f4rrest

I will be in each of these regions for a couple days and can only go for a ride maybe once or twice.

I enjoy climbing and looking to do around 3hr.
Not interested in metro areas.

Which area would be the best?

Rome
Florence / Tuscany
Venice
Milan / Lake Como

I did check the regional forum, but it was empty. I'm hoping some of you have ridden there.

Steve B.

Rome, Venice, Florence and Milan are all urban cities, so can we assume, as per your post, you want a recommendation for just outside those areas ?.

North of Rome is the Tiber River valley of Umbria. Beautiful area, flat in the valley yet lots of hills. My favorite is up near Perugia.

South or North of Florence is also beautiful, hilly pretty much everywhere.

North of Venice is flat, less scenic, more congested.

Never been to Milan but I’ve heard the Lake Como area is wonderful, but it’s the Alps so bring your hill gears and climbing legs.

mzeffex 

If you're at Lake Como directly you can do a nice loop around it, roughly 100 miles. With 3 hours it would be easy to do 90 minutes out and back. Did it last summer and it was quite nice. Rolling hills the whole way around and plenty of cafes/gelato spots to stop at.

f4rrest

Yes, I figured I'd go just outside of the cities.

The Alps would be great. I'll check Perugia too, since that might best fit the schedule.

f4rrest

This sounds fun too.

Wife says I could skip the lake tour for a ride.

znomit

This was a brevet I did in May. Getting to and from the lakes was a bit of a chore but the route around the lakes was stunning. Great climb away from lake Como with views across to Bellagio.
I rented a bike in Milan but there are a few places in Como itself. Get some local knowledge.

https://www.openrunner.com/r/4503519

https://www.uslegnanese.it/randonnee/

f4rrest

That looks amazing. Definitely more km than I expect to do.

How did you get to the lakes from Milan?

From what shop did you rent?

indyfabz

Immediately north of Venice is flat, but one you get into the area around Bassano del Grappa there are plenty of hills, including climbs up to the Asiago Plateau and, of course, the famed climb of Monte Grappa. Spent nearly three weeks outside of Bassano and never wanted for hills if I wanted them.

https://www.bikemap.net/en/search/?q...C45.8115260803

znomit

You can put your bike on the train for a small fee as long as you're outside of normal commuting hours (the ride was on a public holiday so no problems). So I took the train to Legnano early morning where the brevet started.

I sat in a bunch for the ride to Como and then mostly did my own thing enjoying the scenery from there on. The drivers are crazy and the roads pot holed but the scenery made up for it.

I rented from Milano Bike Renting, they delivered to my hotel in Milan. Check out their route pages.
https://www.milanobikerenting.com/index.html
https://www.milanobikerenting.com/ro...orth-italy.htm

f4rrest

This is great. How have I never known bikemaps.com before?

f4rrest

Excellent, thanks!

Nice shot, too.

dalava

The Chianti region in Tuscany is riding heaven. The InGamba cycling tour operates out of there, and check out their routes on Strava, and you will have a great time. The road are winding but beautiful, drivers are super aware of cyclists, and you have a little towns dotted all around, everyone 10-20 miles, where you can stop for breaks. Gaiole in Chianti is where the Eroica rides start, from there, you can get to the Strada Bianca which to me is simply the best cycling experience one can ever have.

burnthesheep

Read this: Gironimo! Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy

https://www.amazon.com/Gironimo-Ridi.../dp/1681771284

f4rrest

Thanks!

This is definitely on the list for consideration.

dalava

And forgot to mention, the great Chianti Classico you can drink for a song. There are a lot of family owned Agriturismo/hotel with a vineyard where you can stay... they are better than Four Seasons IMHO.

Tycho Brahe 

I will be going to Italy tomorrow. First a few bike-less days in Rome then off to the Dolemites for some riding. Flats are boring, gotta get to the mountains. Will be doing the Stelvio Pass from Bormio, hoping to add in the Swiss ascent if I can make it (the starting point is far from where I will be).

Italy is very mountainous except for the plains from Venice to Milan. Never biked around the northern lakes like Como. Wanted to bike around Garda, but the traffic is too bad. There traffic might not be bad like LA, but there are pretty much no shoulders on the roads.

diphthong

enjoy!!

LawSchweiin

It's tough to go wrong with riding in Italy, but I'd recommend either the northern lake district or Tuscany. Tuscany in particular seems well suited to road riding. I've also ridden far in the south, but I found the roads to be of much poorer quality.

Steve B.

This is the third Tuscany recommendation. I think I mentioned it as south of Florence (Chianti region) is about my favorite. Just note that if you stay in a town, that typically means an uphill ride to your lodging. Probably an uphill ride to a different town for lunch as well.

We spent 2 wonderful nights just north of Greve one year at Castillo Vicchiomaggio. They had (at the time) a dinner on Tuesday night featuring 7 different selections from their winery. I learned that biscotti goes really well dipped not just in coffee but also a desert wine. I think the dinner was great as well (but what food in Italy isn’t ?)

https://www.vicchiomaggio.it/

f4rrest

Very cool.

Please let us know how your rides go.

f4rrest

Biscotti are my favorite dessert.

Did you hire a tour to ride in Tuscany or do your own thing?


So far, Lake Como and Tuscany are definitely on the plan.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I live in Northern Italy, about an hour train ride from Venice in Aviano, Italy. I am on the foot of the Dolomites and the area around here offers some stupendous climbing opportunites. It is all very small town atmosphereish...This is a great place to road bike and mountain bike, particularly if you like to climb.

f4rrest

Is it similar to Bassano Del Grappa mentioned by @indyfab ?

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I’ve never ridden in that area so I couldn’t say for sure. I believe it is more populated there if that is a factor for you.