Tandem Cycling - Tuscany Tandem Tour Report

Both Velodiva and I agreed this was our best vacation yet. We had perfect sunny weather for cycling with temperatures in the 70s and light winds. We met interesting people and made new friends and toured one of our favorite countries. This was our fifth trip to Italy and Santana did a wonderful job of creating unique bicycle touring and dining experience that would be difficult to impossible for us to do on our own.

Since bikeforums only allows 10 pictures per post, at the end of this post there are two links to continue the report. These feature the mainland tour of the Chianti region.

Cycling Metrics from Garmin:

7 days: 270 miles: 36,800 feet of climbing: Average climbing; 138 feet per mile.

Elba loop - 37.5 miles: 7,250 feet of climbing
Elba to Volterra - 60 miles: 5,400 feet culminating in a 6 mile Category 1 climb to the walled city of Volterra
Volterra to Sienna - 44 miles: 5,480 feet
Sienna Loop - 20 miles: 2,654 feet
Sienna to Castellini-in-Chianti: 40 miles: 6,580 feet
Castellini-in-Chianti loop: 35 miles: 5,080 feet
Castellini-in-Chianti to Florence: 31 miles: 4,395 feet

Photography: 550 digital pictures taken

Rome:

We flew into Rome and were greeted by Bill and Jan McCready, owners of Santana, and we were bussed to our hotel in Rome and our bike was put on a truck, which we would receive once we arrived in Elba. We had a pre-tour of Rome, which included the Vatican, the Colliseum, the Catacombs and numerous other sights. Rome provided a great chance to recover from our jet lag and get ready for cycling. The weather in Rome was overcast and humid.

We had a guided tour of the Vatican but the amount of art and information was formidable.

Inside the Vatican

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0083.jpg

Elba:

We took 3 large buses loaded with 53 tandem teams and luggage from Rome via a 3 hour bus drive to a coastal port for a one hour ferry ride to Elba. On the bus, Bill McCready, President of Santana, reviewed the Italian traffic laws, meaning of traffic signs and the rules for cyclists. We got to observe cyclists on the road to see how they handled various traffic situations with cars and intersections to confirm Bill's instructions. It is too complicated to discuss, but is different than the US and Bill's advice was essential and very valuable. We thoroughly enjoyed our cycling experience on the Italian roads. The drivers were great and behaved exactly as Bill explained. The roads in Tuscany and Elba were smooth and in excellent condition for cycling.

Coastline of Elba

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0112.jpg

Upon arriving in Elba, we re-boarded our buses and got our first taste of the terrain. We climbed a 7% grade for several miles to the top of a ridge and descended a curvy road descending several hundred feet to our hotel at the coast located in a beautiful cove at secluded Biodola Bay. It was a magnificent setting but there certainly was a buzz among the teams about the terrain.

View from our hotel room balcony

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0130.jpg

One of the pools looking onto the beach.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0138.jpg

We chilled out at the beach and waited for our bikes to arrive. At 4PM, we received our bikes and 53 couples began the assembly. Santana had a mechanic, their European distributor, Wolfgang, and of course, Bill to assist, if necessary, in the assemble of the bikes. I think most everyone was finished by 6 PM.

Building bikes

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0142.jpg

Each day begins with a ride talk where Bill goes over the route and key points of interest. This location was interesting in that it started with a 500 foot climb in 2 miles to get back to the top of the ridge from the hotel. Velodiva and I were sooooo rested with so much adrenaline; we were ready to get on the bike and go and we zoomed up the hill and we began the trip across the island to the coast and the first major climb.

Ride talk from Pope Bill

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0428.jpg

Along the way, we stopped for a picture with some other teams and then continued on. We arrived at a small town right before the climb and stopped for a cappuccino and to refill water bottles.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0171.jpg

We started the climb and the views were breathtaking along the coast. The combination of air temperature, sun, scenery, wind and elevation were exhilarating. We approached the top and stopped for a few pics.

The climb

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0186.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0183.jpg

We continued on to the summit where lunch was scheduled. Another bike forum team, Sevenrider and his wife and Velodiva and I were the first to arrive and scoped out the town, shot some pics and hung out together waiting for the rest of the teams.

View from the top

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Tuscan%20Tour/PICT0201.jpg

Lunch was a 5 course extravaganza and we could not believe the amount of food that just kept coming. It was wonderful, but we still had some cycling and climbing to do.

Click on these links below for the balance of the report. Please post comments on this page not on the links

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=350225

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=350222

I am enjoying your write up and pics. Have to schedule a ride soon if we can.

Next big ride for us is October 14th: Wine and Cheese Century in Riverbank, just north of Modesto. Wanna join us? Redrider and Cgallagh may join us too...

http://www.stancobike.org/cheese_wine07.html

Glad your trip was a great success. Look forward to a full debriefing in the near future :D

A great tandem toot!
Great ride report!
We've visited Italia but never cycled there. Scenery/food/people are great. As great as the Vatican's art treasures are, we considered the display to be ostentatious.
However we don't need to go as far as Tuscany to get in good/hard climbing.
Twenty some years ago we did the Answer to the Arizona Challenge, a 3-day 325 mile event with 22,000 feet of climbing. Stoker Kay did not volunteer to do that tandem ride again as it was only 103 degrees at the finish line (it snowed on the ride the next year).
Looks like you youngsters were in great shape and prepared for the ride!
Did Bill and Jan ride the whole thing too?
Again, thanks for the report and photos!
Ciao!

Hermes did a great job of capturing the essense of this trip. There was so much going on that we had little time to savor it all at the time. His report helps to bring back some of the wonderful memories for me. It was fun to ride with 54 tandems and we met some new friends that I look forward to riding with in the future.

After several days we settled into a routine: ride and climb some hills for about an hour, stop for a cappuccino, climb some more hills, have a great lunch at a restaurant with a wonderful view, ride some more hills, stop for another cappuccino, finish riding hills for the day and finish with a gelato. My Garmin said we were burning 4 - 6000 calories a day.

The new Seven was more than capable for the hills. Our low gear is a 44 x 25 which forced us to climb faster than most of the other tandems that used granny gears.

It was great fun!

A great tandem toot!
Great ride report!
We've visited Italia but never cycled there. Scenery/food/people are great. As great as the Vatican's art treasures are, we considered the display to be ostentatious.
However we don't need to go as far as Tuscany to get in good/hard climbing.
Twenty some years ago we did the Answer to the Arizona Challenge, a 3-day 325 mile event with 22,000 feet of climbing. Stoker Kay did not volunteer to do that tandem ride again as it was only 103 degrees at the finish line (it snowed on the ride the next year).
Looks like you youngsters were in great shape and prepared for the ride!
Did Bill and Jan ride the whole thing too?
Again, thanks for the report and photos!
Ciao!

Yes and they were extremely gracious hosts.

Sounds like a great tour; Bill & Jan always do a first class job.

If you don't mind me asking, what did the price per person / per day work out to?

What a great adventure. Fantastic pics. We are happy to hear you enjoyed the trip and are looking forward to a ride together soon. I found a website that details many different rides around here, Napa, and Sonoma. We should get a tandem peleton going.

Sounds like a great tour; Bill & Jan always do a first class job.

If you don't mind me asking, what did the price per person / per day work out to?

The Santana website provides pricing for their tours.

What a great adventure. Fantastic pics. We are happy to hear you enjoyed the trip and are looking forward to a ride together soon. I found a website that details many different rides around here, Napa, and Sonoma. We should get a tandem peleton going.

Absolutely. A very cool ride is to ride between Napa and Sonoma over the ridge via 128. This is essentially the route that the Amgen's Tour of California took this year. We did it as part of the Santana tour of the wine country tour last year.

The Santana website provides pricing for their tours.

Yes, they do... for future tours. Not the ones that have already been completed which is why I asked.

So, can I asume that it was about the same as next year's tour of Spain: $355 per person, per day excluding air fare?

Tuscany ride report: (I could have guessed this without going to Italy) Hermes and Velodiva are much, much faster than me and the Mrs; Sevenrider(s) is (are) much faster than me and the Mrs.

Here's the best picture I took in Italy (with my tiny Sony camera).
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/9959/oldwomanou1.jpg

Thanks for reading and your responses.

44X25? low gear? OUCH! Riding an 8% grade with that gear on
a single would be tough,..but on a tandem? But yep,..if you really
could push that gear,...you'd definately be goin' pretty fast.

I am enjoying your write up and pics. Have to schedule a ride soon if we can.

Next big ride for us is October 14th: Wine and Cheese Century in Riverbank, just north of Modesto. Wanna join us? Redrider and Cgallagh may join us too...

http://www.stancobike.org/cheese_wine07.html

Glad your trip was a great success. Look forward to a full debriefing in the near future :D

We just might see you there. Chris is tweaking his schedule.

Are you doing Foxy's Fall on the 20th?

Wow! I had no idea!. Not a lot of miles but a lot of climbing! Great photos & tales.

Santana's website lists prices for future tours. They look to run about $800/day. Since the dollar has been falling, I wonder if the prices will go even higher?

Wow! I had no idea!. Not a lot of miles but a lot of climbing! Great photos & tales.

Santana's website lists prices for future tours. They look to run about $800/day. Since the dollar has been falling, I wonder if the prices will go even higher?

There were times that we thought we wanted more miles but in retrospect it was perfect. It gave us time for photography, hanging out, practicing dolce far niente - art of doing nothing, shopping and experiencing the area. For example, one of the many cool things Santana did was park a van at an interesting town en route. One could shop and put purchases in the van and continue on. You pick up your purchases at the hotel.

Great trip report and photos!

44X25 was that a typo?

Did most tandems have a disc brake?
Did most tandems have couplers?

We have been on 2 Santana rally's in Colorado and California and they were both excellent.

Rob

44X25 was that a typo?

I'll jump in on this because it is my bike that has a 44 x 25 as the lowest gear. It works great for where I live. If I had to do a lot of climbing, with steep grades I would change it. We do fast, day trips and don't plan to do any self-supported touring. The Santana tour was great for us because they take care of moving clothes and luggage from site to site. You do pay for that privilege.

Did most tandems have a disc brake?

Most of the tandems had at least a rear disc. I have both front and rear Avid BB7 discs

Did most tandems have couplers?

About a third to a half of the tandems had couplers. I have couplers on my Seven

Jeff and Shari (Seven Rider) recount their Tuscany tour for the local paper: http://www.plamerican.com/node/3623

Thanks for posting the link to the article. The story came about when our local newspaper, that is always looking for local interest stories, did an article on our bike club. During the interviews they asked if any of us were training for something special and we mentioned our upcoming trip to Tuscany. They called us when we returned and did a nice job of covering the trip.

We were on the same trip with Hermes and had an outstanding time. I've attached a trip review. Enjoy

Great reports on what is now our dream vacation. We've done 4 Santana rallys and are looking forward to a tour with them. I would like to ask how you packed for this trip. Specificly, how much cycling and non-cycling clothing did you bring? Did you end up using a laundry service?

Thanks

We were on the same trip with Hermes and had an outstanding time. I've attached a trip review. Enjoy

That report is very well written with so much great detail. It was like reliving it again. It was our best vacation. We are signed up for Mallorca next year.

Great reports on what is now our dream vacation. We've done 4 Santana rallys and are looking forward to a tour with them. I would like to ask how you packed for this trip. Specificly, how much cycling and non-cycling clothing did you bring? Did you end up using a laundry service?

Thanks

We are heavy packers. We packed 5 days worth of cycling and many days of other clothes. We hand washed a couple of things.

We tried to pack light and had enough clothes for 5 days. We went to a laundromat about half way through the trip and that worked out really well. Our bike stuff is wool (shorts, jerseys, socks) and it just doesn't need daily washing. We did eventually hand wash some stuff in the hotel and it was dry the next day. We each also packed some civilian clothes (pants, shorts, sandals, a few tops and one dressier outfit each for dinners). We fit everything for 10 days in one largish suitcase and one carryon with room enough for bottles of wine, oil, and presents on the way home.

We were on the same trip with Hermes and had an outstanding time. I've attached a trip review. Enjoy

Great report John! Made my day at work reliving all of the details of the trip. I agreed with your assessment of the bikes with disk brakes - very noisy and must be finicky too, remembering Bills stern warning that nobody start the decent from the hill top restaurant on Elba before having them inspected. That wouldn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Our Co-Motion had plain ole' caliper brakes, which worked flawlessly - never had a problem feeling like we needed more stopping power. Never had any rim overheating either, which we had been warned about. Seemed like Larry was always working on someone’s brakes after the daily rides.

You sure hit it right with the description of Rome airport; what a circus! We had one of the large soft sided ProBike cases, and it was a bit of a hassle. As we intend to do more traveling, I'll definitely go with a coupled tandem and two standard cases on the next bike purchase.

This was our first tandem tour, and it was a home run! Bill and the Santana group set a very high bar for our future trips to be measured by...

[QUOTE=Hermes;5393507]Both Velodiva and I agreed this was our best vacation yet. We had perfect QUOTE]

This is a little late, but I want to chime in and say thanks Hermes; your pictures and descriptions were really great! Bill should hire you (how about a trip discount!?!) as group reporter/photographer to document any trip you go on! I remember desparately looking for information on what to expect from this tour, not having done one before; a report like your's would have been invaluable!

We were on the same trip with Hermes and had an outstanding time. I've attached a trip review. Enjoy

Nice recap! The cypress-lined Poet's Road entering Bolgheri was memorable.
Tandem pace line on Poet's Road from the stoker's perspective:

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/velodiva/PICT0224.jpg