Touring - Planning an italian tour

Hi all,

I'm doing the (very) preliminary research on a potential trip next summer to Tuscany to go biking. The big-name organized bike tours are most likely out of my budget, so I was thinking of doing it on our own (Basically follow parts of a Trek or Backroads itinerary without paying their rates).

First question: Has anyone here done this? If so, I'd love to talk to you about your experience. Specifically, (and if you don't mind my asking...) how much do you think you can get it done for including bikes, lodging, and food.

Second question: I have found this rental place (http://www.florencebybike.it/race%20bike.htm) in Florence. Does anyone know of any others, or maybe some in other cities (like Siena)? The caveat is that my girlfriend and I are relatively (not very, but relatively) serious bikers, so I need bikes of at least the quality available at that link (i.e. light, newish road bikes w/ 27-30 gears, decent components, clip pedals, etc.).

Thanks for your help!

-David

Do some searching. Koffee just answered a whole bunch of questions for me over the past couple of months.

Maybe she will chime in with your additional questions.

How long will you be riding? If it is a week or more you might consider taking your own bicycles.

I spent two weeks in May cycling around Tuscany and Umbria, starting and finishing in Florence. I plan on going back in 2008 to cycle through Umbria and northern Tuscany. Central Tuscany, south of Florence, was very scenic, a great place for an introduction to Italy.

Are you going to base yourselves in one town and do day trips, or move from town to town? Are you camping, hostelling, or staying in more upmarket places? Accommodation is a little more expensive in central Tuscany than elsewhere in Italy, but it is possible to find cheap places if you dig around a little.

I found Trek Tools (www.trektools.com) to be a really good source for maps. The TCI (Touring Club Italiano) regional maps are really good for finding good cycling roads. Tuscany is full of well-maintained gravel roads (strade bianche) that are excellent for bicycling, just make sure your tires are a little wider than you would want on pavement. You'll also want good maps for the cities you plan on visiting, finding quiet roads into and out of cities was tricky for me.

The Lonely Planet cycling guide to Italy and the Rough Guides for "Tuscany & Umbria" and "Florence & Siena" are excellent resources.
HTH,
mark

Thanks, this was excellent help. I think I'll go do some reading and then come back here.

The plan would be to have a base city, with a hotel nice enough to store our stuff when we weren't there, and then maybe do two 3-day, 2-night trips in different directions from there. (For instance, looking at Backroads' itineraries, there seems to be good trips both north and south of Siena...) As for lodging, I'd say something in the "decent hotel" category. Definitely not camping or hostelling, but no need to stay at the Ritz.

It seems from your comment that you would recommend basing out of Florence, correct? Also, I'd love to hear about some of your favorite towns and roads... I've never done something like this before, so I appreciate all the help I can get.

Thanks, this was excellent help. I think I'll go do some reading and then come back here.

The plan would be to have a base city, with a hotel nice enough to store our stuff when we weren't there, and then maybe do two 3-day, 2-night trips in different directions from there. (For instance, looking at Backroads' itineraries, there seems to be good trips both north and south of Siena...) As for lodging, I'd say something in the "decent hotel" category. Definitely not camping or hostelling, but no need to stay at the Ritz.

It seems from your comment that you would recommend basing out of Florence, correct? Also, I'd love to hear about some of your favorite towns and roads... I've never done something like this before, so I appreciate all the help I can get.

I would suggest visiting Florence for a few days to see the museums and soak up the culture, but it would not be a good base. Crowded, expensive, heavy traffic. A "decent hotel" in Florence would cost as much as a luxury hotel in other cities. It is, however, a beautiful town, and you can learn a lot about art, art history, and Italian history by wandering through town with a good guide book.

Siena would be a good base, get a hotel in the city center, which still looks a lot like it did 400 years ago. The city center is off limits to cars except for residents, which is really nice. A lot of towns in Tuscany (including Florence) have pedestrianized centers, but it seems to work best in Siena and in the little hill towns.

mark