Bicicletta (“Bicycle”) Cocktail
We have a new cocktail for you on this Friday – the Bicicletta -“bicycle” in Italian. And I am obsessed in the “had a Bicicletta each night this week” sort of way! Such a refreshingly light cocktail to enjoy as the evenings get warmer. In her 2016 book “Spritz: Italy’s Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes,” Talia Baiocchi, writes that the Bicicletta dates to 1930s Italy, and was supposedly named “for the mode of transportation in which its drinkers toddle home after several drinks at the local cafe.” Mixing this refreshing Italian aperitivo is as easy as riding a bike (pun absolutely intended!). Simply combine dry white wine and Campari, throw in a little fizzy water, and you’re ready to pedal away into the afternoon.
I worked hard all week to get the proportions of white wine to Campari to lemon juice just right in our Bicicletta recipe below. (Tough life, I know!) But obviously any of the ingredients can be adjusted to suit your own taste buds. Cheers!
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dry white wine (such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc)
- 1 ounce Campari
- Seltzer water or club soda, chilled, to top
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juic (about 1/2 ounce), to taste
- 1 lemon wheel (cannot use a wedge in a cocktail named “bicycle”)
Pour the Campari and white wine into an ice-filled glass. Add a squeeze of lemon. Top with the seltzer water or club soda, to taste. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
And because its almost Father’s Day and we are talking about bicycles (or Biciclettas, close enough), thought I would share another Father’s Day gift idea. Last year for Christmas, and after lots of research, the kids and I gave Ryan a new hybrid bicycle (similar linked here), which is a mix of road bike and a mountain bike suitable for general-purpose riding over various types of terrain. This bicycle seemed to fit the bill for us – not too expensive and great for chasing after two kids on bikes. Ryan was not overly excited about the gift on Christmas alleging it was a partially self-motivated gift on my part so he could get the kids out of the house. Wink, wink.
Fast forward to March, COVID-19 quarantine begins, Ryan can no longer visit the gym, and he begins taking daily morning bike rides for exercise. I pat myself on the back.
Then the end of summer draws near, and I advocate we purchase a bike trainer, a piece of equipment that makes it possible to ride a bicycle while it remains stationary. Ryan balks. Why do we need to purchase something else from Amazon he says? Well, we ended up buying this bike trainer, and again Ryan has used it every morning since the weather and dark prevented outside morning rides. For $70, it is way cheaper than buying a Peloton (which we also simply don’t have room for at the moment). Since gifting Ryan the bicycle and buying the bike trainer, I have also given Ryan these bike shorts (Ryan would never wear the spandex variety!). Highly recommend any of these items if you are still looking for Father’s Day gift ideas.
We hope your weekend is full of Biciclettas or Biciclettas together with bicycle rides (we won’t tell)! Cheers friends!
