A grey-haired rider in the euro-lurid kit of Velo Club G. Bianchini di Trevignano pulled up alongside me, clapped a hand on my shoulder and asked, "Do you know Phil? and Warrick? from Bikepark?"
"Yes," I answered, "I work with them at Cyclefit" and pointed to my jersey, "We used to be called Bikepark."
"Hey, it's London Dynamo!", he shouted to a friend on a motorcycle at the side of the road.
"Some years ago. Phil and Warrick came to ride the Gran Fondo Pinarello and they stayed at my house," he said. "On the moto, that was my friend Erik from Austria; he provided support for Warrick on the course, he finished in 25th position."
We chatted for a while rolling along a gentle down-slope at 27 miles per hour, then my new friend Antonio shot ahead to latch on to the back of a rare passing group.
At the finish, just as I was letting my Garmin Edge 705 calculate the way back to the hotel, Antonio caught up with me again and sent his club-mate off for fresh watermelon and espresso to revive us after the ride.
"We have your tricolore Dynamo hanging in our clubhouse," Antonio pointed to my jersey. "We are, how do you say, twins, with London Dynamo."
Antonio and Leandro from VC G. Bianchini and their personal moto-support man Erik from Austria.
It turns out that Phil and Warrick exchanged jerseys with Antonio when they were beneficiaries of his hospitality a few years ago, so there must be a VC G. Bianchini jersey somewhere in the shop. It's a shame we didn't know about the association when our Sportive Secretary organised the club trip this year; it would've been good to have some local knowledge for our rides on Friday and Saturday before the event.
The last few years, they've travelled to the UK to do the 'Nello Ride but didn't make it in 2008. We should make an effort to keep in touch and help them out in 2009. They're a good group of guys who are very proud of their association with London Dynamo. We must keep the international goodwill flowing!
