I've got a bee in my bonnet that I want to bike through Italy. Specifically through the Cinque Terre area. Does anyone know of a good company that runs tours in this area? Thanks.

What time frame are you looking at? Granfondo Cycling Tours http://www.granfondocyclingtours.com/tuscany5t_07.htm is popular here in Italy (they always show up with Americans at the Granfondo's here) but they already started the tour for this year.

Thanks for the response. I'll look into the company. I don't have any time frame in mind. It's just something I want to do someday.

I lived and raced in Italy for a year and go back every other year to eat and ride. Great riding, but I would say that Cinque Terre is not the best place to ride. The footpaths between the towns are not really made for bikes. I would recommend southern tuscany

Thanks for the response. I sure wouldn't mind biking through Southern Tuscany either. Does anyone know of good tour companies? Thanks.

Erickson tours does a trip along the Genoa coast including Cinque Terre. I did it in 2004 and while there are many awesome towns south of Genoa, the Cinque Terre area is not among them. Its overrun with tourists and lacks the charm of other parts of Italy. But if you can overlook that, I highly recommend the other coastal towns. Roads are limited, tunnels abound, but they are drop dead gorgeous to ride. The Giro and Milan San Remo make annual excursions nearby. Lots of nice coastal climbs with 10% grades. Tuscany has great biking. I did a Backroads tour a few years back. Highly recommend Backroads and Tuscany. Try to make it to Lucca if you can and maybe you'll run into Mario like we did.

Sorry about the late reply. I just spent 8 days a couple of weeks ago riding with this company: http://www.ciclismoclassico.com/. Very good, competent, and well organized. It had Italian guides that both new the area and the local cultures. Pretty much went perfect in all respects. We did a run from Florence down to Elba. Should have done a more advanced ride but we weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into. I wish it had been a little longer, but can't have everything. Other than that they chose fantastic hotels, restaurants, and cultural stops. Bikes were 2007 Bianchi's (roadies) with Veloce and Centaur components I think (can't quite remember right now). Anyway, we had a great time. If I ever get off my tail I'm going to post the pics on the Commuting forum.

The lakes of noth Italy have some breaktaking scenery with a few decent climbs, I have visited the region and drove through it but never on a bike ... would like to do that one day. If you fancy it look for Maggiore, como & Lugano and if you happen to plan it for next July/August I might join you.

...while there are many awesome towns south of Genoa, the Cinque Terre area is not among them. Its overrun with tourists and lacks the charm of other parts of Italy.
That's an interesting opinion. I know that it's one of the places that Rick Steves (who has the PBS travel show) always recommends, so the tourist count may have resultantly gone up in recent years, but back in 2000 when I was ther (in October), the crowds were light, and the towns had a unique charm all of their own. It was one of the highlights of our European vacation (for both my wife and I).

I'll be watching this thread for future reference. My wife will be graduating from Nursing School in June, and I'll be getting her a wine tour of Italy as a graduation present...

That's an interesting opinion. I know that it's one of the places that Rick Steves (who has the PBS travel show) always recommends, so the tourist count may have resultantly gone up in recent years, but back in 2000 when I was ther (in October), the crowds were light, and the towns had a unique charm all of their own. It was one of the highlights of our European vacation (for both my wife and I).

I'll be watching this thread for future reference. My wife will be graduating from Nursing School in June, and I'll be getting her a wine tour of Italy as a graduation present...
Funny you should bring him up. While walking in the Cinque Terre, I overheard an American couple chatting and the woman said "well Rick Steves and I certainly don't share the same ideas of good vacation". I thought it was funny. I love Italy, but the Cinque Terre was just not among my favorite areas.

... the Cinque Terre area is not among them. Its overrun with tourists and lacks the charm of other parts of Italy . . .
Tuscany has great biking. I did a Backroads tour a few years back.
I think a lot depends on what you're expecting, who you're with, what day you hit some place (sometimes even what hour of the day).

Like other than the island of Elba, Sharon and I were not much impressed with the actual riding in Tuscany. And some of the famous hill towns seemed overrun with English-speaking tourists.

If you travel with Backroads, maybe you get to focus more on the fine food + wine and elegant hotel and entertainment -- stuff that Tuscany delivers on. But we don't travel with a group, so for us it really is about our experience of the riding.

Ken

"If you travel with Backroads, maybe you get to focus more on the fine food + wine and elegant hotel and entertainment -- stuff that Tuscany delivers on. But we don't travel with a group, so for us it really is about our experience of the riding."

Ken[/QUOTE]
We camped back when Backroads offered a Euro camping option. The food was picnic table fare and the elegant hotel was a sleeping bag and tent. It was all about the riding. I am not sure where you rode, but we did constant rollers from the coast to Chianti and then some. Stopping along the way for a little focacia and wine. We avoided the area around Florence and Siena and focused on the little used secondary roads through the vineyards and woods. It was awesome. Tuscany is overrun with Americans, no doubt about it. In May we went to Bolzano in the Dolomite region. I think we heard 2 - 3 Americans the whole time. Mostly Austrians or Germans. Just a gorgerous part of the country. A little hard to get to (we dropped down from Brenner Pass), but worth it.

In May we went to Bolzano in the Dolomite region. I think we heard 2 - 3 Americans the whole time. Mostly Austrians or Germans. Just a gorgerous part of the country. A little hard to get to (we dropped down from Brenner Pass), but worth it.
Yes, northeast Italy is a region we're eager to go back to for more riding -- like these photos from last time (http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b05/it/k/index.htm). I guess a German rider would feel that it was "overrun" by Germans -- but since we're Americans, the German tourists seem like just another aspect of its interesting "foreign-ness". Actually in the province of the northeastern corner of Italy, German is an officially recognized language (the local residents were not intending to be made part of Italy).
btw - Bolzano is gentle from the south, which is where we were based. It's in a wide river valley, with a nearly flat rail trail for lots of km south from the town. We camped back when Backroads offered a Euro camping option. The food was picnic table fare . . . we did constant rollers from the coast to Chianti. . . We avoided the area around Florence and Siena and focused on the little used secondary roads through the vineyards and woods.
Yes that puts a different perspective on Tuscany. We did visit Florence + Siena (like most visiting American riders would want to), which surely contributed to our sense of Tuscany being "overrun" by English-speaking tourists (including us).

Hills -- I would not call most of the hills in Tuscany "rolling". I remember "long + moderate", "short + steep", and "long + steep". Maybe you're stronger riders than we are on our tandem, so they seemed like "no big deal" to you -- but we sure noticed them.

Ken

I want to bike through Italy. Specifically through the Cinque Terre area.
Cinque Terre is not usually thought of as a bicycling area -- though it's rather famous as a general tourism spot. It's kinda small for bicycling, and kinda hilly. People who want to spend more time there and visit multiple villages using human-powered transportation are more likely to do it by walking on trails from village to village, or high above the villages. It was raining heavily the day I wanted to ride in the Cinque Terre, but I did check out a 46km (rather hilly) bicycling loop route which I could send you, which goes by some of the villages.The Lonely Planet Cycling Italy guidebook has lots of routes for bike touring all over Italy. Even though I've never followed any of their routes exactly, it's been a very helpful source of specific roads + ideas for making up rides of my own. Most of the regions where organized tours ride are in that book -- even though most Americans have never heard of them as fun bicycling places.

A whole different approach to bicycling in Italy is to rent a car, bring a rack to carry a bike or two on the car, and drive around to the best places in Italy, and ride single-day loop route in each place. Easier to camp if you've got a car, and easier to find something fun to do on the second rainy day in a row, easier to mix in non-bicycling activities. Easier to ride a spectacular road that does not connect well with other bicycling routes -- like the Amalfi coast road (http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b05/itn/k/d/index.htm).

Ken