Cycling Holidays in Italy
Discussion
I have some tangentially relevant experience and toyed with the idea last year.
Which part of Italy? Mallorca is a 'holiday' destination in the minds of Brits and I suspect the popularity with spring cycling tourists is the reliable weather. Italy is a big country and doesn't have any crystallised focus on its own. Mallorca vs Tuscany or Mallorca vs The Dolomites is perceived differently from Mallorca vs Italy.
Which part of Italy? Mallorca is a 'holiday' destination in the minds of Brits and I suspect the popularity with spring cycling tourists is the reliable weather. Italy is a big country and doesn't have any crystallised focus on its own. Mallorca vs Tuscany or Mallorca vs The Dolomites is perceived differently from Mallorca vs Italy.
Roadcc are running stories at the moment about their visit to Italy, near Rimini. Looks fantastic!
I go to Pescara regularly and ride up into the mountains there when my mate is about (he has 2 nice bikes so saves me the hassle of taking my own or renting out there). Abruzzo is a fantastic (undiscovered) region; has all the benefits of anywhere else in Italy but is cheaper and quieter. "Climbbybike" rates one of the mountain climbs as tougher than Ventoux.
The roads can be terrible in patches, although so can ours! Car mags seem to think Spanish roads are smooth and well maintained, but that is just an impression I have. I used to think the drivers were more bike aware over there than here, but the last trip had several needless close passes so maybe I was lucky before, or unlucky this time.
Where I am you quite often see large groups of very serious looking roadies all in the same gear; if you get in a bunch with them and don't take your turn at the front they slaughter you. I beleive the sportive scene is very competitive too, not many Italians take it easy and just take part. You also see older larger gentlemen in the kit they bought thirty years ago!
I go to Pescara regularly and ride up into the mountains there when my mate is about (he has 2 nice bikes so saves me the hassle of taking my own or renting out there). Abruzzo is a fantastic (undiscovered) region; has all the benefits of anywhere else in Italy but is cheaper and quieter. "Climbbybike" rates one of the mountain climbs as tougher than Ventoux.
The roads can be terrible in patches, although so can ours! Car mags seem to think Spanish roads are smooth and well maintained, but that is just an impression I have. I used to think the drivers were more bike aware over there than here, but the last trip had several needless close passes so maybe I was lucky before, or unlucky this time.
Where I am you quite often see large groups of very serious looking roadies all in the same gear; if you get in a bunch with them and don't take your turn at the front they slaughter you. I beleive the sportive scene is very competitive too, not many Italians take it easy and just take part. You also see older larger gentlemen in the kit they bought thirty years ago!
I've done a bit of riding around Lake Como and can highly recommend it. From a marketing perspective it's good because of the glamour the name brings, and it's considered acceptable as a place to take your wife as well as a cycling destination.
As to why Majorca is more popular than Italy, the climate is more reliable in winter and as the big climbs mostly start from sea level the total altitude at the top isn't as high as in Italy. Flights are also cheaper and car hire is the cheapest in Europe which is another bonus if you're just there for the cycling and not the culture and food.
As to why Majorca is more popular than Italy, the climate is more reliable in winter and as the big climbs mostly start from sea level the total altitude at the top isn't as high as in Italy. Flights are also cheaper and car hire is the cheapest in Europe which is another bonus if you're just there for the cycling and not the culture and food.
jamiebae said:
I've done a bit of riding around Lake Como and can highly recommend it. From a marketing perspective it's good because of the glamour the name brings, and it's considered acceptable as a place to take your wife as well as a cycling destination.
'Non-cycling partner-friendly' was one of the two core ideas I was looking at. The other being 'driving + cycling' trips.Gruffy said:
jamiebae said:
I've done a bit of riding around Lake Como and can highly recommend it. From a marketing perspective it's good because of the glamour the name brings, and it's considered acceptable as a place to take your wife as well as a cycling destination.
'Non-cycling partner-friendly' was one of the two core ideas I was looking at. The other being 'driving + cycling' trips.However if I could take a holiday to somewhere nice where I could go out on the bike for four or five hours and my wife could do something else to entertain herself without feeling like a spare part then that would be interesting.
That was kinda the point. I've run driving holidays in the past and I'm sure other PH cyclists have thought "I wish I had my bike with me" while on tour. Transport the bikes and gear in a communal vehicle and suddenly you have the best of both worlds. Ride hard one day, rest in the motor the next and so on.
i am based in Vicenza, between Venice and Verona and it is truly epic. The Sunday rides are great with literally hundreds of guys of all ages and levels heading out of town into the hills. The roads - well, some are great some aren't......
the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
mylesmcd said:
i am based in Vicenza, between Venice and Verona and it is truly epic. The Sunday rides are great with literally hundreds of guys of all ages and levels heading out of town into the hills. The roads - well, some are great some aren't......
the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
Sounds really good, I might need to pay that area a visit at some point. Personally I've always avoided Italy as I'm worried about being repeatedly ripped off and don't speak much Italian. The advantage of staying near Lugano is at least they speak Swiss-German and have less of a propensity to rip off visitors!the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
mylesmcd said:
i am based in Vicenza, between Venice and Verona and it is truly epic. The Sunday rides are great with literally hundreds of guys of all ages and levels heading out of town into the hills. The roads - well, some are great some aren't......
the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
I was looking at the Italian Gran Fondo calendar a few weeks ago and the Vicenza event stood out. Was thinking a GF could be a great culmination to a ten day cycling holiday next year.the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
Weapons grade coffee makes the case yet stronger.
jamiebae said:
mylesmcd said:
i am based in Vicenza, between Venice and Verona and it is truly epic. The Sunday rides are great with literally hundreds of guys of all ages and levels heading out of town into the hills. The roads - well, some are great some aren't......
the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
Sounds really good, I might need to pay that area a visit at some point. Personally I've always avoided Italy as I'm worried about being repeatedly ripped off and don't speak much Italian. The advantage of staying near Lugano is at least they speak Swiss-German and have less of a propensity to rip off visitors!the wine is 80 cents a glass and the coffee is weapons grade also!
That said, there are some excellent sights to see - lakes, Col's etc - i ll keep you all posted!
mylesmcd said:
Yea - car hire is the big one. They are just not straight forward in their approach.
That said, there are some excellent sights to see - lakes, Col's etc - i ll keep you all posted!
Car hire isn't an issue for me as I live in Zürich so can drive down in three hours if I want to, but for UK visitors maybe it could be seen as a bit of a concern. I guess you fly to Milan or Venice and then do battle with the rental car company when they try to tell you a Peugeot 107 is really a 'Fiat Punto or similar' in spite of the fact you can't get a bike into it...That said, there are some excellent sights to see - lakes, Col's etc - i ll keep you all posted!
jamiebae said:
mylesmcd said:
Yea - car hire is the big one. They are just not straight forward in their approach.
That said, there are some excellent sights to see - lakes, Col's etc - i ll keep you all posted!
Car hire isn't an issue for me as I live in Zürich so can drive down in three hours if I want to, but for UK visitors maybe it could be seen as a bit of a concern. I guess you fly to Milan or Venice and then do battle with the rental car company when they try to tell you a Peugeot 107 is really a 'Fiat Punto or similar' in spite of the fact you can't get a bike into it...That said, there are some excellent sights to see - lakes, Col's etc - i ll keep you all posted!
jamiebae said:
Sounds really good, I might need to pay that area a visit at some point. Personally I've always avoided Italy as I'm worried about being repeatedly ripped off and don't speak much Italian. The advantage of staying near Lugano is at least they speak Swiss-German and have less of a propensity to rip off visitors!
That's a terrible thing to say! Maybe if you go to Venice or Rome where you are "just another tourist" you might get ripped off. As you might in London/Paris/Berlin as a tourist...Try Abruzzo, it is a fantastic region and the people are brilliant. Sweeping generalisation, obviously.
As for car hire, you can get done anywhere on that score too. If you use the web you can do lots of research and get good deals, but Italy may be more expensive to hire a car than other European countries.
Daveyraveygravey said:
That's a terrible thing to say! Maybe if you go to Venice or Rome where you are "just another tourist" you might get ripped off. As you might in London/Paris/Berlin as a tourist...
Try Abruzzo, it is a fantastic region and the people are brilliant. Sweeping generalisation, obviously.
As for car hire, you can get done anywhere on that score too. If you use the web you can do lots of research and get good deals, but Italy may be more expensive to hire a car than other European countries.
I'm sure it's not a fair assumption to make, and it is based mostly on Sicily but it still puts me off Italy to some extent although I know it shouldn't. Try Abruzzo, it is a fantastic region and the people are brilliant. Sweeping generalisation, obviously.
As for car hire, you can get done anywhere on that score too. If you use the web you can do lots of research and get good deals, but Italy may be more expensive to hire a car than other European countries.
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