For the fourth year in a row, "Pedalando per la Ricerca" (Pedaling for Research) returns, the charity initiative promoted by Alessandro Mucci, Nalini's social media manager. This year too, the Mantua-based company did not want to miss out on its support for the initiative creating the official jersey of the event. A completely custom piece that accompanied Alessandro and his friends Alberto Tonelli, Marco Violi, and Marco Biancini for 500 kilometers from Turin to Florence.
Step back
Before talking about this year's edition, it is important to take a small step back to remember the reason why the “Pedaling for Research”. The initiative It was born from a personal experience that deeply touched Alessandro Mucci himself in 2020, which fortunately ended positively. Driven by a strong desire to contribute to cancer research, Alessandro decided to take a personal risk. For his degree in Economics and Business, he planned to independently cycle through the areas of central Italy affected by the 2016 earthquake and then across the Western Alps. That travel project turned into an awareness campaign for research combined with a fundraiser.The initiative was a success and since then Alessandro has decided to organize a new fundraising bike ride every year.
We reached Alessandro Mucci by phone a couple of days after he and his travel companions reached Florence (the ride took place between August 5th and 6th, ed.). Before answering a few of our questions, He told us that he couldn't live without his bike and that during the day he cycled for about eighty kilometers around Siena., discovering that in those parts the plain does not exist.
Why did you and your friends choose to organize the “Pedalando per la Ricerca” ride from Turin to Florence this year?
There are several reasons. My travel companions and I are all originally from Turin and its province. Even though Turin is our city, Until now we had never put it at the center of our travel plans. So we decided to unite the two cities that were the first capitals of the Kingdom of Italy, Turin and Florence, in a 500-kilometer ride. Florence will have a special honor in 2024...
We assume you're referring to the start of the Tour de France?
Exactly. For the first time, the Tour will start in Italy, and in some way, we were pleased to celebrate this "historic" event for our country.
Can you give us a few numbers from your trip?
From Turin we went down to Liguria. We travelled along the entire coast until we reached Tuscany and then headed towards Florence passing through PisaIn total, we covered 500 kilometers for a total of 26 hours...the time spent on the bike was "only" 19 hours and 38 minutes. The final elevation gain reached 3500 meters, with a total of 9700 calories burned.
Goal achieved with flying colors?
I would say absolutely yes, and not only for having completed the journey through time we had set ourselves, which was two days. The most important thing is having contributed to the fundraising we started in 2020 To date, it has raised nearly €30.000 for cancer research. Another project with the same goal as "Pedalando per la Ricerca" is currently underway. This is a bike trip from Rivoli to Santiago de Compostela in twenty stages.The protagonists are Ciro Russo, a professional Greco-Roman wrestler, former judoka Valentina Giorgis, and Gennaro Russo, Ciro's father and a volunteer for the Collegno Cross.
This year too, you were able to count on the support of Nalini for your trip, which made your jersey...
Nalini provided one of their graphic designers who created a beautiful shirt based on one of my drawings. This is a totally custom jersey, made especially for us.Nalini has also decided to give us a truly useful piece of clothing: the Mirror Vest, a sleeveless jacket with a reflective silver surface. This has a triple function: to ensure maximum visibility on the road, create a total barrier to the wind on the front, prevent overheating on the shoulders thanks to the reflection of the sun's rays.
Useful information for contributing to the fundraising campaign promoted by “Pedalando per la Ricerca” can be found at the following link: link.
