Touring - Bike Touring in Tuscany

Four if us are planning a cycling tour in the Tuscany/Umbria/Marche area of Italy in June 2005. We either want to do a self-guided tour or create our own. We would appreciate any suggestions!!

We're not sure about bringing our own road bikes or rent some there. If we bring ours, we're not sure what to do about the bike boxes (if we do our own trip). Is it possible to rent good quality road bikes there? We would hate to get there and possibly end up with something really bad!

I've looked at RandoTrek tours which sound pretty good and within our budget. Has anyone been on any of their tours?

Thanks,
Barb Ryan
Va. Beach, VA

Wow, that sounds like fun.

I'd check into Cinghiale Cycling Tours (http://www.cinghiale.com/company.shtml) which is Andy Hampsten's tour company. The website says he, "rides every mile of every tour."

I've never seen good quality road bikes for rental here in Italy, I think that bringing you own bikes with you would be the best choice.

If you have a little experience of bike touring, creating your own tour would give you big satisfactions. Those regions are full of interesting places and nice landscapes and it's easy to always find a place where to sleep, you have only to decide what to see and the length of your tour (this part of Italy is very hilly, be careful about the steppest hills when planning your route).
The best maps (1:250.000) are produced by Touring Club Italiano and DeAgostini.

I went to Tuscany several times, last time was in june for a 250 mile ride from Florence to Grosseto (without a planned route), if you need some informations about nice places with few tourist I'll be happy to help you, what milage are you planning to ride (is it grammatically correct in english? :o ).

Ciao

Dear Busker --- Thanks for the information. We are thinking more about taking our own bikes now and possibly creating our own tour. Any advice that you can give us would be greatly appreciated. What did you enjoy most about Tuscany/Umbria/Marches?

We will probably want to ride 30-50 miles per day (45-80 KM) depending on how hilly it is.

One problem we have is transporting our bikes/bike cases. If we can rent a vehicle at the airport large enough to hold 2 bike cases, we can travel to the first city. We might stay in the same place for 3 days and take a different route each day (or possibly just sightsee one day) and then we will drive to the next city and do the same. We just need to find a vehicle large enough that's not too expensive!

We enjoy great scenery, quaint cafes, wineries etc. We would like to look into staying at farmhouses, monasteries, etc.

By the way, your English is great!

I've traveled to Italy several times- 2 times, I've been there by bike, and both times, I've traveled on my own itiniary and not relied on a tour company.

It is totally do-able. I do not think it is necessary for a paid tour unless you like the pampered lifestyle where you don't have to worry about where to store your luggage, carrying your gear on your bikes, and finding a place to stay the night. I also liked that I was on my own timetable. You will find that in Italy, they do NOT rush... for anything. I was irritated at first, but hey... that's how it works out there, and it works for them. You will find that you will adapt to this way of thinking- take your breaks in the middle of the day, enjoy taking your time with things, and slow down and enjoy life. It is definitely a wonderful life over in Italy.

I used to travel with an itiniary and a set schedule, but going to Italy has taught me to kick back and enjoy. The scenery is so beautiful, and the people are so friendly and wonderful that you really will want to linger in some places. A tour group won't allow for staying longer if you fall in love with a place. On your own, you can stay as long as you like. And if you get tired, or if you're having a hard time with your bike, take a slow train and throw your bike onboard. Lock up your bike and enjoy an easy, ambling train ride through small towns, countrysides, and big cities.

Busker is right- get the Touring Club Italiano, but do make sure it is not more than a year old- the roads do change, and it can be frightning to end up on the autostrada when you didn't mean to! The Michelin map for Italia is also very good. I liked my Michelin map because it had all of Italia in one book, but the Touring Club has maps by region, so you have to carry a lot of maps if you're not sure where you'll be going.

If you haven't gotten a bike yet, and you're looking for a bike, I would highly recommend a Bike Friday folding bike. You can get them new, custom made new, or used from the website. I used a hybrid Specialized Sirrus for my first trip and regretted it. I used a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket for my second trip and it made life a lot easier. You can get the samsonite suitcase (has a combination lock on it) which comes with hitches, and when you are travelling by plane or have to pack your bike, you take the bike down and fold it up and put it in your suitcase. When you get to your destination, unfold the bike, put the other parts back on it, and take the hitches out and attach your luggage to the back of the bike, and you've got a trailer you can store all your stuff in. It's great stuff.

There is no such thing as a vehicle that's not too expensive in Italia. ALL cars are expensive out there. If you think gas is expensive here in the USA, you will come back thankful the prices aren't any higher than they already are! And taking the autostrada will cost you big time... be prepared to shell out quite a bit of money.

Great scenery is everywhere. Quaint cafes are all over the place... you can't miss it! Farmhouses and monasteries are abundant... check the Lonely Planet for information on places to stay. My only caveat to you is to realize that in the summer, travel is crowded, so you may have to look a bit more than you'd like sometimes. But definitely, it is worth the hassle!

Tuscany is just all good anywhere you go. I don't know Umbria and Marche that well, but I'm sure it would be a wonderful experience. You may even be enticed into buying a farmhouse there to renovate! :)

Have fun, ask any questions you may think of here.

Koffee

Wow, Koffee.... That's a lot of information - Thanks! I'm really getting excited. I'm sure I'll have more questions later.........Thanks, Barb

No problems. Definitely do a lot of research, but do keep it laid back and keep the open mind! You will be much more relaxed and your trip will go so much better!

This summer, I did Italy, but I found myself wandering into Switzerland for almost 10 days while I was at it. Totally unexpected, but definitely worth the extra time to go over there. Switzerland is beautiful, the mountains are sooooo hard, but at the same time, the country was so beautiful that I definitely felt like I was happy that I didn't plan any kind of itiniary beforehand.

Koffee

Don't forget to stop in Nannini in Siena and get some panpepato - food of the gods.

bkr

I don't think that renting a car would be a good choice, the most beautiful thing is rideing through the scenery of tuscany (and, as kofee said, gas is 1.20 euro/liter and it's getting more expensive and cars costs triple than the american one).
In my opinion you have better deposit the cases in the airport (I don't know how much does it cost but for sure less than a car!) and than only use your bikes. The tranfer from and to the airport (maybe Milan or Rome) can be done by train. You don't need camping stuff (it's so easy to find a place for the night) so that you can use small panniers.

Just as a cue, I suggest you to start from Florence, go down to Volterra passing through Poggibonsi and San Giminiano. Than head to Siena (don't forget to visit the Abbey of Saint Galgano), after that you can go to Montalcino to taste the famous "Brunello di Montalcino" and than you have the opportunity to choose between the coast (Grosseto) and the center of Italy going to Trasimeno Lake, Perugia and Arezzo.

For the first time in Tuscany this is a nice selection of places to visit, changing from the green hills of Florence to the red ground of Siena to the large horizon of the Maremma. But be sure that if you chose any other route you wouldn't be disappointed :)

Ciao, a presto.

Might I also put in a vote for riding along the west coast too? You could start in La Spezia and ride straight south to Livornio, then head inland into Pisa and ride to Florence from Pisa. Riding down the coast is a beautiful experience- bring camping equipment for the campgrounds that are abundant along the coastal areas- not only that, there are not very many big hills riding along the coast too. So if you're wanting to avoid the big mountains right away, you could stick to the coast before heading inland to other parts of Tuscany.

Try to coincide parts of your trip to intersect with at least one stage of the Giro d'Italia- it's one big party in the towns the riders stop through, and the race is great to participate in as a spectator, with all the freebies and the spectators around before the riders come through. If you can get to a town where the start and finish are in the same town, you can party hearty for a good part of the day.

Koffee