ITALY DIVIDE | 25. APRIL 2019 - 1. MAY 2019
For the second time after 2018, I participated at the ITALY DEVIDE.
NEAPLES - ROME - SIENA - FLORENCE - BOLOGNA - VERONA - LAKE GARDA
It was a 1250 km - self supported - non-stop bikepacking adventure and followed some fast rolling gravel roads but also with quite a few hike-a-bike sections (e.g. the magic forest) and technical MTB trails.
After 5 days and 17h I arrived in the top 20 of the field of roughly 200 participants from 26 nations.
Find below some first impressions, a full race report will follow soon ;-)
What is OSPA
OSPA is a unique and nearly indestructible multipurpose-performance bike that requires only One Service Per Annum (1x yearly).
In an experiment that lasted the full year of 2017 (365 days) I rode the OSPA prototype without any mechanical support (except wear parts).
The OSPA bike consists of selected components following the *SLCFE principle and are not be serviced for an entire year according the OSPA mission.
2017 - successfully completed 10’000 km in the harshest everyday and race conditions incl. the NAVAD 1000.
Changed parts during 1st year in operation incl. the yearly service:
- 7 tyres (3 rear / 2 front)
- 3 brake disk (2 front / 1 rear)
- 5 sets of brake pads (3 front / 2 rear)
- 4 shifting cables
- 60 ml transmission oil
2018 - successfully completed 8’000 km in the harshest everyday and race conditions incl. the ITALY DIVIDE.
Changed parts during 2nd year in operation incl. the yearly service:
- 3 tyres (2 rear / 2 front)
- 2 brake disk (1 front / 1 rear)
- 4 sets of brake pads (2 front / 2 rear)
- 2 shifting cables
- 60 ml transmission oil
*Simple, Lean, Consistant, Fast, Economic
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”