to miss. I started road cycling before I moved to China, but in fact started longer distance riding and bike touring there and since then have been on many, mostly self-organized cycling trips in- and outside of China. 

 The country is very diverse in landscape, culture & food, and it´s perfect for little or bigger adventures. I somehow got addicted to these, they are definitely one of the reasons, beside my work, why I still live in China after more than 10 years. For me, there is nothing more refuelling than to cycle through remote landscapes, feeling in touch with the surroundings, getting big smiles (or laughs because ppl think you are completely nuts, to cycle for leisure) and thumbs up from friendly locals. 

Photo Credit @ Nicole

If you speak a bit Chinese it is very easy to get in touch, as people are very curious and want to know everything, from where you come from, to if you are married and how many kids you have (the last two are very common and important questions in China 😉). 

Said that, if you don´t speak Chinese at all, you need to be either very adventurous, stress resistant or better organize someone who speaks a bit of Chinese to come along with you, or go on an organized trip.  If you like to taste new dishes and don´t bother to always know what you are eating (it´s the taste that counts, right?), food is also amazing. Of course, you might get the runs once in a while (better be prepared for that!), especially if you are not used to oily and spicy food. In all those years though, this happened only a few times to me.    

Photo Credit @ Nicole

Thank you Nicole for sharing your experience and thoughts about China.

When the travel begins & reopen again you must visit China to experience the unknown beauty. Feel free to get in touch with us for more infos.

Stay safe & well in thus times.

Ciao from the SaddleDrunk Family.

Photo Credit @ Nicole