Hi,
I am relatively new to cycle touring and so could do with any advice you can give me but more specifically i am to take 4weeks this summer to ctcle the length of Italy and would like more information on route, traffic and italians!, camping wild?, temperature and climate, miles per day, time period top 5 spares to carry whilst touring!
cheers
Italy
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eileithyia
- Posts: 8446
- Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
- Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)
Well have only ever done the Dolomites in late spring; could be very wet!
However I think you might find height of the summer it is very hot travelling the length of Italy.
From watching the Giro, there are lots of other hilly bits of terrain besides the Dolomites, and the coast can be very lumpy (it will also be busy in the height of summer, english drivers grappling iwth hire cars and driving on the wrong side of the road, springs to mind).
The Italians are great they love cycling and cyclists.
However I think you might find height of the summer it is very hot travelling the length of Italy.
From watching the Giro, there are lots of other hilly bits of terrain besides the Dolomites, and the coast can be very lumpy (it will also be busy in the height of summer, english drivers grappling iwth hire cars and driving on the wrong side of the road, springs to mind).
The Italians are great they love cycling and cyclists.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
Hi
I've just completed my tour to Tuscany. The local press got to foind out about it: http://www.barganews.com/2008/06/lio-mo ... #more-5128
If it's any help here are a few of my experineces. By the Ticino river in Lombardy there are a series of 'naviglie' - canal paths that cover long strecthes. These are badly signposted and can be difficult to route find on as they are not shown on maps. Some track are shown but others are not. I was told of other routes by local cyclists and one lovely old guy escorted us on a series of dog legs for a 30 K stretch that we would never have found without him. If you are cycling in this area it would be worth investigating these routes rather than the main roads.
Roads can be very busy and few have cycle paths. I found Italian drivers to cut up pretty close at times and not as cycle friendly as other countries -but that is just my experience, I'm Italian.
The other factor to consider us the heat, it can get very hot very quicklly, we set off at 5.30 in the morning, by midday the temperature was 38 degrees in some places.
I had a great run and thoroughly enjoyed, UI'm thinking about what to do next. I hope you enjoy yours. regards
I've just completed my tour to Tuscany. The local press got to foind out about it: http://www.barganews.com/2008/06/lio-mo ... #more-5128
If it's any help here are a few of my experineces. By the Ticino river in Lombardy there are a series of 'naviglie' - canal paths that cover long strecthes. These are badly signposted and can be difficult to route find on as they are not shown on maps. Some track are shown but others are not. I was told of other routes by local cyclists and one lovely old guy escorted us on a series of dog legs for a 30 K stretch that we would never have found without him. If you are cycling in this area it would be worth investigating these routes rather than the main roads.
Roads can be very busy and few have cycle paths. I found Italian drivers to cut up pretty close at times and not as cycle friendly as other countries -but that is just my experience, I'm Italian.
The other factor to consider us the heat, it can get very hot very quicklly, we set off at 5.30 in the morning, by midday the temperature was 38 degrees in some places.
I had a great run and thoroughly enjoyed, UI'm thinking about what to do next. I hope you enjoy yours. regards
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Nerazzurri
- Posts: 83
- Joined: 20 Jun 2008, 10:09pm
- Location: Glasgow
Whilst I couldn't tell you much about cycling in Italy I can advise you of a few places that I've enjoyed visiting whilst in the country.
In Tuscany try to get to Barga, and especially Lucca. Lucca has intact city walls around the old town which are topped with a tree lined boulevard which is nice to cycle around. In Milan I liked the cemetero monumentale - ok, it's a graveyard, but very ornamental and occupies a huge area, nice for relaxing in.
I've generally found the Italians welcoming and helpful/considerate and they appreciate you trying to communicate with them in their own language, no matter how poor your lingo is! LOL they like the fact you try!
I imagine there are many tour books out there, cycling ones too, but you could do worse than buy Francesco's Italy, a spin off from the tv travelog.
In short, I wish I was going with you!
In Tuscany try to get to Barga, and especially Lucca. Lucca has intact city walls around the old town which are topped with a tree lined boulevard which is nice to cycle around. In Milan I liked the cemetero monumentale - ok, it's a graveyard, but very ornamental and occupies a huge area, nice for relaxing in.
I've generally found the Italians welcoming and helpful/considerate and they appreciate you trying to communicate with them in their own language, no matter how poor your lingo is! LOL they like the fact you try!
I imagine there are many tour books out there, cycling ones too, but you could do worse than buy Francesco's Italy, a spin off from the tv travelog.
In short, I wish I was going with you!
random thoughts...
4 weeks = 30 days (w/e to w/e). Take off 2 days flying and 2 days rest days. You may also want a contingency day if you are flying out. That gives 25 or 26 travelling days max
100km per day is what I'd call a comfortable touring pace, but it will depend on how much non-touring cycling you've done, how much stationary sight-seeing you do, and your age (youngish chaps can generally ride themselves pretty fit over the first week or so).
What do you mean by length of Italy? Brindisi to Milan is 1000km, Reggio di Calabria to Aosta is 1400km. Or would you think of going to Palermo? These are road atlas/motorway figures, so you can add a good bit on for a bike route - 20%? Whatever, there's a decent amount of slack for looking around, extra rest days and such.
The Adriatic coast north of the spur a far as the Po has lots of small rivers running off the NE side of the Apennines. Going along the coast looks like it would be either the major coast road or a continual up and down in and out of river valleys, without the scenery of the Apennines themselves. The SW side looks easier cycling generally, at least as far north as Pisa.
As stated, if it's hot, you'll want to be on the road early, so as to have finished the bulk of the ride by noon. You can then get some food and have an afternoon siesta/picnic, before pottering in to wherever you are staying. I've never managed as early as 5:30, but did do 7:00 after packing the tent and such.
If there are specific places where the maps don't give a clear enough picture, or you want to check if something is feasible (eg non-motorway access to Milan/Malpensa airport, or where Pompeii campsite is), look at Google Earth. There's decent high resolution for quite a lot of Italy that would show things like railway line paths.
Check out what the access to water supplies is like early on. Eg in Spain just about every village has a public water tap, and in France most of the cemeteries have a tap. Are there garage vending machines that sell bottles water?
4 weeks = 30 days (w/e to w/e). Take off 2 days flying and 2 days rest days. You may also want a contingency day if you are flying out. That gives 25 or 26 travelling days max
100km per day is what I'd call a comfortable touring pace, but it will depend on how much non-touring cycling you've done, how much stationary sight-seeing you do, and your age (youngish chaps can generally ride themselves pretty fit over the first week or so).
What do you mean by length of Italy? Brindisi to Milan is 1000km, Reggio di Calabria to Aosta is 1400km. Or would you think of going to Palermo? These are road atlas/motorway figures, so you can add a good bit on for a bike route - 20%? Whatever, there's a decent amount of slack for looking around, extra rest days and such.
The Adriatic coast north of the spur a far as the Po has lots of small rivers running off the NE side of the Apennines. Going along the coast looks like it would be either the major coast road or a continual up and down in and out of river valleys, without the scenery of the Apennines themselves. The SW side looks easier cycling generally, at least as far north as Pisa.
As stated, if it's hot, you'll want to be on the road early, so as to have finished the bulk of the ride by noon. You can then get some food and have an afternoon siesta/picnic, before pottering in to wherever you are staying. I've never managed as early as 5:30, but did do 7:00 after packing the tent and such.
If there are specific places where the maps don't give a clear enough picture, or you want to check if something is feasible (eg non-motorway access to Milan/Malpensa airport, or where Pompeii campsite is), look at Google Earth. There's decent high resolution for quite a lot of Italy that would show things like railway line paths.
Check out what the access to water supplies is like early on. Eg in Spain just about every village has a public water tap, and in France most of the cemeteries have a tap. Are there garage vending machines that sell bottles water?
I did the length of Italy Simplon-Palermo a couple of years ago, and loved it. A few things:
Traffic I found no problem. Italian drivers seem bike-aware and considerate. I even felt embarrassed by trucks rumbling along behind me when I thought they had room to overtake.
Wild camping – I did it a couple of times in the north, but generally down the coast it’s very developed and not so easy. There’s regular campsites that are cheaper and much more comfortable than in UK. Though they’re really caravan and chalet holiday sites, with a wee space for tents, often a restaurant and sometimes a disco! In the north they’re full of the ‘grey plague’ – retired north Europeans in camper vans, and in the south exclusively Italian holidaymakers.
Climate – it’ll be hot. The day I had a tyre burst and had to wheel the bike 12km uphill, it was 38deg. You get used to it though, but carry lots of water! It’s often hard to find a shady spot for lunch.
Mileage – how long’s a piece of string? I did about fifty miles a day on an old hybrid, and took about one day off a week, but if you’re a gram-counter on a road bike you could double that.
Routes – expect a lot of hills! The northern plain is very flat, and there are flattish stretches on the coast, but most days you’ll be climbing a few hundred metres. The Cisa pass is a nice route into Tuscany; Pisa’s very pretty and has a pleasant campsite. If you go to Naples stay at the Solfatara campsite which has its own volcano! (really). South of Naples there’s lots of scenery and not a lot else, and it’s a long way down! The Amalfi coast is worth the detour, and a bike’s the best way to see it. Signposting tends to be - well - Italian. I found a gps priceless.
Spares - dunno, i didn't need any! (except a new tyre)
Food – is uniformly excellent in the north, and never bad in the south. The coffee is just something else. Have a great time!
Traffic I found no problem. Italian drivers seem bike-aware and considerate. I even felt embarrassed by trucks rumbling along behind me when I thought they had room to overtake.
Wild camping – I did it a couple of times in the north, but generally down the coast it’s very developed and not so easy. There’s regular campsites that are cheaper and much more comfortable than in UK. Though they’re really caravan and chalet holiday sites, with a wee space for tents, often a restaurant and sometimes a disco! In the north they’re full of the ‘grey plague’ – retired north Europeans in camper vans, and in the south exclusively Italian holidaymakers.
Climate – it’ll be hot. The day I had a tyre burst and had to wheel the bike 12km uphill, it was 38deg. You get used to it though, but carry lots of water! It’s often hard to find a shady spot for lunch.
Mileage – how long’s a piece of string? I did about fifty miles a day on an old hybrid, and took about one day off a week, but if you’re a gram-counter on a road bike you could double that.
Routes – expect a lot of hills! The northern plain is very flat, and there are flattish stretches on the coast, but most days you’ll be climbing a few hundred metres. The Cisa pass is a nice route into Tuscany; Pisa’s very pretty and has a pleasant campsite. If you go to Naples stay at the Solfatara campsite which has its own volcano! (really). South of Naples there’s lots of scenery and not a lot else, and it’s a long way down! The Amalfi coast is worth the detour, and a bike’s the best way to see it. Signposting tends to be - well - Italian. I found a gps priceless.
Spares - dunno, i didn't need any! (except a new tyre)
Food – is uniformly excellent in the north, and never bad in the south. The coffee is just something else. Have a great time!