Cycling in Tuscany
Discussion
Next year my wife and I will (finally) be able to jet off on our first proper holiday together, business and work have meant it's been pretty hard to get time off over the last five years.
Thankfully she is very understanding so I'm allowed to take my bike so lonf as it's not the main focus!
Majorca, Tenerife et all are the obvious bike destinations but I'd rather somewhere a bit more special and Tuscany seems to fit the bill, food, weather, scenery and of course cycling.
Is there anywhere to in particular that would be ideal from a cycling PoV? I'm not after mega hills, just somewhere nice to cruise around on the Wilier, working up an appetite for the the food & drink in the evening time!
Thankfully she is very understanding so I'm allowed to take my bike so lonf as it's not the main focus!
Majorca, Tenerife et all are the obvious bike destinations but I'd rather somewhere a bit more special and Tuscany seems to fit the bill, food, weather, scenery and of course cycling.
Is there anywhere to in particular that would be ideal from a cycling PoV? I'm not after mega hills, just somewhere nice to cruise around on the Wilier, working up an appetite for the the food & drink in the evening time!
Rocksteadyeddie said:
God's own cycling country. Well surfaced roads. Not massively busy out of season. Amazing scenery. And fabulous food, wine and espresso. There's a good reason lots of pros live and train there.
Oh, not hilly? Hmmm, that could be a problem.
Its lovely there, I've been, but not to cycle. Some of the hills are steep enough to give a car in 2nd gear serious risk of stalling...Oh, not hilly? Hmmm, that could be a problem.
Rocksteadyeddie said:
God's own cycling country. Well surfaced roads. Not massively busy out of season. Amazing scenery. And fabulous food, wine and espresso. There's a good reason lots of pros live and train there.
Oh, not hilly? Hmmm, that could be a problem.
As long as they are not Alpine I'll be happy Oh, not hilly? Hmmm, that could be a problem.
I've a mental of image of Tuscany being the Italian version of Yorkshire..
It's seriously hilly, and lots of the places you'll want to go to (the hill towns, for example, Montepulciano et al) are on the top of.... hills.
But as we all know all hills are surmountable with the correct gearing.
I actually built a specific drivetrain for my trip, 48-36 up front and 11-34 MTB cassette at the back with a long cage MTB mech. The gaps between ratios were a bit interesting as it was only 8-speed. Worked fine though.
I would also mention that, whilst the main roads are in the main nicely paved, you REALLY want to get off the beaten track and onto the Strade Bianche. Google 'l'eroica ride report'. For a bit of inspiration.
On the seventh day, God created Tuscany so he'd have somewhere nice to go on holidays.
But as we all know all hills are surmountable with the correct gearing.
I actually built a specific drivetrain for my trip, 48-36 up front and 11-34 MTB cassette at the back with a long cage MTB mech. The gaps between ratios were a bit interesting as it was only 8-speed. Worked fine though.
I would also mention that, whilst the main roads are in the main nicely paved, you REALLY want to get off the beaten track and onto the Strade Bianche. Google 'l'eroica ride report'. For a bit of inspiration.
On the seventh day, God created Tuscany so he'd have somewhere nice to go on holidays.
We stayed here http://www.pratello.it/ earlier this year, borrowed a couple of old Mountain Bikes and went for a few rides. We are going back next year and taking our road bikes, it was absolutely stunning.
http://www.dievole.it/en/villaDievole/welcome.aspx
Stayed here years ago BC (Before Children) stunning and the food and wine aint too bad either.
Stayed here years ago BC (Before Children) stunning and the food and wine aint too bad either.
We stayed here http://lepratola.com/ Stunning place. Real Tuscan dream villa.
Rented a bike here before:
http://www.cicloposse.com
They are happy to assist with recommending routes and also do organized tours.
The whole area south of Siena is not bad for cycling.
http://www.cicloposse.com
They are happy to assist with recommending routes and also do organized tours.
The whole area south of Siena is not bad for cycling.
Tuscany is great, we first started going about 8 years ago and have spent a couple of weeks there pretty much every August since. We always say that we should go elsewhere but always find ourselves drawn back to it. Have a look at Keycamp, they have a site which is ideally positioned to see Tuscany, about an hour and a half or less from Pisa airport. It's a great place to base yourself.
You can drive to Rada in Chianti, Siena etc and then cycle it once you get your bearings. Temperature in August has been anywhere from 29 -36. It is very hilly but you come down the other side at quite a rapid rate :-)
The campsite (modern mobile homes as well)I suggest is very well run, has many pools, has regular wine tasting excursions at local vineyards, trips to Florence, Tuscan cooking etc.
I hired a mountain bike from the cycle hire shop there and when I returned it was talking to the chap about wishing I had my road bike and he said that they could have ordered one to rent with the local cycle store as they deal with them, they just need a couple of days notice.
The site is called Norcenni Girasole and can be found on the Keycamp website if the link below does not work. If you wanted to check out the bike hire they have English speaking staff. Hope this helps.
http://www.keycamp.co.uk/sites/italy-tuscany/in017...
You can drive to Rada in Chianti, Siena etc and then cycle it once you get your bearings. Temperature in August has been anywhere from 29 -36. It is very hilly but you come down the other side at quite a rapid rate :-)
The campsite (modern mobile homes as well)I suggest is very well run, has many pools, has regular wine tasting excursions at local vineyards, trips to Florence, Tuscan cooking etc.
I hired a mountain bike from the cycle hire shop there and when I returned it was talking to the chap about wishing I had my road bike and he said that they could have ordered one to rent with the local cycle store as they deal with them, they just need a couple of days notice.
The site is called Norcenni Girasole and can be found on the Keycamp website if the link below does not work. If you wanted to check out the bike hire they have English speaking staff. Hope this helps.
http://www.keycamp.co.uk/sites/italy-tuscany/in017...
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