Back from my Italy Bike Trip

[ace]

Hi all,

Well, I'm back from la bella Italia...my cycling trip was better than I could have imagined, five days of riding with Ciclismo Classico through Tuscany. The cycling, eating, drinking and camraderie were amazing. The cycling was actually a bit harder than I expected, lots of climbing, which scared me because of my knee injury. But I handled it just fine, and did most of the extra loops they provided, so did between 35-50 miles a day.

Highlights-

1) sticking to my commitment to eat gelato and drink (lots of) wine every day

2) doing an extra loop around Lago Trasimeno in Umbria with 5 others, getting way behind them, cycling through miles of beautiful countryside on my own, and then having everyone cheer for me as I finished climbing the last hill

3) getting somewhat lost as I wandered around Arezzo (a beautiful city of about 100,000 in Tuscany) at 7 am looking for a cup of espresso before breakfast (I got up VERY early every day), meeting an elderly gent who spoke no English, chatting with him in my rudimentary Italian and having him take me home to meet his dogs in an 500 year old house, then sitting with me in the main square, buying me espresso, and introducing me to his cronies (and all before 8 am!).

4) spending 2 solid weeks with my oldest friend (we've been friends for 44 years, since we were two) who I never get to spend time with, and (re)discovering that we are perfect traveling companions. We took great care of and encouraged each other.

5) exulting in the knowledge that in Italy, even when cycling in the country, one is never more than a few miles from excellent espresso and gelato, and a clean bathroom. I'm thinking about moving there.

Here are a few photos to give you a taste. I'm going to post more somewhere on the web and I'll post a link for you guys.

Ciao!
Amy

[gnat23]

Wow wow wow! Look at that *food!* Oh, yeah, and the scenery too, I suppose.

Congrats, and jealous!! Did you bring enough gelato for the rest of the class?

-- gnat!

[Trekhawk]

WOW!!! Love the pics. It sounds like a fabulous holiday. Mmmmm wine and yummy food sounds like my kind of holiday.

[pastrypam]

Oh, I am so jealous. DH and I were trying to swing a bike tour in Italy this year but put it off until next year. The pictures are great and the food. OMG!
I can't wait to go. Would love to hear which company you went with or did you do it on your own etc.
Pam

[ace]

We went with Ciclismo Classico, I recommend them very highly on all counts. www.ciclismoclassico.com

I picked them because their focus is on Italy, their groups are relatively small, and they're seriously into cycling (they have daily clinics to teach you better skills, offer a choice of road bikes or hybrids, which some of the companies don't, offer lots of extra loops so you can ride a little or a lot).

[mimitabby]

gosh, i was afraid there weren't going to be any bike shots.

I'm so glad you had a good time!

[bikerz]

Wow!!! Welcome back!

How fun! Great pictures!

So you went with the road bike, not the hybrid? Looks like that worked out for you!