Suggestions for European tour?

Ken Roberts wrote:

Tuscany is beautiful but cycling either difficult or busy.

Sharon and I went to Tuscany first, but then found other prettier areas in
Italy with more fun riding. (Although riding around the west half of the
island of Elba was a fantastic daytrip -- and hilly -- but I'm not sure it's
actually in Tuscany). Our main objection to Tuscany, especially with the
Florence and the Chianti region, was the high percentage of non-cyclist
Americans and Brits -- seemed like we were hearing English spoken all the
time whenever we weren't actually riding. Our favorite bicycling region of
Italy so far is in the northeast around Veneto and Sudtirol.

Some friends of ours call Tuscany Tuscanyshire due to the large number
of Brits. But that is seasonal and concentrated. Easy to avoid in
large parts. And the foreign dominance is just as pronounced in Veneto
and Sudtirol, just the country of origin changes. There is a very
large number of Germans around therel; not easy to distinguish from the
locals, most of whome speak German as the preferred language, but the
dialects are different and the German tags on all the campers and
motorcycles show the origin. But the German motorcyclist love for high
passes goes further; they were even dominant last summer when we were
in the Spanish Pyrenees.

- rick

- rick

wrote:
Hello all,
My fiancé and I would like to take a bike tour (7-10 days) of
somewhere in Europe for our honeymoon (mid June, 2007). We are thinking
of France, Italy, or Scotland, but we are open to other suggestions,
too. I was thinking of joining an organized tour (cbttour.com, etc.).

For an insight on what might be involved in touring Italy by bike do
read the tour reports of Allan Nelson, a witty English sportsman and
very good friend of mine.

Since someone else has wondered about a few things, let me add.
The island of Elba is indeed part of Tuscany, within the Province of
Livorno, in fact.
I really doubt it is possible to rent excellent racing bikes in Italy,
and in Tuscany too.
The whole Chianti area is packed with foreign tourists and residents. I
would simply avoid it. Tuscany has so much to offer elsewhere that
there is no need to hit that beaten path.
Bewa one thing you cannot have in this reagion is riding on flat
terrain with little traffic.

Sergio
Pisa

Rick wrote
the foreign dominance is just as pronounced in Veneto
and Sudtirol, just the country of origin changes. There
is a very large number of Germans around there

That's what I found too. But since I don't hear hardly any German around
where I live in the northeast U.S., the environment in Veneto and Sudtirol
still feels "foreign" to me, and still offers the challenge of another
language that I don't speak or understand very well.

And Tuscany doesn't have the incredible mountain riding of the Dolomites,
and I don't know where its nice flat riding is like around the river deltas
near the Adriatic Sea. And Tuscany doesn't have the magical
floating-and-walking-around city of Venice.

Ken

And Tuscany doesn't have the magical
floating-and-walking-around city of Venice.

Don't knock Volterra if you haven't been there (it floats on the clouds
instead of the water).


Chris Neary


"Science, freedom, beauty, adventu what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

I've never gone on a professionally organized tour,but if my wife were
along, I'd do so, as she wouldn't tolerate not having a sure bed available
at night. On my trips, I've never yet spent a night outside for failure to
find accommodations, but I've had three close calls that come immediately to
mind. You can of course minimize that problem by making reservations in
advance or starting to look for a place around noon.


wrote in message
ps.com...
Hello all,
My fiancé and I would like to take a bike tour (7-10 days) of
somewhere in Europe for our honeymoon (mid June, 2007). We are thinking
of France, Italy, or Scotland, but we are open to other suggestions,
too. I was thinking of joining an organized tour (cbttour.com, etc.).
My questions:
1) Are there suggestions for locations?
2) Should we hook up with a tour or just get a map and go?
3) If we go with a tour, what is a reasonable price? A quick Google
search shows some 10 day tours for about $2500. Is that about right?
4) What are good bike tour organizations?
5) Are there good books that cover these topics?
6) Anything I should know that I'm not asking?

Thanks,
Lonnie

I've cycled in Germany several times, but not in Holland and Belgium. I
think all three are good for camping. Certainly the Dutch are heavily
into it.
You can get your lunch for about 12 euro or less (a good one) in
Germany. Germany is not expensive. A B&B can cost as little are 25-40
euro. I've not done Belgium yet. The reason I've stayed away from that
area of Europe is that it's among the least scenic.
I recently cycled from Berlin to Copenhagen. East Germany has good
cycling facilities and is pleasant cycling, but by no means stunning.

Don't knock Volterra if you haven't been there
(it floats on the clouds instead of the water).

If you mean riding to this Volterra
http://roberts-1.com/t/b02/italy/volt
then Yes it was one of the memorable rides in our first bicycling holiday in
Italy. Sharon said it was a nice town, and she especially remembers the big
steep climb it took to get us there.

But since then we've been riding and walking in other places in Italy:
http://roberts-1.com/t/b05/itn/k/d
Some photos from our walking and floating in Venice are on the "Veneto delta
plain" page linked from
http://roberts-1.com/t/b05/it/k
Venice is not a bicycling place, but it's quite a place. One nice thing
about having a rental car on a bicycling vacation is that we can have some
fun non-riding days -- or a wider range of activities after the day's riding
is over.

Ken

Venice is not a bicycling place, but it's quite a place. One nice thing
about having a rental car on a bicycling vacation is that we can have some
fun non-riding days -- or a wider range of activities after the day's riding
is over.

We also had a rental car during our last cycling vacation in the Veneto.

We considered making a side trip to Venice, but although the city itself
sounded well worth a visit, a number of folks we talked with remarked on the
large number of tourists we would encounter.

We opted to spend our time hiking in the Dolomites instead.

To each his own.

p.s. - Nice Twos'day (we owned one once upon a time)


Chris Neary


"Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia" - H.G. Wells

Chris Neary wrote
We considered making a side trip to Venice, but although the
city itself sounded well worth a visit, a number of folks we
talked with remarked on the large number of tourists we would encounter.

We certainly encountered lots of tourists. Many of them even speaking
English. (Sharon and I also qualify as English-speaking tourists). I accept
that Venice is a tourist place, so it didn't bother me. Back at our hotel
near Padova, we heard very little English.

Funny that I like Veneto + Sudtirol because the many tourists speak German
which I don't understand very well. Sharon likes Veneto + Sudtirol because
she does speak German well.

We opted to spend our time hiking in the Dolomites instead.

Yes it's hard to argue against that.
I usually prefer to do my hiking on skis:
http://roberts-1.com/t/s06/it/ddz

Ken

Ken Roberts wrote:
I usually prefer to do my hiking on skis:
http://roberts-1.com/t/s06/it/ddz

Ken,
unfortunately I took a look at these pictures of yours; so,
now I feel very envious.
I never got that good a skier, though I always dreamt of it.
Just magic to go up and through the Dolomiti di Sesto in full winter
attire!

Sergio
Pisa

P.s. Back on topic: which side did you find tough to climb up to
Volterra?