Meet Italy's Fixed-Gear Cyclist Danilo Dizon Jr.

Hello to all Pinoy Fixie viewers once again! Please meet Danilo Dizon Jr., one of our special Pinoy fixed-gear cyclists.... born in Italy in 1991 and lived briefly in the Philippines in his earlier years before travelling back with his parents and sister to Pordenone Province, northeast of Italy. Unknown by most, Filipinos is the largest alien resident group in the country per Wikipedia, During Dan’s early years, he usually rides his bike to school, for grocery runs, and to visit friends to name a few. They later moved to Milan which 350 kilometers west of Pordenone and graduated in 2009 with a Degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering at ITIS Giovanni Giorgi College. He now works at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Milan’s flagship store of the specialty clothing retailer. He also works at the renowned aquarium shop in Milan called Yato Aquari where they install and maintain marine and fresh water aquariums. Fortunately, aquascaping is one of his hobbies. Amazingly, after all these years, he still learned his native tongue, good in English, and can whip his Italian lingo anytime and anywhere!

To get started about Dan’s cycling world, he is one of the founders of Milan’s Filipino Fixed-Gear Cycling Club named Pinoy Heavy Pedal  that is now about 50 members strong! He is proud to mention his co-founders: Sonny and Sean Santiago, Nico Benito, Jonathan Batoctoy, and Aldrin Delos Angeles.

Eventually, he started training at Parco Nord Velodrome, 497-meter long and made of asphalt…. The local cyclists call it the mini-velodrome not because of the length but because of the minimal banking.  This is where he got hooked on track riding. Check this video he recorded with his friends Fabio and Lorenzo, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Titled: Velodromo "DateciPista" Parco Nord Bresso. That gathering was organized by a group of volunteers called "Dateci Pista", meaning is "Give Us Track"!

Not too soon, Italy’s “Fixed Forum” organized an event and rented Montichiari Velodrome for 3 different days. He was able to go to the 2nd and 3rd days and experienced riding the track with about 40 other cyclists.  He mentioned that it was crazy!

 This velodrome is spec’ed at 250-meters long, 43-degree banking, wood surface, indoor facility which is very different than Parco Nord. This is where Dan fell in love with track riding. For the next few weeks, his group of friends traveled to the track whether it rained or snowed. It was just the cost of travelling 114 kilometers to the velodrome that got in the way.

Most of the time, he rides from home to Martesana Pista Ciclabile which can be a 100+ kilometer bike ride without any cars along the way. He mentioned that Martesana is roughly 30 kilometers west from his home but the ride distance can be varied to create more challenges.

Now we think that these are the only two velodromes he’s been to…. What surprised me was that he’s been to a few more! That’s an impressive statement from a mild mannered fixed gear cyclist. So I had to ask, which velodromes have you visited?! He mentioned five more… Roberto Battaglia Communal Velodrome in Busto Garolfo, Giuliano Pacciarelli Velodrome in Fiorenzuola d’Arda, Dalmine Communal Velodrome in Dalmine, Vigorelli Velodrome (defunct) in Milano/Milan, and Fausto Coppi (TO) Velodrome (also defunct) in Torino / Turin, Italy - aka Moto Velodromo. Hopefully you can just imagine the efforts he has to go through to get to all these velodromes! You can find details of all these velodromes he’s been to on the right side of this blog.  Just by being at these different velodromes especially in Italy, as one of the premier countries in cycling, we cannot disregard what he knows about velodromes. Even if he hasn't competed in track racing, he knows something most of us are not aware of.

So who is his mentor behind all these? He is proud to mention his friend Nicholas Varani, and Italian/Swiss all-around cyclist. Nicholas mentors Dan on track riding skills and also about bike parts. If you are following Red Hook Criterium in Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, Nicholas of Iride Fixed Modena Team travelled to compete there! Now that’s dedication to the sport! Our Pinoy Fixie member Langdon Taguiped of Los Angeles also travelled there to race!

Last but not least, Dan is very thankful of his friend in Manila, Ian Oliver Atendido. Ian was very kind to lend his Ave Maldea fixed-gear bike while he was on vacation last month.

You can follow Dan in Facebook where he usually visits Manila Fixed Gear Group.

Arden Arindaeng