One thousand and one miles that, in the end, make 1,660 kilometers. That in five days make 300 kilometers a day that with 17 thousand meters of altitude difference, that is, of climbs, make quite a bit of effort. That in 134 hours of maximum time make a real feat, not for everyone. It started yesterday and will end on Thursday the seventh edition of the “One Thousand and One Miles”the randonnée of all randonnées, the toughest in Europe, the organizers say, and there is no reason not to believe it. Created by Rigamonti Stop18 years ago with the desire and dream of creating a cycling event that would cross the Bel Paese engaging cyclists on secondary roads in a great physical effort, but repaying them with the discovery of natural, architectural and historical beauties unique in the World, in all these years it has grown exponentially, earning notoriety and prestige especially among foreign cyclists more accustomed to dealing with the fatigue of long distances rather than with short and too competitive challenges. Departure and arrival from the Municipal Sports Center of Parabiago. the City of Footwear, and then off it crosses the Po Valley, skirting the cycle path of the Po River, crossing the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, pushing on to Lake Bolsena. Going back up into Tuscany from Cortona to San Gimignano to Siena, the Crete Senesi, the Mugello then the Ligurian Sea, the 5 Terre to head back towards the plain in the direction of Castellania and stop in the places of Fausto Coppi, the last effort before returning. Over 500 cyclists at the start, from about fifty different countries, from Australia, Japan, Brazil, Korea, English, French, Germans. The rest Italians, a little less, because in our parts the granfondo is still preferred to the randonnées, where you pull, where you sprint, where you feel a bit “pro” because, in the end, we remain a people of “hairless”…. Instead here you pedal, you keep pedaling, you stop a bit, you rest in one of the 23 meeting points managed by volunteers: inns, villages, squares, beaches, boats moored on the rivers where a bed, a shower and a hot meal can always be found. And then you start again. So from the beginning to the end, with your legs, with your head, with all the patience and tenacity that is needed because you go alone, you go with a torpedo attached to the saddle, with a few bags to put what you need, with a thermal blanket, with a pair of earplugs, with lights, with the GPS, with an identification plate, with the travel card on which the times of the passages are marked, with the roadbook that indicates the checkpoints, the refreshment points, the dormitories and the assistance points. You go and you continue to go until the end, until the last kilometer, the last mile in a challenge that is actually a beautiful journey with yourself…
Jack Williams
Jack Williams established himself as the editor-in-chief of The Vermilion with rigorous journalistic traits and an incessant quest for truth. His career began as an investigative reporter, where he quickly gained a reputation for his in-depth research and insightful articles. Williams takes his role at The Vermilion very seriously. Since he became editor-in-chief, he has set an editorial line based on impartiality, factual accuracy, and context relevance; this has established The Vermilion as a reference for political, economic, and global news. Under his leadership, the media continues its mission of reporting news with accuracy and equanimity, giving a voice to those who are often overlooked by large-scale media. Jack dedicates himself to fulfilling this mandate with passion, rigour, and unwavering determination.