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Friday, May 16, 2008 at 12:26 AM
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Italy is a great destination to visit by bicycle. Keep attention to this short guide to choose the best road-bike and tour the country safely.
1° Start Understand the benefits of Road Bike Lanes
Bike lanes help define road space, decrease the stress level of bicyclists riding in traffic, encourage bicyclists to ride in the correct direction of trek, and signal motorists that cyclists have a right to the road.
Bike lanes help to better organize the flow of traffic and reduce the chance that motorists will stray into cyclists’ path of travel. Bicyclists have stated their predilection for marked on-street bicycle lanes in numerous surveys.
In addition, several real-time studies (where cyclists of varying abilities and backgrounds ride and assess actual routes and street conditions) have found that cyclists are more happy and assess a street as having a better level of service for them where there are marked bike lanes present.4
In summary, bike lanes do the following:
- support and promote bicycling as a means of transportation;
- help define road space;
- promote a more orderly flow of traffic;
- encourage bicyclists to ride in the correct direction, with the flow of traffic;
- give bicyclists a clear place to be so they are not tempted to ride on the sidewalk;
- remind motorists to look for cyclists when turning or opening car doors;
- signal motorists that cyclists have a right to the road;
- reduce the chance that motorists will stray into cyclists’ path of travel;
- make it less likely that passing motorists swerve toward opposing traffic;
- decrease the stress level of bicyclists riding in traffic.
...more
2° Useful Safety Tips to Learn Before Start Biking
Here a list of general rules to apply while bicycling, thanks to http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
- Wear a Properly Fitted Bicycle Helmet.
- Adjust Your bike to Fit.
- Check Your Equipment.
- See and Be Seen.
- Control Your Bicycle.
- Watch for and Avoid Road Hazards.
- Avoid Riding at Night.
- Go With the Traffic Flow.
- Obey All Traffic Laws.
- Yield to Traffic When Appropriate.
- Be Predictable.
- Stay Alert at All Times.
- Look Before Turning.
- Watch for Parked Cars.
3° Top Italian Places Where Bicycle
Here "About.com" offers a great list of suggested Bike Itineraries:
- 30 Mountain Bike routes - Valli del Natisone (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) - North east Italy near Udine, rated by difficulty.
- Bike Tour Tuscany - Tuscany bike tours offers one-day bike rides in the beautiful Chianti hills of Tuscany just south of Florence. Transportation is provided to and from Florence.
- Destra Po - Cycling the Right Bank of the Po River - The longest cycling route of Italy is found on the right bank of the river Po in Ferrara. Here's how to cycle it. Most of the route is exclusively for cyclists, and it's flat--a bicycle route for everyone!
- Mountain Biking in the Dolomites near Cortina - Mountain biking itineraries in Dolomite mountains in the Veneto region.
- Terre di Siena in Bici - The Siena Countryside by Bicycle - Great, comprehensive web site about bicycling in Southern Tuscany using all sorts of bikes, including antique bicycles in the cult favorite Eroica. You'll even find bicycle friendly farmhouses and hotels in the countryside to stay in with your bike. Top site for Italy Bicycling.
- Other Italy Biking Tours
4° How to Choose a good Bike
Howstuffworks.com gives a good list of things to look before choosing a bicycle:
A - Identify your use and your price range. Visit a number of stores that carry different brands to get a feel for what's out there. The shop should narrow your options quickly to no fewer than three models.
B - Test ride if you can. It's the best way to find out if the bike fits you well and if you like the feel of the controls, the suspension, and its handling. Put a bike through its paces as much as you can on a test ride. Ride it up a hill hard, slalom along a twisty cycle path. Brake hard. Shift through the entire gear range to see if there are problems with the adjustment.
C - At the shop, look for signs of good (or bad) build quality. Brake pads should squarely contact the rim and not squeal during braking. Shifting should be smooth and crisp. There shouldn't be any clunks or rattling noises. Tires should be appropriately inflated. Shifter and brake cable ends should be neatly cut and capped. These are signs you are in a good shop.
D - It will be hard to haggle on the price, because many shops don't make a good margin on bikes; service and accessories are where they have more room to bargain. Ask about discounts on accessories--most shops will give a margin discount on extras bought the same day as the bike. Inquire about the bike's service plan--what's included, what's extra? Get the service plan in writing.
E - If you're interested in learning more about how to work on your own bike, ask about classes the shop offers. Ask about anything of which you are unsure. If the salespeople don't answer sincerely and completely or if they give you a hard time, take your business elsewhere; just like car dealers, there's usually more than one shop in your area carrying a particular brand.
F - If a bike is close but not perfect for example, the stem is too long or you don't like the seat--ask the shop about swapping it. Most shops have a good policy about these kinds of changes, which can make the difference between a customer walking out with the bike or not.
5° Bike and Trains
If your tour is not a loop but Itinerary across several cities, maybe it's better to consider a train.
When visiting Italy, cyclists may find some difficulties to get around on public transport with their bicycle.
So consider to:
* Look for the bicycle logo on the side of the train
* It is forbidden to bring your bicycle in the passenger cabin on all trains in Italy.
* In addition to your train ticket, you will need to purchase a ticket for the bike (3,50 €). The ticket is valid for 24 hours.
* Unfortunately there's no way to search for trains that carry bikes.
* You will be responsible for loading and unloading your bike.
* In small town stations the train stops only for a few minutes, so be ready with your bike to get off. |
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