Today I will tell you of an old man very famous in the province of Catania an undisputed symbol of man and bike bond, this' old man eighty called of Horace Grace and every late afternoon along the route Ognina Catania-Nicolosi (700 meters in altitude over 16 km long uphill) walking carrying a load (mainly food) on his bicycle.
I see him I was a little passando in auto con la famiglia da via Gramisci per andare a Mascalucia , non ho mai saputo la storia di questo signore ma finalmente qualcuno, Alessandro Marinaro , ha pensato di fare un bel documentario su questa leggenda vivente che ogni giorno, anche con la pioggia, percorre 4-5 ore di salita in compagnia della sua bicicletta per tornare nel suo umile rudere. Il documentario si chiama " La bici Sotto il Vulcano ".
Orazio nel documentario ha raccontato anche il suo amore per una giovane fanciulla , di nome Graziella (poteva mai chiamarsi diversamente?), la quale fu costretta dal padre a sposare un ricco cugino dopo aver saputo da lui che Orazio era morto in Yugoslavia during the Second World War, when Horace returned to his country finding Graziella married her for the sorrow not to eat until they die . Since then the bike for Horace was his partner in life, a story that seems taken from a novel.
Of Grace has never married and at times has also been hit by some cars that have led him straight to hospital but continues undeterred day the usual way.
How do you you would be able to do what is Horace? All that up with about 30 pounds of weight every day, even on rain , certainly among the younger people would give up before Di Grazia Nicolosi while to get to the ripe old age of 85 still manages to do so, perhaps on a life lived always in the saddle and never a day without sacrifices, admire a person who has undoubtedly helped to raise awareness of the bicycle as a means of transportation to hundreds of thousands of people from Catania (Etna in countries using very little but cyclists are slowly increasing).
Even my passion for cycling in hand, I was sent to him , seeing him as a child I always told myself that one day I did too 'I that is cycling.
Thanks Orazio you are great!
up you will find a service about him where you will find more information.
PS I have not seen this documentary, I'd love it if anyone knows how to be able to see you leave a comment, thanks.
PPS I remember my initiative to spread the bicycle as a means of transport through the websites and blogs:
