Team Enough Interview

The different ways that the members of the Collective approach bikes embraces different disciplines and activities, from journeys and non-competitive experiences, to one day races such as Unbound Gravel, as well as adventure races like the Silk Road Mountain Race.  

So we thought we’d try to get to know the members of the Collective better with a short interview. We wrote down a few questions and gave them to the guys and girls. You can read their answers below. It’s not a traditional interview, but this is the Enough way of doings after all. It couldn’t be any other way. 

How much do head, legs and style count on a ride?  

Asja: Your head is the most important thing. When you’ve got the right frame of mind you’ve already won. The legs just help you to pedal and go forward. Style? Well style gives you a 100w advantage right away! 

Fede D: The length of the route determines what’s more important between head and legs. The longer it is the more the head counts. I must admit that off the bike I’m someone who is not very interested in style, but when I get on the bike, it’s a different matter. 

Frank: The head certainly counts for a lot. It has often gotten me out of difficult situations, even though anyone who rides knows that you won’t get far if your legs aren’t ready. As far as style is concerned, I don’t think it’s one of my priorities, although I have to say that Enough does all it can to compensate my stylistic shortcomings, with their designs for the jersey and the bike. I grew up in the noughties and saw great champions racing with very questionable sock heights, footie socks even. I’m really not that bothered, even though it’s nice to have a certain amount of style. 

What’s the right bike/party ratio for the perfect weekend? 

Fede D: Riding bikes must always be fun, so 100% party, a good part of which in the saddle. Sometimes it’s just bike, but more often than not, there is a good percentage of fun when the bikes have stopped rolling: the important thing is being with the right people! 

Mavi and Manuel: Fifty-fifty to the bitter end.

Asja: The party is proportional to the amount of kilometres you ride. Therefore more bike = more party, more km = more beer.

Jacopo: The perfect weekend would be 60% bikes and 40% party. A nice solid 60% that due to the transitive property makes the other 40% substantial too. I have the great fortune of being in tune with people who ride without wanting to be competitive at all costs. That’s something worth celebrating.

Scenario: You’re leaving for a bikepacking weekend. What’s the essential item in your bag?

Sisa: I’m getting better at packing my bags. I’ve learnt that you must always carry an inner tube in case of serious damage to the tubeless setup and, after the Tuscany Trail, I can’t be without a good chamois cream, as well as my mascara, obviously! 

Jacopo: My ideal bike ride, independently of its length, includes a supermarket stop to buy supplies for a proper break when you reach a nice spot. This is why I’ve always got a 10-litre foldable backpack with me, which can fit everything I need and is comfortable to carry for many kilometres. I think that it’s the one thing that is never out of my bag. Everything else, in turn, I forget at home!  

Fede B: I can never be without a Swiss army knife, because you never need it, but then you always do.

Mavi: A packet of cheese slices, cookies, toothbrush and toothpaste and a cap.

And if you’re off to a race?

Frank: A puncture repair kit of course. I am terrified of having a flat somewhere and not being able to carry on. To give you an idea, I carried 8 CO2 canisters for Unbound! 

Fede B: If I’m going to a race, I try to take everything out of my bags, but I can never do without my lucky turtle, that lives in my front bag. 

Mavi: Haribo sweets, Snickers and the frog-shaped pin in my pocket or pinned to the Miss Grape bag. 

What can’t you do without when you’re not riding?

Sisa: My caps and hats. I don’t think you’ve ever seen me out without one of my coloured beanies!

Asja: When am I not riding? 

Jacopo: A beer with good company, with people who have something to say and who can give me positive energy.

Mattia: The first thing that comes to mind is certainly food. But for once I’d like to be a bit more emotive. I can’t do without my home, my family and my nephews. I like travelling but there’s nothing like home!

What is your favourite part of a ride?

Fede D: When you go for a long ride and you’re at the furthest point of the loop, because by then you know that you’ll have to ride it all and there are no more chances for shortcuts. 

Manuel: The food stop at the end of a long climb.

Mattia: When you get to the point when your legs are not enough. Where your motivation, your hunger and your desire to carry on riding come into play. When it’s all about the head! 

Sisa: When I’m out riding, my favourite moment is the one just before the end of a climb, those final metres that need one last effort, where you say to yourself “come on, it’s over now” and “it levels out after this”. Why such an odd moment? Because I like the concentration that I get into, I like isolating myself a bit and seeing how I’m doing. That’s my serious moment, otherwise, obviously, the best part is when I get my teeth into the biggest sandwich I can find! 

Fede B: One of my favourite parts is about a couple of hours into a ride, when you start feeling that you are at one with nature and with what you’re doing, and the tiredness starts to make itself felt. Not to kill you off, but to heighten the enjoyment of the moment even more. 

Describe Enough in as few words as possible.

Frank: A fantastic group, made up of fantastic people.

Manuel: A collective that pedals to be well.

Mattia: Sharing, friends, happiness, adventure.

Pins, caps, Swiss army knives, supermarket stops, 48-hour races without sleeping or long breaks sitting in a field. Defining Enough cycling isn’t easy, even after having listened to the members of the team. They have a subtle, almost magical balance of so many different aspects, which is constantly evolving and moving. Perhaps it’s exactly this movement that maintains such a stable balance: just like riding a bike.

Discover more about Enough collective on their website enoughcycling.cc

Pictures by Chiara Redaschi, Nicola Marchiori, Federico Damiani and Sami Sauri.