StrongHeadwind

I did a quick search and didn't find anything specific. I apologize if this is a repeat post of something covered before.

In October of this year I will have the opportunity to travel to Italy for a trip with my wife. I plan to do some riding while there and was checking out Strava for segments in and around Rome and Assisi. Not so much to try and chase some KOM, but more to get a feel for what is popular in the area and well traversed.

Looking to see if anyone can lend any advice on good places to go that are safe yet fun and challenging. I enjoy a good climb, so never a problem to go that route.

Thanks in advance!

dorkypants

I don't know about biking in Rome other than urban biking, nor do I know its outskirts. Umbria, however, is similar to Tuscany (with fewer international tourists). There are charming hilltop towns everywhere. You could try Gubbio, Todi, Orvieto and Cività di Bagnoregio outside of Orvieto. Assisi can be overrun with tourists, including Italian religious tourists, but otherwise is also a hilltop town you can ride up to from the surrounding countryside as well as down from.

Todi has an easy winding way up and a hard, unyielding straight climb into the center of the old town. Cività is a virtual ghost town that you ride up this ramp-in-the-air across a gorge to get into the old town—very atmospheric. Orvieto is perched on top of a volcanic "tufa" cliff, has its cathedral and network of Etruscan tunnels under it.

On the whole, if you avoid the SS roads ("statale" in Italian), the regional SR and provincial SP roads tend to be pretty quiet. The SS roads can be either quiet country roads with light traffic or major arteries with heavy truck and motor traffic.

Darth Lefty 

I visited Rome last year on my honeymoon. Walking, I found it hilly and cobbled, and the bike share was a cruel hoax. There were nowhere near as many cyclists as there were in Paris. The drivers have a certain lack of respect for law and order. The only cycling I did was in a park. I admit we never made it out of the central city.