Salvatore La Gatta
AMARCORD THE LIFE CYCLE

I was about three years old when, one ordinary day, I managed to push the pedals of my first bike.
That memory is not so clear, but in my mind I still have the image of a blue bike with a yellow fork that was going very fast.
I'd be lying if I said it was magical, immediate chemistry, love at first sight. I took several hits. It was a series of falls to which I always replied mounting back up onto the saddle.
Slowly I took off the first trainer wheel, then the other and, after a scraped knee and a cry, I learnt to ride my bike. Since then, I have never stopped riding.
Many years have passed since those moments and many bikes have accompanied the various stages of my life: from the mountain bike on which my friends and I used to speed across my little town’s streets, to the racing bike I used for amateur races; from the old and tatty roadster which accompanied my university life in Bologna, to the fixed gear bike I used in France to reach my workplace more swiftly; from the touring bike, my faithful companion on long journeys, to this bike here, designed and adapted by me for such a bizarre sport as the Hardcourt bike polo.
I was born in Tocco Casauria, a small village not far from Pescara renowned for its olive oil and the Centerba Toro.
Before I settled down in Pescara I traveled a bit and, now that I think about it, everything happened for a reason.
I lived in Paris where I moved after graduation, because I fell in love with the cycling culture across the Alps.
In the ville lumière I came closer to what became my future (ti sei avvicinato a cosa. Devi spiegarlo in questa frase). Then, after two years working as bike department manager at Wagram’s Dechatlon store, I felt it was time to take a further career step and got a job at Culture Vélo in Mions, near Lyon, one of best racing bicycle shops in France.
Here I became familiar with the best French, Italian and American road bike frames, and, thanks to the grounds the area offered, I was able to nurture my other great passion: mountain bike riding.
The years spent in Cultures Veil shaped me, and also gave me the right skills to manage the shop Veloland City in Lyon, a urban bike boutique specialized in eco-mobility.
During the nearly eight years I stayed in Lyon, I became an active member and vice-president of LE RECYCLEUR association, the oldest and largest Cyclofficine in France, counting more than 3.000 active members.
Here I met people who made bikes their life philosophy and I also had extravagant experiences on a technical level. Tall-bikes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_bike ) wobble bikes and vintage stuff are only a few of the bizarre things I came across. I met a lot of quirky cycles (and humans) that have fueled my savoir-faire and my ingenuity.
Speaking of oddities, here my passion for Hardcourt Bike Polo (HBP) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcourt_Bike_Polo was born. It’s a sport for true bike lovers that I have been assiduously practicing since 2010. Since then I have been taking parts in all the national (http://www.hardcourtitalia.it ) and international competitions such as the EHBPC (European Hardcourt Bike Polo) in which I competed for the first time in 2011, and the WHBPC (World Hardcourt Bike Polo) which I attended for the first time in 2012.
In March of 2013, before finally coming back to Italy, I graduated at the National Centre for Trade Sports Grenoble (CNPC) as Lab Technician Specialized in Bicycle Sales and Repairs; the CNPC is the only institution in Europe that offers a degree in this field.
Finally here it comes Il Gatto Con I Pedali, a project that seals the long love story between bikes and me. Today I feel really lucky as I was able to turn my passion into a job over the years.
Welcome! This is not just my shop: it’s my dream, my constant thought, my passion!