Like every year, the PH team closes the CTR season in style with the GRAVEL variants.
Sunday 06 November 2022 we were in Copenhagen, guests of one of our main stores in Northern Europe: at the home of METTE and CARSTEN at VELO PAVE'.
New store, still in the town of Farum, which houses various brands of bikes, helmets and shoes and where our collection is well present and assorted.
A modern and direct but also very welcoming shop, designed to be the customers' home and where you can fix a bike while drinking a coffee, you can buy an item of clothing while having a relaxing talk with the owners and, a special treat, a massage room and a fitness room on the upper floor.
As every year the hospitality was magnificent, we met on Saturday evening for a dinner to share ideas with THOMAS and KASPER and the Velo Pavè team for the last organizational details, a couple of toasts and then everyone to rest waiting the 50 plus kilometers of hard and muddy gravel the morning after.

On Saturday evening the stars shone in the sky upon while returning to the hotel, which gave us hope ... but obviously on Sunday morning we woke up under a persistent and icy rain which in an instant brought us back to the harsh reality of the North.
Arrived in Farum, a town north of Copenhagen - a strategic point for many cycling routes on-road and off-road - the rain had stopped but mud, fog and high humidity were ready to challenge our PH kits.

Final preparations and the riders began to arrive, more than 100 members came from all directions for a greeting and a coffee and then everyone on the bikes for the final settings.
A warm merino underwear under our SQUARE in the new colors of the season FW2223 - above were those who wore the FIRST (our gilet with Gravity® windproof and waterproof fabric) who wore the SWORD (cape in Gravity® windproof and waterproof fabric) and who instead was looking for more protection from the cold and opted for DUST, our heavier technical jersey than Square and with STORMSHIELD® fabric which is also waterproof and windproof.

All ready for the motivation speech by Boss Mette and then divided into 5 distinct groups by speed.
The route immediately wound through birch and maple woods in full autumn yellowing, giving our eyes a magnetic picture of shades between red, orange and yellow - a foliage that seemed to unite earth and sky, stealing space even from the gray of the overcast sky
A continuous succession of ups and downs, even of moderate difficulty, took us north of Farum, skirting small lakes.
Mud, puddles, scattered leaves and dry curves among the trees have put our strength to the test and our reflexes constantly under stress.
The average speed was very high and the presence of "Vikings" even two meters tall among the participants made it all very epic for the PH team.
They didn’t miss crashes, punctures and lots and lots of laughs that gave us the right energy not to give up.
Waiting for us there was a dream refreshment service, sandwiches with grilled meat, homemade cakes, soft drinks, beers and an inevitable coffee to close.

Muddy up to the hair, tired but very satisfied between one toast and another, sharing driving impressions and kit choices between those who prefer lightness and speed and those who want protection and safety.

A fantastic experience of hard work and sharing with friends who always know how to amaze us year after year with their passion and dedication to our common love: the BIKE.