The recent wet weather has stopped many people from visiting Barga but this afternoon a small group of sportsmen were in evidence in Barga Vecchia who were obviously not bothered one inch by the rain (or the mud in that case)
A group of mountain bike riders who were lead by Richard Williams, a London based publican turned events professional turned trail guide for Ridgeline – a fully-guided and shuttle-assisted Enduro/All-Mountain holiday company based in the Garfagnana area. Their site can be seen here
As can be seen from the images above there was no shortage of damp wetness and clinging mud but also the sharp eyed might notice another shortage — one of the riders was missing their saddle … now that is some serious hardcore riding … but he was still smiling 🙂
Richard Williams
Rich’s riding pedigree dates back to the Surrey Alps tagging along with Nirvana Cycles and the gang, where he earned the nick name ‘Knows No Fear’ for his blasé approach to jumps, drops and their consequences.
It wasn’t until taking up a full time guiding position at Riviera Bike in Northern Italy did he truly find the love for riding. His nick name may have changed now to Giorgio or Zingaro (Italian for Gypsy) but his speed down the trails hasn’t.
Before his life as a full-time Zingaro, he was the director of a multinational events company based in London, and one time pub owner. When not on his bike you can find him snowboarding, surfing waves or drinking red wine.