Bike touring / vacation in Europe (Italy)

[martinman]

I've never been to Europe - mostly just US and carribean vacations. And *never* brought my road bike.... I'd like to experience a European country or 2 ... or 3 on my bike with a guide. There are a few travel agencies that offer adventure type bookings, but this is as far as I've gotten in my research.. I ride about 100 miles a week but could push it - (30mi * 7 days is totally doable). Wondering of anyone has done such a thing and could offer suggestions. I'd like to experience the country far away for the tourist areas and really enjoy the visuals, work hard on my bike and relax at night.

Thoughts?

[Kerry Irons]

I've never been to Europe - mostly just US and carribean vacations. And *never* brought my road bike.... I'd like to experience a European country or 2 ... or 3 on my bike with a guide. There are a few travel agencies that offer adventure type bookings, but this is as far as I've gotten in my research.. I ride about 100 miles a week but could push it - (30mi * 7 days is totally doable). Wondering of anyone has done such a thing and could offer suggestions. I'd like to experience the country far away for the tourist areas and really enjoy the visuals, work hard on my bike and relax at night.

Thoughts?

You will need to talk to the specific touring company and see what their philosphy is, but at 100 miles per week you will be better prepared than most people who go on bike tours. Obviously people self-select for the type of touring company that matches their interest so you can find a wide range from "big miles" to "smell the roses." There are not that many riders who want to do just big miles so few companies go for that market niche.

Typical daily mileage would be 50 max and since you have nothing else to do in a day, that can be done easily. Some companies are more in the 30-40 miles per day. But if you ask they can often give you side routes and extensions that allow you to ride as much as you want.

Tour companies range from "stay in one location for a few days" to "move every day." Some provide on-road service, lunches and snacks, evening meals, tour guides, etc. while others will help you plan an itinerary and just move your luggage each night. The range of service is wide.

If you go to The Cyclists' Yellow Pages - Complete Bicycle Trip Planning Resource - Adventure Cycling Association you can find a bunch of tour companies and you can start contacting them.

[Art853]

Check out Lonely Planet Cycling Italy. It's aimed at the self guided cyclist but has descriptions of routes and the various regions. You could read guidebooks to Italy to learn more about the country and region you plan to visit.

[nalaing]

Those are wonderful locations for cycling. I think you should try to look for a touring company for they know the best place for it.

[pennstater]

If you are looking for a fully supported tour I recommend a VBT tour of Tuscany. My wife and I did one a couple of years ago. They were very good about dealing with levels of abilities from novice to more experienced though I wouldn't recommend the Tuscan Coast tour for hard core riders. Lodging and most meals were included at a good to luxury level and a decent price. If you bought air transport they also included airport transfers. Depending on what you are looking for it might be a good way to start your first tour.

I took my road bike, but everyone else used VBT's hybrid or road bicycles. We are hoping to do another and have also been considering other tour providers such as Ciclismo Classico, Backroads and Trek Travel which are more costly but appear to be more oriented to experienced cyclists.

[Mr. Versatile]

My daughter & her husband cycled Italy 2 years ago & used VTB. They have nothing but good to say about it.

[lacoucouille]

I don't know how much price will play into your decision, but I have always thought that the trips guided by rei looked to be top notch. (I have never been on one myself)

[Bill2]

Haven't tried them but this couple's tours sound fun: Cycle Italia, Bicycle Tours Italy, Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria-Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Giro d'Italia

[Matt1986]

I recently did some solo touring through Europe and met some really nice people working for Backroads tours, operating mainly in and around Tuscany - certainly worth looking into.

It's beautiful cycling country by the way, you'll love it.

[Paolin]

I am originally from the Veneto region and biked around the Dolomits/ Eastern alps a lot, and I miss them tremendously. That is to say that I have no idea about touring agencies but I envy you a lot.
P.

ps: if you need specific questions on eastern alps, please do not hesitate to contact me.

[Chef Tony]

Not a lot of tour companies will go for the big miles, as noted in an earlier comment. If you want that kind of trip check out Breaking Away tours, which has several very challenging rides. I have not joined them personally, but have heard good recommendations.

You should check out the Bicycle Adventure Club. They offer very reasonably priced trips for bike enthusiasts. You have to be somewhat self sufficient, so its like a cross between a fully guided & self-guided trip.

Lastly, if you are looking for the less-traveled routes in Italy, research the Maremma in southern Tuscany- all the charm & history & great food, but none of the tourist crowds. I did a 7 day trip there from Pienza to Grosseto a couple years ago that was fabulous!

[deepakvrao]

Have you thought of doing it without joining a 'tour'. Cheaper and more fun. My wife and I have made about 6-7 cycling trips to UK, France and Italy and have loved it, including the effort in planning.

[Beaker13]

screw the tour companies - you can do it for less than half the price.

I just returned from France where I spent 6 days in the Pyrenees and 6 days in the Alps. I rode about 80 miles per day with about 7000' of elevation per day. NO tour company is going to put you through that.

I put everything together myself, and the entire 2 weeks (last 2 days in Paris) cost me about $3k. Tours would have been about $5K per week PLUS airfare.

Look on craigslist and buy a good (but cheap!) bike box. Roundtrip cost me $125 to bring my own bike.

If you are going to Italy - check out Bormio....great for passes like Gavia, Stelvio, and Motirolo, etc.

[Trouble]

I've never been to Europe - mostly just US and carribean vacations. And *never* brought my road bike.... I'd like to experience a European country or 2 ... or 3 on my bike with a guide.
Thoughts?

Me too.
When are you going? Wanna riding partner?

[scirocco]

I just returned from France where I spent 6 days in the Pyrenees and 6 days in the Alps. I rode about 80 miles per day with about 7000' of elevation per day. NO tour company is going to put you through that.

So who carried your baggage? I don't think the OP is talking about hauling 20kg of stuff in panniers on a touring bike If you want to ride a standard road bike in reasonably normal configuration you need someone to drive the support vehicle.

And 80 miles with 7000 feet climbing is a pretty normal day for typical Pyrennean or Alpine traverses that most of the touring companies offer.

[Beaker13]

Most tour companies will do some of the climbs but typically, no, they will not offer that much climbing.

Who said anything about carrying 20Kg of stuff in panniers? I did 2 weeks unsupported and rode my Pinarello with no panniers. I did loop rides and out and backs and had an amazing trip.

My point is that unless you need luxury hotels and meals you can save thousands. It really isn't that difficult.

[burgrat]

Beaker13, where did you base your trip? I like your idea of staying somewhere central and riding out from there daily.

[Beaker13]

In the Pyrenees, ibstayed at a small B&B called velopyrenees. Check outbtheir website. They have tremendous food, offer routes with laminated maps, and are pretty centrally located.

In the alps I just found campsites near the routes I was planning and rode from there. It's not that hard to find and reserve campsites on line.

I found kemwel to be the cheapest car rental and they book thru europcar so picking up and dropping off was super easy.

[deepakvrao]

Most tour companies will do some of the climbs but typically, no, they will not offer that much climbing.

Who said anything about carrying 20Kg of stuff in panniers? I did 2 weeks unsupported and rode my Pinarello with no panniers. I did loop rides and out and backs and had an amazing trip.

My point is that unless you need luxury hotels and meals you can save thousands. It really isn't that difficult.

That'swhat we did for the Alps and the Jura too. Worked out really inexpensive.

Thanks for the tip about Kemwel. Great prices. Will use them for our trips in 2013.