Guest Stories: Jean Holden & Jim Sanford

2008-2024 Still Riding and 23 tours with Ciclismo Classico!

We are both from the East Coast – Jim from the Bronx (NYC); Jean from Kings Mountain, NC.  Jim spent 23 years in the Air Force; Jean worked for the Navy for 18 years.  We met at an aerospace company in Southern California. I retired from that company on January 1, 2008, and slowly moved from Southern California to the Eastern Sierra town of Mammoth Lakes.  We both biked as kids, but not much as adults. We were runners (we finished the Boston Marathon together in 1999), and our bikes only came out when we were injured.  We also love to ski and hike – hence our choice for the retirement home.

Our first trip with Ciclismo Classico was Bike Across Italy (North) in September 2008.  Since we were not “bikers”, we had never really thought of a biking vacation. We have two great friends who booked the “last 2” spaces and pleaded with CC to add us also.  We got in and we were hooked!  The riding was challenging, but guides Frank and Ernesto (a former guide) were extremely helpful to novice riders like us. We made some great friends, and the food and wine were outstanding!  We are forever grateful to Ernesto for suggesting we visit Cogne with the few days we had left after the ride.

We decided if you’re going to “cross the pond”, you may as well stay a while. We have done at least one ride every year since then, sometimes two, and even three in one year.   We usually try to integrate a hike somewhere during our visit.  We have ridden in Italy (many times), Spain, Croatia, Austria/Czech Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.  Our favorite ride is still Bike Across Italy (North), although Swept Away in Sardinia (Bike Across Sardinia) is a close second.

We have so many memories: food, wine, churches, museums, culture, “wow” scenery, new friends, and wonderful guides.  Thankfully, Jim takes a lot of photos!

Bike Across Italy (North) – Shower caps over helmets; the old man in the square in front of the church who just wanted to talk; making pasta for dinner in the Etruscan caves; ricotta and fig gelato in Pitigliano; getting to the end of the ride, having a beer and then riding back to meet the last couple as they came out of the forest to escort them into town.  They were happily surprised!

Northern Portugal – An unforgettable dinner with a friend and fellow rider in a small Spanish town before the ride began; some tough climbs; riding with our Canadian friends again; the bridge to nowhere; and that fabulous white port and tonic drink at the end of the ride.

Austria/Czech Republic – Umberto’s antics kept us in stiches; the “missing” camera; the van’s flat tire and the “oops” (forgot the bike leaning on the front); the day the guides lost every one of us (and only a few of us were together); the beautiful lakes; the wonderful local yogurt.

We always look forward to meeting our biking friends for the annual ride; it’s the highlight of each fall.  We treasure the memories we create each year.