Bicycle Rentals with BikeRentalsPlus!

Bicycle Italy with BikeRentalsPlus!

2012-01-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

Italy is one of the friendliest bicycle destinations in Europe. Plus, it's full of Italians and has some of the best food for cyclists. Handmade pasta anyone? BikeRentalsPlus! has its headquarters in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, not far from Bologna. The founders have been bicycling this area since 1972.

So, whether you need a self-guided tour from Venice to Florence or just a tour on the flats of Emilia-Romagna, give them a call today. They do self-supported tours, where you carry panniers, or they can do a partially supported tour, arranging for hotels and luggage shuttles daily.

Take a look at the 7-night tour of Emilia-Romagna at this link.

London Offers 21st Century Bike Share with Barclay's Cycle Hire

2011-02-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Not to be outdone by Paris with its Velib bike share program, London Transport opened up an automated bike share program on July 30, 2010 with 5,000 bicycles at 315 docking stations. Like most modern bike share programs, the "scheme" (as the Brits call it) is designed for short hops in the City of London.

According to Wikipedia, the bikes are called "Boris bikes" for Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London at the time.

The sponsor of the program is Barclay's financial services who put up something on the order of 25 million UK pounds to finance the program.

Even more interestingly, on February 27, 2011 Boris Johnson is quoted in the Bloombergnews.com as saying that Barclay's should contribute another 25 million pounds to double their investment. According to Bloomberg Johnson said he wants to see more of the money being paid in bonuses in the financial sector shared with other Londoners, both through donations from highly paid employees and corporate sponsorship for programs such as this. As Johnson noted, "these people have received substantial sums of money from the tax payer to keep the whole banking industry afloat.”

Now that's a new spin on financing public bike share programs!

Barclay's Cycle Hire works like the Paris program. You can buy a one day, one week or annual membership. Using the bike is free for the first 30 minutes then costs 1 pound for an hour, 4 pounds for 90 minutes and so on.

For complete details of Barclay's Cycle Hire visit their web site.

Take a Day or Half Day Bicycle Tour in Zagreb, Croatia

2011-02-03T15:55:00.000-08:00

Going through Zagreb on business or vacation? See the city by bicycle! Blue Bike Bike Tours offers offers tours every day in April, May, September and October beginning at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. During the summer months (June through August) tours begin at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Meeting point for all tours is in front of the Mimara Museum, (northern corner), Roosevelt square 5, very close to Croatian National Theatre building!

Visit Zagreb by Bike for the latest details!

Cycling the great regions of France: Part One Cote d'Azure

2010-10-25T09:03:00.001-07:00

By Sue Pulfer

After of week of over-indulgence in the wonderful Languedoc village of Uzes we headed to the Cote d’Azur to do some cycling. We drove through Avignon to Ile-sur-la-Sorgue for lunch and to pick up our bikes from BikeRentalsPlus. From there we drove along the base of the Alpes Maritimes and arrived in Grasse mid-afternoon.

With only the vaguest of directions we started to wind our way through town in what we hoped was the direction of our rental house at the Bastide d’Onhara. We quickly realized that Grasse is built into the side of the mountain and as such every road is either steep up or steep down. Heading north through town is basically a series of long switchbacks. Inevitably, we got lost, climbing too high out of the city in the wrong direction. After some calls to our Bastide for help and a few more daring three point turns on steep narrow roads, we finally turned onto the correct road heading up to the Bastide.

Our relief quickly evaporated when we saw the steep climb up to the Bastide from the road. About a 25% or more gradient, it took three turns which required some quick maneuvering, to navigate the crumbling road up to the Bastide’s main parking area. Not being accustomed to driving a standard I managed to stall the car several times in quick succession.
Sweating and stressed, we arrived to find that the Bastide was a stunningly beautiful set of buildings laid out along the side of the mountain. With a large main house, several outbuildings beautifully renovated into small houses and a central pool area we felt it had been worth the journey.

After settling into our villa (2 bed, 2 bath, large open LR/DR kitchen area) we quickly set ourselves up with a glass of the regional Provencal Rosé at our outdoor dining table. The view looked down over Grasse and all the way to the Mediterranean where we could see cruise ships docked off the shore in Cannes.

Our first day’s ride started with a quick descent back down towards Grasse then east over to Magagnosc where we pulled up at Café du Cicliste. Having heard that this was the starting point for many riders we were pleased to see a number of brightly clad cyclists coming in and out, sharing an espresso and getting ready for their Sunday ride. The Vence cycling club stood out for their cool black and pink kits.

After chatting with a local veteran we finalized our route. We’d head down to Bar du Loup from Magagnosc (long descent avg around 3-5% gradients), up to Tourettes sur Loup (long climb) and stop for lunch. That would be our halfway point for a 56km ride where we’d loop back in time for a dip in the pool.

Fantastic weather paired with smooth roads and very considerate drivers everywhere made for a great first day. The views along the way were stunning as the roads skirted the edge of the mountain range. The Loup river was a constant down in the gorge below. At every corner we were greeted by views of small villages perched on the mountainside.

We had rented bikes from BikeRentalsplus.com for the second year in a row. Using our TREK

carbon fiber Madones (with Triple chain ring) we had absolutely no problem navigating some of the steeper climbs required to get back to the house. We’ve done Mont Ventoux and Col de Tourmalet, but only Michael had the inclination to attempt to climb the Bastide’s “road” on the bike however. Looking like the front of the bike was going to rise off the ground he did whole thing! This road resembles the one in the Tour of Flanders where riders get off and carry their bike up the steep slope. Once up to the Bastide we still had a good hike to walk the bikes up to the house…

All of our rides were found on www.mapmyride.com by searching for rides in the Grasse area. Many of the rides we took were submitted by a Cafe du Cycliste user. We found them all to be great.

Day 2: Magagnosc to Vence, north up Col de Vence to Coursegoules, south to Bar du Loup and home.

Day 3: Magagnosc to Vence for lunch down to St-Paul de Vence back to Grasse and home

Day 4: Through Grasse to St-Valliers de They, north to Caussols, up to Gourdon and back down to Bar du Loup and home

As we prepared to leave after a great week our hostess Lydia informed us that she had been one of the top VTT (mountain bike) riders in France in her youth. After retiring from competition she had fitted out a touring bike to carry her 18 month old daughter on the back and cycled through Europe, including taking her up Mont Ventoux!

We were sad to leave. After a drive back to Marseilles our friends from BikesRentalsPlus picked up the bikes at our hotel and we were off back to Canada.

In Summary:

When to Go: Spring and early fall are ideal to get the best cycling weather but summer is also a wonderful time to visit.

Where to eat: There are many great cafes and restaurants in the area as you cycle through the villages and towns. Here
are a couple that we found along the way

Grasse – The New Punjab on rue des Fabreries
Grasse – Lou Candeloun on rue des Fabreries
Tourettes-sur-Loup - La Barbacane on Place de la Libération
Vence – La Régence at 10 place du Grand Jardin
Magagnosc – Café du Cycliste on Route de Nice

Where to stay : There are many options for house rentals in the area that you can find on www.vrbo.com.
Bastide d’Onhara http://www.bastidonora.supersite.fr/

You'll Find Flat Rides, Great Food and Wine in Italy's Emilia-Romagna Region

2010-02-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

If you think that the Netherlands is the only place for easy, relaxed bicycle rides, think again. The Art Cities of Italy's Emilia-Romagna are some of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Europe. Add to that the great food and classic wines of the region and you have a perfect destination for a self-guided bicycle tour. The cities of Ferrara, Modena, Forli, Cesena, Faenza, and Ravenna all have launched aggressive campaigns to attract bicycle tourists. The web sites linked to these cities have itineraries, suggestions for lodging, and lots of helpful information for planning your tour.

This region also affords easy access to the foothills of the Apennine Mountains with a little more challenging rides for those who wish. Add to that a number of "agriturismi" in the region for inexpensive lodging and you are set.

Bicycle Italy's Lombardy Region

2010-01-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

The competition to attract do-it-yourself cyclists is on in Italy as different regions attempt to lure cyclists to explore their region in particular. The Region of Lombardy (around Milan and including north-central Italy from the Po River to the crest of the Alps) has put up a web site in cooperation with Movimento Lento (Slow Travel: They have a series of itineraries by bicycle listed as follows:

Bergamo a Brescia
Brescia a Cremona
Brescia a Desenzano
Lecco a Milano
Novara a Milano
Novara ad Alessandria
Pavia a Milano
Canale Muzza
L'Adda nel Lodigiano

So take a look at the Movimento Lento web site.

The site is in Italian but easy to navigate. The folks at Bike Rentals Plus can help by delivering bikes and advising on logistics.

How to Find the Perfect Tuscan Villa for your Bicycle Vacation

2010-01-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

There’s a charming Tuscan villa with your name on it. The plan for the week is to ride to wineries and castles on a trusty steed rented from BikeRentalsPlus! Everything is arranged: the kids have the downstairs room, the pool behind the villa is definitely open for the week and the family will be dining on Florentine steak at local restaurants that you’ve painstakingly researched.

But you’ve never done this sort of thing before – what should you expect? Lucky for you, we’ve compiled the comments from our 2009 customers into usable advice for next time. First: a bit of wisdom on the Italian train system, and then we’ll dive into customer feedback.

Planes, trains and automobiles

After arriving by plane, many customers rent cars – or they take advantage of Europe’s favorite transportation: the train. This year, many of our customers sieged trains with bikes in hand, ready to ride off into the Italian sunset. But navigating the Italian train system is sometimes harder than it is easy, so we wanted to share some travel tips to smooth the path of future and returning customers.

First, make sure to book the right train. Regional trains (designated by a little “R”) are the only ones in Italy that will accept bikes. There is no need to reserve these ahead of time, although it’s not a bad idea to check out and print the desired itinerary online the night before. Go to www.trenitalia.com to find the perfect route (there is an English version). Enter the departure and arrival towns (spell the names right or it won’t work!) and click the “all solutions” button to view all regional trains.

At the train station, buy at ticket at the counter or through an automated machine – but don’t forget to buy a ticket for yourself and your bike. Bike tickets usually cost around an additional €3.50. On the way out, validate both tickets (stamp them) in one of the many yellow boxes on the walls in the train station, or else you might end up with an additional but unwanted ticket from train personnel who occasionally pass by once onboard.

After purchase and validation, located one of the electronic departure screens inside our outside to find out which “bin” (short for “binario,” or platform) the correct train departs from. Be prepared to do some awkward weightlifting: some train stations have elevators and most do not allow passengers to cross the tracks for any reason – unattended, or mostly at all. So the only way to get from here to there is to go down stairs with the bike and back up the stairs on the other side. Batting the eyelashes at strong Italian men sometimes helps in this predicament, if one happens to be female.

Once the stairs are behind you, hopefully the train is already waiting on the tracks. Now where the heck does the bike go? Look for the little bike icon on the train, usually right behind the engine in the front of the train (but sometimes also towards the back of the train). Take a deep breath: getting in the train requires lifting yourself plus bike up the steep steps into the train. Once inside, most likely the bike will be hung by the wheel in a small bike car – so it’s not a bad idea to remove panniers ahead of time, if panniers are in use.

If for some reason you are picking up a bike in Italy and riding to France, then taking the train back with your bike, regional trains won’t do the trick. Long distance travel requires a faster train with less stops, such as an ES, InterCity or Freccia Rosa. On these trains, riders must take apart and pack up their bikes so they will be considered as luggage.

Finding your way

You said:
“The maps were pretty sparse and we could have done with somewhat more detailed ones”

“The map scale was 1:200,000. This did not provide nearly enough detail. After our first day, we found a store that sold maps and purchased a 1:100,000 map.”

“Most of the small highways had no road signs, nor town direction signs at intersections... Often what looked like a fairly major road on the map was fairly small street in reality.”

Our marked maps are maps with highlighted rides – so customers need to be comfortable reading and following a map without other written cues. The Italian countryside is a puzzle comprised of tiny, bike path-sized roads along routes created in Roman times. As such, the roads are winding and scenic, but can be confusing. Part of navigating in Italy is being comfortable with the fact that at first, visitors do get lost – but it’s how they react that counts.

One suggestion is that all cyclists purchase the local Touring Club Italiano (green) or Michelin yellow map of the area they’ll be riding in. The most common maps in Italy are the T.C.I. 1:200000 regional maps; they work quite well for bicycle touring even though a more detailed map might be useful especially for navigation in a city. F.m.b. makes more detailed maps that are generally available at rest areas on the highwy or book stores.

All riders should have a map to help them make decisions on the road. Customers who have purchased routes from us can use them in tandem with the Michelin or Touring Club maps. For example, if you want to lengthen or shorten the route, use the Michelin map in concert with our routes to do so easily. TCI or Michelin maps of various scale can typically be found at gas stations, souvenir shops, etc.

After buying a map, get comfortable with your new friend. Check out the map’s key for clues on what kind of terrain to expect. Squint closely: there are little chevrons – or tiny black arrows – pointing toward one direction on the road. The direction the arrows point indicates a climb or a descent, depending on which way the route is ridden. Eventually, the arrows will point in both directions (with a spot in the middle sans chevron) indicating the top of the hill.

Look even closer at the arrows and to see what else they explain: road steepness. One arrow means a 4-7 percent grade; two arrows means a 7-12 percent grade; and three arrows means more than 12 percent grade (and requires a really good breakfast!).

Also, get friendly with the little red dots placed along each road. These points indicate distance – two red dots with a red number in the midde (for example, 8.9) represent a tally of the kilometers on that section of road. By adding up each of these sections, riders can easily make predetermined or purchased routes longer or shorter. Maps allow flexibility and aid in answering the question of whether to lounge by the pool or check out that castle on the next hill.

Know what to look for – find signs for villages along the way and try to find them on the map. Upon entering a town there will be a large white sign with black lettering on the side of the road that announces the city boundary. Upon leaving, there will be another large white sign with the same town name, except this one will have a red slash through the word, signaling that you are no longer in the town.

Cyclists also need to know what not to look for: road signs may fall in this category, as usually only the main roads are visibly numbered. Instead, use landmarks like lakes, mountain ranges, historical buildings or even towns. And don’t be afraid to ask a local. A friendly Italian can literally point you in the right direction, even if you don’t understand much of the spoken directions. It might be a good idea to memorize at least the basic Italian direction words (like straight, left, right, etc).

Mechanical difficulties

You said:
“Also, having to deal with a malfunctioning seat clamp while out on a long ride. I had to find a hardware store in a small town and buy an allen key.”

Before each rental, each bike is personally ridden and checked by our in-house mechanics. But as cyclists know, stuff happens out there – so before vacation learn a couple basics, starting with how to fix a flat tire. We will gladly come to your rescue in dire need, but we encourage all of our customers to know how to fix a flat, if the need should arise.

Most of the time, we enjoy meeting our customers and doing a short bike fitting with them – adjusting the seat height and handlebars, putting pedals on and making other small adjustments. Ask our representative for additional help if you think you’ll need to adjust something later – they can demonstrate easy moves like readjusting seat height or handlebars (with the help of tools, if needed).

In any case, bringing a couple simple tools (allen wrench set and pedal wrench if you’re bringing your own pedals) also might not be a bad idea. In some cases, we can provide tools to our customers. But we have a limited supply, so we cannot guarantee we’ll be able to lend any of ours.

Hungry and thirsty for more

You said:
“I probably didn't carry enough water or snacks as it was very hot.”

In Italy, one rarely experiences the “middle of nowhere” feeling – small towns are sprinkled like parmesan cheese across Italy. Bring at least one water bottle – especially during the hot summer months – but there’s no need to stress about running out of acqua. Each town has a public fountain with potable water – unless specified otherwise by a sign that reads “Aqua non potabile”. Look for a fill-up in main squares (called piazzas), along the main road in town or by churches and cemeteries, where Italian visitors need fountains in order to water flowers on gravestones.

If stops are included in each day (maybe a castle tour or a late lunch at a restaurant with a killer view) remember that Italian working hours are not like American working hours. Italian time is fluid: the hours on the window may say “Open at 0900,” but if it’s raining or visitors are in town, the owner might decide to come in later. Local shops do what they please, especially in small towns or non tourist destinations. While bars open early, Italian stores and restaurants typically open later (around 0900 or 1000) and will close during the day for several hours (usually around 1300-1530… or so). Think about polishing military time skills, since Europeans are very comfortable with the 24-hour clock!

Also keep in mind that many stores might also be open on at least one day of the weekend – typically Saturday, when they might be open for part of the day – but closed on another weekday. And since Italy is a Catholic country, most stores, restaurants (and some bike shops) are closed on Sundays – so keep that in mind when planning your vacation abroad.

A few things to definitely pack in the suitcase: a windproof and/or waterproof layer (especially if riding in the mountains or visiting during fall or spring), sunglasses, phrase book, sunscreen, your own helmet and/or pedals (we only provide flat pedals or toe cages) – and of course, an open mind and sense of adventure.

Bicycle Italy's Piedmont Region

2009-11-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of designing your own bike tour of Northwest Italy around Turin? The region is ready for you! The region's new web site "Piemonte Ciclabile" (Cyclable Piedmont) lists thirty some bike tours and routes you can do on your own. Each tour has an interactive map that shows lodging options along the route. This is a great service for those planning their own tour.

The Piedmont is one of the best areas for bicycling in Italy. It enjoys a mix of mountainous (indeed, Alpine) terrain as well as great vineyard riding through the hills of Monferrato and flat rides across the rice paddies of the Po Valley. Piedmont cuisine is also excellent - a mixture of the best Italian food and more refined cuisine of France.
Of course, if you prefer to take an escorted bike tour there are plenty of those as well. Click here for one example.

Rent a Bike for a Day in Santiago, Chile

2009-11-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better after that long, overnight flight to Santiago than to explore by bicycle. In Santiago, Chile "La Bicicleta Verde" offers rates on single speed cruiser bikes,multi-speed mountain bikes and hybrid bikes. La Bicicleta Verde also offers half-day bike tours. These are a great introduction to any city! Tours cost $30 and include a green bicycle, helmet, 1 bottle of water and a local snack (and, of course, a bilingual guide.)

So if you are headed for a bicycle tour of Chile's wine country, think about exploring Santiago by bike during your layover day!

Despite the photo, helmets ARE available and recommended with tours and rentals from La Bicicleta Verde!

Lonely Planet Cycling Italy thanks BikeRentalsPlus!

2009-09-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Monica Malpezzi Price, and the staff at BikeRentalsPlus! are thanked for their contributions to the 2009 edition of the Lonely Planet's, Cycling Italy guide. Monica, with the help of others assisted with routes and descriptions for the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. In addition, BikeRentalsPlus! is recommended as a bicycle rental supplier. The Lonely Planet's line of Cycling books are great resources for self supported riders. We highly recommend using them to plan your rides (and there are some great lodging suggestion's as well). But, if you need a bicycle to go along with that ride, check out our bicycles available for rent.

Italy's Cruiser Bike Tours Shows off Florence, Rome and Pisa

2009-09-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Italy's Cruiser Bike Tours offers half day, relaxed guided tours for 39 euros and half day self-guided bike rentals (including helmet, MP3 player with an audio guide, and a map) for 39 euros per person.

Interested in just doing your own thing? Cruiser Bike Tours will rent you a cruiser for an hour (4 euros), five hours for 10 euros, and all day for 15 euros. For more information on bicycle rentals click here.

Hotels and Bicycles: What Took So Long

2009-09-29T03:48:00.000-07:00

The New York Times reports again in its Sophisticated Traveler edition Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 of more and more hotels offering free bicycles. Park Hyatt is one which announced its new "Bicycle Valet" initiative on Facebook July 20th.

According to the Facebook announcement, "the Park Hyatt Bicycle Valet program will be complimentary at most Park Hyatt locations with a refundable deposit." The service includes use of a lock, helmet, lights, pump, kickstand, bottled water, and map." Free of charge for up to four hours! Now that's our kind of hotel.

Rent a Villa for a Week of Loop Rides, Yes

2009-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

But be careful to find out where that villa is located! Is it at the top of a three kilometer long gravel road? Or, perhaps at the end of a two-mile long dead end leading to a small provincial road so that every ride you take requires you to repeat the same twenty kilometers every day.

In short, some villas lend themselves to great mountain biking, others are great for racing or hybrid bikes. But if you've not seen the property or if you are relying solely on the beautiful pictures on the villa agent's web site, be careful. Ask a few critical questions and take a look at some online resources. You might have just rented the perfect villa for mountain biking. But if you aren't a mountain biker . . .

The folks at BikeRentalsPlus! have plenty of experience in matching you up with the right type of accommodation.

Rent a Bicycle in Croatia

2009-08-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

If you are planning a bike tour in Croatia but prefer to do it yourself rather than with a tour operation we can help you find bikes, villas, and even set up your own itinerary. We've got great local contacts who provide mountain bikes, mountain bikes with road tires, and road/touring bikes. They rent panniers and can book hotels or villas for you. There's no better way to explore the islands of Dalmatia than by bicycle. So think about renting a villa or apartment and contact BikeRentalsPlus! about bikes and logistics.

Bicyle Paths, Routes and Logistics in France

2009-07-17T06:40:00.001-07:00

France is arguably one of the best places in the world to ride a bicycle, primarily because of the dense network of rural roads and because of complete coverage of the entire country by Michelin maps at a scale of 1:200,000. Finally, the French government tourist office has provided an online resource to help you plan.

In addition check out the resources on the EuroVelo website.

Surprisingly, despite their centralized government, the French have done a terrible job of helping you find a hotel. There is no centralized data base of hotels in France to help you plan your bike tour. Michelin Red Guides are great, but contain only 60-70% of the lodging facilities in France. Normally they'll leave out the cheaper hotels or pensions - often the ones cyclists are looking for.

Logis de France, however, a marketing consortium of small, private hotels in France has a wonderful online resource where you can search for lodging using an interactive map of France. It is great for planning a bicycle tour. Give it a try!

Lodging and Logistics for a Bicycle Tour in Germany

2009-07-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

We wrote about renting bicycles in Germany in an earlier post and we just posted a note on lodging resources for cyclists in Italy. This post will direct you toward planning resources for routes and lodging in Germany.

If you are planning a bike tour in Germany you'll eventually want to look at the Deutscher Allgemeiner Fahrrad-Club, one of the best bicycle advocacy groups in the world.

For lodging for bicyclists in Germany click here. This page is English, but eventually you'll need to exercise that high school German as you explore their site.

For bicycle routes in Germany click here.

For a great resource on bike touring guidebooks, we've written about the German series "Bikeline" in an earlier post.

Resources for Accommodations on your Italy Bicycle Tour

2009-07-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

The top image is of a farm house accommodation in Tuscany (an "agriturismo") while the bottom image shows bungalows in a campground near Rome.

If you are bicycling by yourself or if you are camping you can often "wing it" in finding a place to sleep at night. But as we've explained elsewhere, "when you are organizing a ride and you have one or ten other people, you need answers to questions like:
1) How long is today's ride?
2) How high is that mountain pass (or, from the engineer, "what's the total vertical today?")
3) Where are we sleeping tonight?
4) Where's the best lunch stop today?
. . . and on and on and on."

So here are a few resources for finding that lodging in advance. And even if you don't book in advance (since many people prefer not to be locked into a specific destination) you can at least get an idea of what is available.

Italian Hotel Directories:

ENIT - the Italian Government Tourist Board has the most comprehensive data base of Italian hotels. Theoretically, it is comprehensive, ranking all hotels in Italy by star class and location. It helps to know your Italian geography a bit (especially the Regional, Provincial and Communal - township - hierarchy). Using this you can find a hotel almost anywhere in Italy. And, there's an English version!

Here is an example in finding a hotel in or around Palermo, Sicily:
Type Palermo into the "Town" field and click "search."
You'll find a pretty blank screen that offers you 70 hotels in Palermo and "hotels in the municipality of Palermo." Click on the "70 hotels in Palermo" text and you'll find a list of those hotels and a further list of 40 municipalities. Both lists are very useful in finding lodging in the Palermo region. Click here to see that page.

Bicycle Friendly Hotels, Farms Lodging, and Pensions in Italy

"Albergabici" is a portal that gathers hotels, pensions, farms (agriturismi), hostels and a few campgrounds that claim to be friendly to cyclists. It is sorted by Region, then province and town. The lodging lists can then be sorted by type of lodging (4 star hotel, bed and breakfast, agriturismi, etc.)

Here's the page for Palermo.

Villa and Hotel Hub and Spoke Self-Guided Bicycle Tour in Tuscany

2009-05-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

A great example of a combination seven-night self-guided tour that involved the hub and spoke concept with hotel changes but mostly three night stays in two different hotels is praised by a customer who just did this in May 2009:

"To Everyone at BikeRentalsPlus:

We just finished our self-guided tour of Tuscany and it was absolutely fantastic! Our bicycles were excellent, and all the arrangements worked perfectly (including the prompt and efficient responses to emails and phone calls during the pre-trip planning stages). Most importantly, the cycling routes were stunningly scenic and mostly traffic-free, far surpassing my expectations. The points of interest were also extremely well chosen, as were the accommodations. The Borgo Tre Rose (where we lodged for the first three nights) was particularly memorable, with an outstanding restaurant and a breath-taking setting, while our visit to the Abazzia Sant’Antima was an unexpected highlight of the trip. After our bicycle tour we visited Siena, Florence, and Venice, but sightseeing in these crowded cities paled in comparison to the experience we had on the bikes, where we had country roads and ancient villages practically to ourselves. It was much more exciting to discover a beautiful Duccio in a quiet church in Montepulciano, or a Giovanni Pisano on a deserted street in San Quirico d’Orcia, than to wait on line at the Uffizi to see more works of art than could possibly be seen in a day (and I say this as a trained art historian). Thanks for a great trip – we will definitely be back next year for more!

Signed,
Prof. MH
Professor of Art
New York State"

This is a great example of someone who wanted the independence of pedaling on their own without having to move daily but who also benefited from the expertise of a pre-designed bike tour. They also benefitted from the logistics which had already been taken care of.

Services provided on this tour included:
1) pre-tour consultation and travel advice;
2) bicycle rental of new, 30 speed Titanium bikes;
3)pick up at the train station, deliver y to the first hotel and bike fitting;
4) hotel bookings for seven nights;
5) pre-designed routes;

The links above explain the different services in detail and the photo shows the villa-hotel this couple used their first three nights.

For details on other options, bike rentals, and other services visit the Bike Rentals Plus!web site.

The "Piana degli Albanesi" Southeast of Palermo

2009-05-21T23:48:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

Southeast of Palermo is one of the most interesting villages in western Sicily - Piana degli Albanesi. It is also located in a beautiful valley surrounded by limestone mountains. Here, in the late 15th century Albanians fleeing the Turkish invasions were allowed to settle and build their own community. There are several such communities in remote, mountainous areas of Sicily and Southern Italy.

While positioning himself for his assault on Palermo Garibaldi rested a day in Piana degli Albanesi (then called Piana dei Greci) and initiated a false retreat which tricked the Bourbon defenders entirely. Garibaldi sent is cannon and heavy artillery south on the main road to Corleone. The Bourbon army, which had come out of Palermo to meet him thought he was in flight and began following the artillery. Meantime Garibaldi took his sizable army and slipped into the night to back track on Palermo where he entered over the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio. Garibaldi was quite proud of his ruse. In his memoirs he wrote: "it was not until two days after our entry into Palermo that the enemy commanders found out we had hoodwinked them and gone on to the capital whle they thought all the time we were in Corleone."

From Calatafimi Garibaldi entered Piana degli Albanesi through the pass in the left of this photo. On my ride I crossed over that same pass.

The photo below shows me pedaling out of "Piana" after spending the night. This was one of the most beautiful rides of the trip.

The Ponte dell'Ammiraglio in Palermo Dates to the 12th Century

2009-05-21T23:01:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

The Ponte dell'Ammiraglio was one of the main entry points into Palermo from the east side. The morning of May 27, 1860 the Bourbon troops attempted a meager defense of the bridge to keep Garibaldi, his thousand volunteers and the few thousand Sicilian peasants from entering Palermo. They failed and Garibaldi's rag tag army occupied and took the city within three days, blockading the Bourbon troops in the castle and in one or two other major buildings in the city.

There's no river under the bridge any more, though it was originally built to bridge the Oreto River. A flood in 1938 changed the course of the river and the widening of the Via dei Mille made the bridge obsolete. It now sits in a park as a monument to Garibaldi and his thousand.

The Original "Ice Cream Sandwich" is Sicilian

2009-05-19T23:57:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

Indeed, this is one of the best reasons to bicycle Sicily! The "sandwich" portion is like a sweet hamburger bun. Delicious!

Monument Commemorating Giuseppe Garibaldi's Defeat of the Bourbon Troops at Calatafimi May 15, 1860

2009-05-19T23:35:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

Garibaldi was famous among his troops and the general population for his bravery and spirited leadership. Facing an uphill fight, literally (the Bourbons held the high ground) one of Garibaldi's subordinate officers suggested they retreat to sustain fewer loses. Garibaldi's response, engraved on this monument was "Qui si fa l'Italia o si muore" - "here we make Italy or we die." This was an expression of Garibaldi's life-long dream of creating a united Italy. I visited here May 15, 2009, 149 years to the day of the battle. Garibaldi and his "thousand" volunteers from northern Italy won the day, routed the Bourbon troops and sent a shiver of fear through the Neapolitan troops throughout Sicily and Southern Italy. Garibaldi knew that psychologically this was a critical battle for his future success, hence his insistence to take the battle to the enemy.

Near Calatafimi is Segesta, one of the best ancient Greek sites in Sicily. While they rested in Calatafimi after their victory many of the "thousand" made the hike up to see the temple and theater of Segesta. Today tourists come from all over the world to view these great wonders of Magna Grecia.

The Cathedral in Caccamo, Sicily

2009-05-19T23:34:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

Sicily has a rich architectural heritage from its Byzantine, Muslim, Norman, and Spanish occupiers over the centuries. The baroque churches come from the Spaniards.

Sicily in Spring is Green and Beautiful

2009-05-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

This was the Magna Grecia hat attracted the Greeks in 600 BC. In the fall all of this will turn brown.

Rick arriving at the port of Marsala just like Garibaldi in May of 1860

2009-05-19T13:06:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

The Heart of Sicily - Gangi

2009-05-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.

The view of Gangi from the west at 6 p.m. in the evening light reminds of a bee hive of human activity.

Designing Your Own Bicycle Tour

2009-05-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

This post is part of a thread about a Giuseppe Garibaldi "themed bicycle tour" design and implementation in Sicily. To see the whole thread click here.
I've designed a lot of bicycle tours over the last 25 years. Indeed, one of the best things about this business for a geographer is to sit home in Colorado during the winter designing tours and then be able to go pedal the route and see how it came out. This takes practice, though, and I want to tell you an anecdote to warn you about the drawbacks of doing this.

In Sicily now I'm alone. Hence, I've not booked any hotels in advance and although I've got a route in mind I've already varied quite a bit from it. When you are pedaling alone nobody cares where you sleep, how far you ride, or how hard the ride is. That's the biggest drawback of designing your own route for family or friends. Everything needs to be pretty predictable as you'll always get questions such as where do we sleep tonight? How far is it? What's the hotel like? How much climbing is there, and so on.

The parent company of Bike Rentals Plus! - ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours has a great tour in the Dordogne region of France that I designed in 1995. But we heard this anecdote from three couples - customers - who came one year on that tour. It seems that the year before six couples had the idea of flying to Paris, renting couple of vans (6 people per van), taking their bikes, and heading off to the Dordogne for their own bike tour. So there they were the first day - they had booked the first few nights hotel, and they went out for ride. But the next day the weather was a little threatening. "Hey," somone said, "it looks clear to the west. Let's drive west for an hour and take a ride."

Now France is a great place to ride a bike - it's hard to go wrong. But it is also hard to just pick a spot and go riding. Those rides take planning, especially where there are 6 couples! It turns out that the three couples who came on our Dordogne tour the following year were so frustrated with the lack of planning, the driving around looking for rides, they decided to come back with a professional tour company the next year to do it right.

The moral of this isn't that you shouldn't designe your own tour. Go for it. But remember that if you have eleven other people to take care of, lodge, feed, and track evey day, you should do some planning. And to do that you probably need local knowledge. Today, many tour operators will design a tour for you for a fee. They might even arrange luggage shuttles to help from hotel to hotel. And some provide the service of recommending and booking hotels.

So, what do you do? Design your own or hire a professional? Above all it depends on your level of risk. Rent a villa and design your own rides locally. That's pretty easy if you get the right villa. Head out on a ride on your own. That carries low risk and high satisfacion if you are ready to jump on the train, make sure you've got your bike. But as you add people, make sure they are game to share the rish with you. Otherwise you are on the line and you'd best get some level of local help to make the most of your trip!

The Logistics of Bicycling Sicily on your Own

2009-05-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

This is just a brief note on the logistics of getting organized and getting the right bike in Sicily for my trip. Bike Rentals Plus! has a fleet of bicycles near Bologna and they work with people all over Europe. My bike happens to be with the fleet in Bologna so I had it shipped off to one of our partners in Palermo, Sicily. So when I flew into Palermo I simply picked my bike up at the local supplier. If you were doing this you'd likely rent a bike (since shipping your bike internationally is expensive - see more on that here). Upon arrival in Palermo you would simply pick the bike up at the local supplier.

From Palermo I took the train to Marsala to begin my ride. Local and regional Italian trains make it really easy to roll on/roll off the train with your bike (most do anyway). So here I am in Palermo getting on the train for Marsala.

"Themed" Bicycle Tours - Exploring Italy through the Eyes of Italian Hero Giuseppe Garibaldi

2009-05-11T07:26:00.001-07:00

One way to design a bicycle tour is to pick a theme - food, wine, history, architecture - you name it, and design your tour around that theme. Some of the most popular tours, indeed, are "themed" tours. Maybe you've heard of the Camino de Santiago along the historic pilgrimage route in Norther Spain, for example. Or a culinary bicycle tour in France or Italy.
Well, watch my postings over the next few weeks as I leave today for Bologna, Italy and then I head on to Palermo to begin following Giuseppe Garibaldi's historic route liberating Sicily and Southern Italy from the Bourbon King Francis II who ruled from Naples. Garibaldi took a thousand "red shirts" from northern Italy and launched a campaign that, over the decade from 1860 to 1870 resulted in the unification of Italy as we know it today.

That's me in my "Garibaldi" outfit. (I'll be working on my Garibaldi image over the next few weeks!) The "real" Garibaldi is below.

Picking Your Destination: What will the weather be like?

2009-05-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

We get lots of questions about the weather from cyclists headed overseas.
What's the temperature?
What's the likelihood of rain? The photo above, for example was taken in late June in Kaliningrad, Russia with a group of cyclists. A summer downpour soaked us that day and we just had to go to plan B - put on our rain gear and follow plan A!

This article will direct you to the best weather and climate sites on the web so you can answer these questions yourself. And, so you'll know when you might want to take full rain gear, pants, jacket and all versus just a light rain jacket.

Guidebooks offer little help with weather and climate by providing "average temperatures" by month. What good is it to know that the average temperature in Paris in June is 62 degrees F.? Unless you know that averages like this are derived from the daily average of the high and low temperatures averaged over thirty days in June, you know next to nothing!

Average Temperatures - How Useful Are They?

Some guidebooks have now begun to provide average highs and lows per month. This helps a little more to know, for example, that the average low temperatures in Paris in June are in the low 50s F. (51.8 to 55.4 F. to be precise) and that the highs are around 70 (66.2 F. to 73.4 to be precise).

For active travelers who are often outside from morning until near sunset these highs and lows are very important and to know the slight changes that occur during the course of the month can be quite useful, especially during spring and fall. To use a different example, look at the temperatures in Tuscany in October: average highs in Florence are about 70 F. and lows are 50 F. But from October 1 to October 31 the average low temperatures range from 45 F. to 54 F., enough to cause you to throw in an extra long-sleaved jersey or two but not a lot to worry about!

So bring on the wonderful world wide web. Here's So you can find daily temperature averages for many places around the world. This article is interested only in Europe so we'll focus examples there, but learn to use this information and you'll be able to plan your packing for "average daily temperatures" at your destination.

The best web site I've found for this is the UK weather site where you'll find climate data for Florence, Italy which I've described above.

The best way to get to know these climatic statistics is to compare with a place you know well. Try your hometown or place of residence, for example. That way you can use the sensors you know best - your bare arms and legs!

A Colorado Weather and Climate Example

I'll use the example of Fort Collins, Colorado where we are based. If you replicate this exercise using your own town (or nearby town with climate data in the event your town is too small to be reported) you'll have a good understanding of climate and weather in your destination.

Fort Collins normally has a wonderful Indian summer in October. Bicycling and hiking in the foothills of the Rockies is wonderful, but it can be cold, especially in the morning. Here are the data:

Average monthly high temperature: 65 F. (not so bad)
Average monthly low: 35 F. (whoa! Chilly)
Monthly mean: 50 F. (not that great!)
Sounds pretty cold, actually.
But the range in monthly averages is very different:

Average range of monthly highs from Oct. 1 - 31 is from 71 degrees F. in early October to 57 F. in late October (indeed, until Oct. 15 average highs are above 66 F).

The average range of monthly lows is 41 to 29 F. (if you live in Colorado you know that you aren't in any hurry to start a bicycle ride early in the morning, but that after 9 o'clock, it warms up quickly!)

Look back at the Florence data in Italy and you see that the lowest average low temperature is 45 F. That's nothing for someone from Colorado! (Now if you live in Sacramento you know that your average lows range from 47 F. to 54 F.) You'll feel right at home in Tuscany in October!

Here's where to find these sites to begin your own personalized climate and weather odyssey.

For Climate data in Europe (usually calculated using averages collected over a 30 year period)
For current weather in Europe
For U.S. weather: You have to enter the name of your city or a nearby city to get weather data. Here I'm using Fort Collins:
Once you've found current weather you can get long range climate data by scrolling down and click on "Averages" (to the right of "36-hour forcast") to find your long term highs, lows, and rainfall.

See this example of Fort Collins climate data.

What about the rain?

I have not been able to find reliable, current, daily average precipitation data. They are collected, but apparently not widely reported yet on the web. In the sites listed above you will find average monthly precipitation. What is even more useful, if you can find it, is the number of "rain" days per month as well as total monthly precipitation. In August Dublin gets 7.1 cm. of rain (about 2.8 inches). Milan gets 9.7 cm. (3.8 inches). The difference, of course, in Milan is that all this falls in afternoon thunderstorms on, perhaps 8 days while in Dublin this is often ongoing drizzle 20 days in the month! It won't rain all day, mind you, but the day may begin with drizzle and end with sunny skies.

If you are aware of a good weather and climate site with good global precipitation data please let me know: Rick@ExperiencPlus.com.

The Bottom Line

We've been talking 30-year averages with all this. That means that you could go to Tuscany, Paris, or Ireland in an "off-year" and freeze to death OR enjoy unseasonably warm and clear weather. So always, in spring and fall, take rain gear and warm weather clothing. In northwest Europe ALWAYS take rain gear and warm clothing (this includes northern Spain).

A few myths about weather and climate

Once you know the latitude of a place you understand the weather and climate.

Wrong! Relative location to other features on the surface of the earth is far more important than latitude, especially in the mid-latitudes. What is "upwind" of your destination influences the climate more than latitude. Try Ireland in January, for example. Dublin is north of 53 degrees north latitude yet average low temperatures in January are 37 degrees F. Milan, at about 45 degrees north latitude averages 25 degrees F. as a low in January!

The difference is that the North Atlantic Ocean (and, to a lesser degree, the Gulf Stream) acts as a huge heater keeping Ireland warm in winter while Milan sits in a basin surrounded by mountains where it gets pretty cold in winter.

Here's a great web site about common misconceptions and misunderstandings about weather and climate.

New Titanium Bicycle Rental Fleet Makes Cycling Europe a Breeze

2009-04-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Gone are the days of cumbersome and expensive overseas bicycle transportation. BikeRentalsPlus! now offers top-of-the-line, titanium road bicycles for rental in Italy and France, allowing cyclists the opportunity to experience highest quality bicycles minus hefty airline fees. Through BikeRentalsPlus!, cycling tourists are now privy to 24/7 titanium bicycle rentals—with 30-speed full Ultegra gearing. In addition, BikeRentalsPlus! can provide pre-mapped bicycle routes, exclusive accommodations and luggage transportation. Whether travelers seek to cycle Provence and its fields of lavender or sample Chianti in Tuscany, they can do so with ease and comfort. Rates as low as $33 per day available. Custom group rentals and rates available. BikeRentalsPlus! is a division of expert bicycle tour operator ExperiencePlus!

Bicycle the Baltics: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania & Russia, Too!

2009-03-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in bicycling the Baltics or even cycling from St. Petersburg, Russia to Tallinn, Estonia, the folks at City Bike in Tallinn can help you out. We've worked with the owner, Toomas Lemov on tours from St. Petersburg to Tallinn and on to Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania. City Bike is one of the few northern European suppliers with a complete selection of bicycles, including good road bikes for those who wish to ride long or hard (or both).

Contact Bike Rentals Plus for your needs or contact City Bike directly through these links.

For lots of photos of bicycling from St. Petersburg through the Baltics click here.

Rent a Bicycle in Germany

2009-02-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

Here are two great resources for renting bicycles in Germany and for general information about bike touring in Germany.

Before you start looking around, however, note the two photos. Very few companies in Germany offer lightweight touring bicycles. Most are fully equipped city or hybrid bikes complete with fenders, lights, racks, and more. They are pretty substantial bikes. So keep that in mind as you explore your options. Bike Rentals Plus has actually shipped lightweight touring bikes from Italy to customers in Austria for rides down the Danube to Budapest. (One fellow bought one of our used bikes in perfectly good shape. We shipped it to him in Vienna and he sold it in Budapest for 60% of what he paid for it. Everyone was happy!

Bicycle Germany is a web site by Tim and Maxa Burleigh, avid touring cyclists. There may be more information than you want, here, but at least they've done a lot of research for you. If you looking to rent a bike in Germany, start on this page.

Here's another blog with fairly recent bike rental options in major German cities.

For more photos of Germans and Austrians cycling the Danube Bikeway visit our Flickr site.

To Take your own bike or not to take your own bike?

2009-02-25T10:52:00.000-08:00

Now, that . . . is a good question.
(The fellow with the bike cases on the right brought his own bikes; his wife is shepherding their personal baggage; others in this group ordered rental bikes, ready to ride which you see on top of the van).

Of course you’d want your own bike on a European trip. Why not? You should weigh the pros ad cons and consider all the options BEFORE you head down any path.

1) DON”T EVEN THINK about “shipping” your bike. Take it as accompanied baggage on the airline (#2 below), MAYBE, but don’t ship. Take a look at this web site and run a test on shipping your bike with them.
Sports Express

My test showed a price of $397 (economy) and $625 (express) ONE WAY from Denver to Bologna.

I called UPS for another price: $502.85 ONE WAY with lots of red tape and, trust me, the potential for your bike to be held up in Italian customs upon arrival. The cost for a return shipment from Italy was $788.42. So that’s a total of $1,291.27 both ways.

2) Accompanied baggage on your airline:
a. Some airlines will take your bike for free but with recent fuel surcharges and generally high costs airlines are looking for every opportunity to charge you an extra fee. So plan on $75 – 125, worst case, for each direction.
b. Buy a Bike Friday or other folding bike and avoid this charge.

Explore options yourself if you’d like: here are a couple web sites:

International Bicycle Fund page on traveling with your bike.

League of American Bicyclists

3) Once you arrive overseas.
a. Where you headed? Are you going to get on your bike at the airport and head off into the sunset? (What an image, I love it!)
b. Or are you going to be picked up, rent a car, take a bus or train?

In all these cases you need to plan for the next step once you get off the airplane:
1) BEST CASE SCENARIO: Make sure your rental car or van is big enough to hold your bike(s) luggage and all your passengers. (Or, have someone pick you up at the airport!)
2) NEXT BEST CASE: Fly in and out of the same airport. Book a hotel nearby and make sure they have space to store your bike case while you are out on the road.
3) Be prepared to wrestle your bike in its case onto trains and buses. Not easy, but doable. We’ve done it plenty!
4) DO NOT: Ship your bike, boxed or not, on any European trains separate from you. You WANT your bike on the train WITH you, in your compartment where you can see it. If there is a bike or baggage car where you deliver the bike and hand it to an attendant, then you are ok relinquishing the bike (get a claim check!) Otherwise, keep it with you!
5) Bikes on Trains: most European train systems will allow you to take your bike on the train with you for a small fee. In France and Italy, for example, all short and medium haul trains take bikes. The long distance trains are more problematic. So don’t plan to take bikes on those trains. For our post on bikes on trains click here.

Costa Rica Bicycle Tour

2009-02-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Bicycling in Costa Rica is great during the winter months, especially when temperatures are 23º (F) in Minneapolis, 16 º in Milwaukee, and 22 º in Cleveland, as they are today. You can take your own touring or mountain bike to Costa Rica without much problem. We can suggest some hotels near the airport in San Jose where you could leave bike boxes or cases. If you take a touring bike or racing bike make sure you put a little heftier tires (25 – 28 would be best) for the roads there. But quite honestly, you’ll likely have more fun in Costa Rica with a mountain bike. It will open up the entire country to you so you can explore. Without a mountain bike you’ll be limited to paved roads with lots of potholes. But contrary to popular belief (notably people who have driven a car in Costa Rica) while the roads are pretty bad, they’re not bad for bicycling. Bicycling in and around San Jose isn’t very pleasant because it’s congested and there’s quite a bit of traffic. So head north to La Fortuna to explore on the flat of the San Carlos plains or into the foothills of the Cordillera Central and the hills around Arenal Volcano. La Fortuna is a great place to be based for a few days, to rent a bicycle, or to take a half-day or full day bicycle tour. Our best recommendation for renting bikes here by the hour or by the day is Bike Arenal. We set this company up about six years ago and taught them most of what they know. They do a great job. Tell ‘em the folks from Bike Rentals Plus sent you and they’ll treat you with tender loving care. AND, they’ll show you the real Costa Rica. Bike Arenal can also take you on a half-day or full-day bicycle tour. A great way to see the wildlife, enjoy the flowers, and get to know Costa Rica.

Springtime in Paris - a Weekend Bicycle Tour

2009-02-15T10:33:00.001-08:00

Ok, this isn't a bicycle tour in the real sense of the word, but it would be hard to beat a low-cost, do-it-yourself weekend in Paris with bicycles like this one!

Get yourself to Paris, check in to a centrally located hotel, and make use of the Velo Libre bike-share network for your transportation. The hotel listed on this link, Hotel Andrea Rivoli, has a Velib' station right outside the door!

For a photo essay on the Paris Velib' program, visit our Flickr pages. This little photo essay shows you how the program works.

Here's a detailed description of how the Velo Libre program works.

And this link hooks you up with the official Velib' web site in English.

Renting a Villa for a Site-Based (Hub and Spoke) Bicycle Tour

2009-02-09T15:47:00.001-08:00

We see lots of people now renting villas for a one or two-week bicycle tour. They may take their own bike or they'll rent one in country and spend time relaxing by the pool, pedaling, and touring nearby villages.

The best places for bike trips like these are Tuscany, in Italy, and Provence in the South of France. Both regions have a dense network of roads, lots of sights to see, great food, people, and plenty of villas for rent. On a villa bicycle vacation you can take the entire family, even the non-cyclists. Those who don't pedal can enjoy the pool, go walking in the countryside, or drive to the nearby village while you enjoy pedaling!

Here are just a few resources for your next villa and bicycle vacation:

About.com has an Italy blog by Martha Bakerjian. Martha lives in Tuscany and has spent time in Sardinia. Her blog has a variety of lodgings listed.

Bike Rentals Plus can help you with villas in Provence and in Tuscany as well.

Half-Day Bicycle Tours in Buenos Aires

2009-01-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

So you're on your way to Antarctica, Patagonia, or just to visit Argentina. You have a layover day or four in Buenos Aires and can get away for an afternoon. We have the perfect half-day bicycle tour for you. Actually, this is perfect for most of a day because the neighborhood of San Telmo, where this bike tour company is based, is one of the most interesting quarters of Buenos Aires. So go early for your tour, explore the Plaza Dorrego, take your bike ride with La Bicicleta Naranja Tours and Rentals then come back late afternoon for drinks in Plaza Dorrego again as it fills up with both tourists and locals at that time.
For more photos of bicycling in Argentina visit our Flickr pages.

How 'Bout a Bike Tour in Boston?

2009-01-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Of course, you can just rent a bike and do your own exploring but the reason to take a half-day bicycle tour is . . . local knowledge. Nothing can buy you local information like taking a ride with the folks who ride there all the time.

The folks at Urban AdvenTours, in Boston, will rent you a bicycle but they will also show you the sights, and where to find the best food in Boston, like Redbones, Boston's best BBQ and the Washington Square Tavern.

So if you are short on time and short on knowledge about where to find a bike and where to ride, finding a local bike tour operator for a short half-day or full-day ride is the solution. When in Boston call Urban AdvenTours.

Bicycle Touring in Japan

2009-01-24T15:08:00.000-08:00

Considering a bicycle tour in Japan? Take a look at the Japan Cycling Navigator for general information. For bicycle rentals in Japan try Outdoor Japan for information on renting a touring bicycle.

Giant Bicycles to Offer Bicycle Rentals in Taipei City

2009-01-21T07:45:00.001-08:00

Giant Manufacturing Co, the world's largest manufacturer of bicycles will set up eleven rental points with a total of 500 rental bikes in the heart of Taipei City. This follows on the announcement of the introduction of 4,500 bicycles in Kaohsiung City along that city's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) routes by May for use by citizens in a massive bike sharing program. Read more about it here.

So if you are traveling to Taiwan there is not need to forgo your daily bike ride!

For the news announcement about Giant in Taipei City click here.

Bike Sharing Blog Gathers Info on Bike Sharing Around the World

2009-01-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Bike-sharing Blog provides information on the emerging public transportation mode of bike-sharing. The Blog is provided by MetroBike, LLC , based in Washington, D.C., USA. Visit the blog here by clicking here.

At right is a photo of the Bike Library in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Cafes in Tel Aviv, Israel Offer Free Bicycles

2009-01-20T10:36:00.001-08:00

Visiting Tel Aviv on a bus tour? Take an afternoon to enjoy the bike share program in these cafes!

How to Pack for your Self-Supported Bicycle Tour

2009-01-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. So have a look at some of the photos here of the annual Winter Ralleye Bike Tour out of Fort Collins, Colorado into the Rocky Mountains. Normally (what's normal any more?) the weather is pretty cold with snow on the ground. But this year the 30 or so thirty-somethings had fifty plus degree weather for the winter overnight bike tour to Ansel Watrous campground on the scenic Cache La Poudre River twenty-five miles out of Fort Collins.

We publish this note here so those of you who are dreaming of a self-supported, loaded bicycle tour can see several examples of B.O.B. trailers, panniers, and combinations thereof. Have fun looking at these photographs!

Bikes on Trains in Europe with the Example of Italy

2009-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

There are normally two occasions when you might need to take your bike on the train:
1) You've just arrived at the airport and need to get to your first hotel or other lodging;
2) You're out on the road with your bike and you need to cover some ground quickly. (Alternatively, you’ve finished your tour, arrived in Sicily and need to jump on the train to return to Rome, for example).

Regulations vary from country to country and train to train but we'll talk about bikes on Italian trains in this post. Later we'll send you to resources in other countries.

Italian trains are pretty bike friendly after years of lobbying by the Federazione Italiana Amici della Bicicletta.

Getting your Bike from the Airport by Train

Let’s say you are headed from the Rome airport to your rental villa in Umbria or Tuscany. If your bike is in a box or bag you can take it on most trains as accompanied baggage. It’s just a question as to whether or not there is baggage
in your train car. (Most Italian trains do NOT have separate luggage cars). Fast trains, tagged ES*, ES* Fast, AV e AV Fast, in the train scheudule normally do not allow large packages such as a bike in a box (ES means EuroStar, the long-distance fast trains).

Getting your bike on the train is the least of your problems. Think, instead, about the logistics in moving your bike in a bike case or box, your luggage, and your family or traveling companions. In Rome you first have to get from luggage claim to the metro train to get into Rome, then change metros to get to the train station, then to your train. Once you arrive at destination you need to get from the local train station to your villa or rental apartment. A better option might be to rent a van or even hire a van to shuttle you to your destination.

Taking your Bike on the Train without a Box or Case

So you’re out on the road, pedaling furiously but need to jump ahead a couple hundred kilometers. Or, you want to pedal from Venice to Florence but the only bike rental supplier is near Bologna (LINK). So pick up your rental bike near Bologna, take the train to Venice, do your bike tour from Venice to Florence, then catch the train back from Florence to Bologna with your bike and drop it off at the rental supplier.

MOST local and regional Italian trains will allow you to just wheel your bike aboard. You need a ticket and your bike needs a 3.50 euro ticket. (Be sure to validate that ticket before you board).

This is actually a great way to travel throughout Europe as long as there aren't too many travelers. Up to four bikes with panniers can usually fit on a train pretty easily. A larger group is much more difficult.

For more information on bikes on trains in Italy and Europe here are a few resources:

TrenItalia, the old Ferrovie dello Stato web site has a pretty good English explanation here.

The Italian train schedule online is actually very good and indicates which trains take bikes with a small bicycle icon and note: "Bicycle transportation service."

Other good resources in Italy are the Federazione Italiana Amici della Bicicletta (FIAB)
Their English web site is a little outdated but may be useful.

For information about bikes on trains in other European countries start with the European Cycling Federation.

Resources for Designing Your European Bicycle Tour Route #3 - Books

2009-01-11T16:10:00.001-08:00

Our first post introduced the Eurovelo long distance bicycle touring network in Europe and our second post introduced you to critical maps to help you design your tour route. This post deals with resource books - both the good, the bad and the mediocre.

There are 3 Kinds of Bicycle Touring Books

1) Bicycle touring narratives;
2) "How to" books: how to pack, how to camp, how to cook, and more.
3) Bicycle tour route books: there are a small number of really great books in this category. There are lots of terrible books that fit here.

Bicycle Touring Narratives

There are a few classic bicycle touring narratives out there. You should read them, not because they'll help you prepare for your trip, but because they are great travel literature and they'll help get you psyched for your trip. The definitive bibliography of this literature is an ongoing project of Dr. Duncan Jamieson, a history professor at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. You can see his bibliography here.

But here are a few classic volumes that you might want to peruse:

Barbara Savage, Miles from Nowhere: A Round the World Bicycle Adventure (Paperback), first published by the Mountaineers in 1985. A great narrative of a two-year round-the-world bicycle tour by Savage and her husband. Tragically, the author was killed in a bike/car crash in California right before the book was published.

Andrew X. Pham, Catfish & Mandala, A vietnamese Odyssey (Flamingo/HarperCollins, 2000 and 2001); a memoir by a Vietnamese American who returns to Vietnam by bicycle to find himself. A real adventure in all senses of the word.

Dervla Murphy, Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle (first published in 1965). If you don't know Dervla Murphy, this is a great way to start.

Mark Jenkins, Off the Map, Bicycling Across Siberia, (William Morrow and Company, 1992) a great adventure of pedaling across Siberia right after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"How to" bicycle touring books

We're not fans of "how to books." We just don't think that there is nearly as much to be gained from reading something called The Essential Touring Cyclist: A Complete Guide for the Bicycle Traveler as there is in reading some of the more entertaining travel literature cited above. Take a look on Amazon, though, and surf the web. You may find something that strikes your fancy. The following category has more to offer for your planning.

Bicycle Touring Route Books

Watch out! Some of these are great, most are just reruns of "how I spent my summer bicycling across Italy."

Seriously, most bicycle touring books that purport to tell you about bicycling in Italy, France, or wherever, are just a narrative of a ride somebody took. The problem with this kind of book is that they took one ride across Italy, Tuscany, or wherever and wrote it up. That makes them an expert? If I were you I'd want to know the BEST route across Italy or France, not the one John Doe took.

Good route books:
A couple of series of books are quite good, but be careful. The Lonely Planet Cycling Guide Series is pretty good but only if you get the second or later editon! First editions are often no better than Joe Blow bicycling someplace once and writing it up. So scout Amazon.com, for example for anything but the first edition of Cycling Britain, Cycling Italy, and so on.

One great series, and we can hope other series will come out, are the German BikeLine
route guides. These guides combine detailed maps for an entire route along with a step-by-step guide. The focus on some of the classic routes in Europe: Down the Danube, the Moselle, the Rhine, and other river rides.

Some of the Bikeline guides are available in English (the Danube for sure) if you can find them. Otherwise, its worth ordering the German version and using it just for the maps.

You can find the publisher's web site by clicking here. If they cover your region or the area you are headed to, this is your book series.

Resources for Designing Your European Bicycle Tour Route #2 - Maps

2009-01-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

Our first post introduced the Eurovelo long distance bicycle touring network in Europe. Click on "route design" in the margin and you'll get all the posts relative to designing your route.

This post talks a little about basic maps for your trip: which maps to use and which to avoid, where to find the right maps, specialty maps, and so on. Later I'll talk about your basic bicycle touring books and why they aren't all that good. Then we'll begin to steer you toward two really valuable resources: 1) interactive online resources for bike route design; and, 2) newer edition publications that combine route notes and maps (available only in very popular bike touring areas).

We often see cyclists pedaling down a busy highway in Italy with a 1:1,000,000 Michelin map of Italy. No wonder that cyclist is on the wrong road. Michelin is French and their Italian maps aren't very good. Plus, the scale of one to a million is way too small (small scale, small detail; large scale, large detail).

For Europe, generally speaking, you want a map at about a 1:200,000 scale. You can get larger scale maps (1:100,000 or even 1:25,000) but to go anywhere on a bike you'd need a pannier full of these maps.

With that scale map you can cover most of a region and with two or three you can get across France, most of Italy, and so on.

Key Maps in A Few Countries of Europe

France: Michelin; regional maps at a scale of 1:200,000
Germany: The German Bicycle Touring Club (ADFC : Allgemeiner Deutsche Fahrrad Club) produces an excellent series of bicycle maps at 1:150,000
Italy: Italian Touring Club (Touring Club Italiano, TCI); regional at 1:200,000 (shown on this post)
(Michelin makes maps of Italy at 1:400,000 but they aren't detailed enough)
Ireland: Ordinance Survey Maps (Irish Government); 1:250,000 (you can cover the whole Republic in three maps; add Northern Ireland with a fourth
Spain: Instituto Geografico Nacional (Spanish Government mapping office) makes a great series by Province (Mapa Provincial) at 1:200,000 (find them in local bookstores or tobacconist shops)
Greece: Greece is tough but DON'T rely on foreign maps; I like Road Editions, 1:250,000 covering the entire country in 6 maps.
England, Scotland, Wales: Ordinance Survey 1:250,000 maps cover the entire United Kingdom (these are the maps generally recommended by the premier British bicycle touring organization, the Cyclists Tour Club - the CTC)

In the USA, of course, you'll be looking at the materials produced by the Adventure Cycling Association.

Later we'll talk about even more valuable resources and other maps. But don't forget the fun part of getting a paper map and poring over it to design your route!

Designing Your European Bicycle Tour Route #1 - Eurovelo

2009-01-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

So, you're headed off to do a bike tour of Europe and you'd like to begin designing your route. Indeed, that's half the fun! This post will give you a few ideas and resources on how to start.

The Eurovelo Bike Route System as a Place to Begin

The adjacent map shows you a sketch of the Eurovelo bike route system. This long distance route network is briefly described in Wikipedia. But take a look at their web site for a comprehensive perspective.

At completion the Eurovelo network will identify and mark 12 long distance routes throughout Europe. Route number 6, for example follows the Loire River through France, then heads through a corner of Switzerland and into Germany where it picks up the Danube River which you follow all the way to the Black Sea. The great thing about these routes is that you can select a portion and follow it only in France, for example.

Route 6 is currently marked on the ground from Nantes, France as far as Budapest. About a six-week ride. But if you are just interested in a France, German or Austrian portion, it would do fine. The Eurovelo Route 6 website is here.

The web site description isn't comprehensive, though, so you'll need maps to complete your planning. Stay tuned for the next post on the best maps to use for your planning. We'll use the Loire River in France as an example.

Loaded or Self-Supported Bicycle Tour #2

2009-01-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

Before you head off on a loaded bike tour with you and your family or with you and your new bride, neighbors, kids, or friends take a look at Darren Alff's blog. If you can imagine yourself in Darren's shoes and out on the open road "winging" it on your own, then go for it!

The Best Thing About Self-Supported Touring

The best thing about self-supported touring is that you're on your own, free to go where the road takes you, sleep where you want, when you want, and to ride as long or short as you want every day. There is nothing better than that feeling of freedom when you hit the road on a new tour in a new place. But. . .

The Problem with Self-Supported Touring

You're on your own. And if you like being on your own, enjoy the freedom! But the minute you take the family with you or the minute you decide to "organize" the trip for friends and relatives, you're in charge! Or at least someone's in charge.

I'll never forget when my 14 year-old asked, after four straight 80 mile days, "What happened to those 50 mile days we were going to do on this trip?" That was in north central Norway over fifteen years ago. We had the family there and we were developing a new tour. Well, to cover the territory we really needed to knock off a few longer days that I had expected. My credibility went down the tube.

When you are organizing a ride and you have one or ten other people, you need answers to questions like:
1) How long is today's ride?
2) How high is that mountain pass (or, from the engineer, "what's the total vertical today?"
3) Where are we sleeping tonight?
4) Where's the best lunch stop today?
. . . and on and on and on.

Resources for Planning a Self-Supported Bicycle Tour

(These are really better thought of as primers on whether I want to do this myself or not but have a look, that's part of the planning!)
Darren Alf's Blog: Bicycle Touring Pro
Adventure Cycling Association has a Bike Touring 101 also
REI has a Bike Touring Basics page (though it is pretty minimal)

What is a Self-Guided Bicycle Tour? (And is it for you?)

2008-12-31T07:55:00.001-08:00

Self-guided bicycle touring means somebody else handles all your logistics including:

route planning, lodging, breakfast normally, a bicycle rental (OR bring your own),
luggage shuttles from hotel to hotel (usually), a "road book" and/or map of your route, emergency service (sometimes; sometimes you have to handle your own repairs).

On a self-guided tour you may be on your own or you may find yourself cycling from place to place with others on the same tour. That means you'll ride with them if you want or you'll be alone if you prefer. Europeans tend to prefer self-guided tours so you may find you are sharing the road and lodging with Germans, Brits, Irish folks, or who knows?

The advantages of a self-guided tour

- someone handles most of the logistics;
- you get to travel at your own pace;
- you often get to choose your dates;
- it is a lot cheaper than a guided tour.

The Disadvantages of a Self-guided Tour over a Guided or Escorted Tour

- you may be alone so there is no group to join;
- if it rains you go to plan B (usually, put on your rain gear and follow plan A; i.e., there is no shuttle van to pick you up);
- you have no guide to help in an emergency or to help you understand the culture, the language, to negotiate with hotel-keepers or restaurants.

For more information about self-guided tours click here.

What Kind of Bicycle? Road/Racing Bike, Hybrid Bike or Mountain Bike?

2008-12-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

You are headed overseas for a bike tour or a villa rental and two-week stay and you're wondering. What kind of bike should I request, rent, look for - a road bike? Hybrid or city bike? Or mountain bike?

The answer is: what do you usually ride? What kind of rider are you? And what bikes are available?

Start with the first two: Do you love road bikes? Do you really enjoy the sports-car feel of a racing bike? Will you be carrying "stuff" on your bike - gear for camping? Or just items for the day (if that) - camera, lunch, water, phrase book? Then plan on a road bike. But ask questions about the gearing! Do you refuse to use a granny gear? Or do you insist on having one? Make sure you ask BEFORE you go.

Bike Rentals Plus addressed this issue years ago and uses a Cannondale factory modified "sports road bike" with a triple crank for touring but a racing geometry for fun. There's a photo in this post.

If you aren't used to racing bikes, by all means request a hybrid or city bike, shown in the upper right corner here. In Austria and Germany, this is almost the only kind of bike that you'll find available (usually with fenders, chain guards, lights, and kick stands!)

What about mountain bikes? In places like Costa Rica, southern Tuscany or Umbria - for the serious off-road rider, a mountain bike is likely your best choice.

So start your planning by thinking about the kind of rider you are - racer, casual tourist, off-road - then find out what's available.

Take a look at Bike Rentals Plus for even more details on bicycles.

Hotels that Include Bicycles - What Bicycle Would you Like with that Room?

2008-12-27T15:52:00.001-08:00

Here's an update from the NY Times on hotels in Europe that offer bikes. The article, by Jane Margolies was published May 3, 2009 in the electronic edition.

Remember that innovative hotel that offered you a non-smoking room years ago? Well, now you can ask for a bicycle with your room!

Hilary Howard reported in the NY Times Dec. 21, 2008 that some hotels and hotel chains now offer the option of a bicycle along with the room.

Here are just a few (please let us know if you find others!)

The Bowery in NY City
The Gansevoort South in Miami
The James in Chicago
The Element in Lexington, MA
And according to Howard, all future Element Hotels will include free bikes!

Of course, this is nothing new for us here in Fort Collins, Colorado as the Armstrong Hotel has been offering crusier bikes to its guests for several years now.

The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs doesn't provide free bikes but you can rent them.

In Portland, OR: Hotel Jupiter will rent you a bike for a nominal $10 for 4 hours and $20 for 12 hours. Just give them a call: 503-230-9200 or drop in to their web site at www.jupiterhotel.com.

Near Atlanta, GA: Callaway Gardens offers bicycles for rent on their grounds.

In Europe:

Germany: Berlin - Hotel Gates
Belgium: Brugges - several hotels offer bicycles

We're working on building this list so please post a comment if you find hotels that provide free bikes or rental bikes at a nominal cost.

Bicycle Rentals in the USA

2008-12-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

Take a half-day bike ride while touring or visiting these US cities! Some of these rental operators offer half-day or full-day tours. Most rent bikes by the week as well.

Call before you go to make sure they have just the type of bike you need and want.

If you have rented from any of these companies please tell us about your experience and your favorite ride. Or, if you know of a place not listed here please tell us about it in a comment.

Chicago: McDonald's Cycle Center at the Chicago Bike Station

Miami, FL: See Washington DC

Portland, OR: Waterfront Bicycles in one of America's most bicycle friendly cities!

San Francisco, CA: See Washington DC

Seattle, WA: The Cascade Bicycle Club, one of the nation's largest, lists bicycle rental outfits in Seattle

Washington, DC: Bike & Roll
(Bike and Roll also operates in Chicago, NY City, San Francisco, and Miami)

Many bike shops rent bikes as well. Just Google the town you are headed to and the type of bike you are looking for. Then drop us a note to let us know how it went!

Hub and Spoke Tours

2008-12-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

Who said a bicycle vacation has to involve packing and moving every day? Try a hub and spoke tour in a villa or hotel base with loop rides every day. We work with many small groups of families or friends who prefer this way of bicycling. They find (or we find for them) a villa or hotel in Provence or Tuscany (or lots of other places), settle in for a week, and take rides out from their base. Those who wish, ride hard and long while those who prefer to take it easy take shorter rides to nearby villages, enjoy time by the pool, and take more leisurely rides from the hotel shown here in Central Tuscany, Italy.

If you are serious cyclists or just want to cover more territory you can rent a car or a van. If someone in your group doesn't ride but will agree to drive make them the designated driver. So maybe on some days you'll leave early and do a long ride to a town that everyone wants to see, then the designated driver comes and picks the cyclists up.

Bike Rentals Plus can help set you up with roof or car racks to make this easier.

Click here for details on villa and hotel hub and spoke bicycle vacations in France and Italy.

Loaded or Self-Supported Bicycle Tour

2008-12-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

Among the tours you can take, a self-supported or loaded tour is certainly the most traditional. Among the decisions you'll have to make is how to carry your gear. That, of course, is impacted also by whether you camp and cook for yourself or if you sleep in local accommodations and eat in restaurants. This couple is cycling the panhandle in northern Corsica, France. They are camping most nights but are traveling very lightly with small, low-rider front panniers, one handlebar bag, rear panniers, and a BOB trailer pulled by their tandem.

Getting your tandem and your BOB and panniers to Corsica from outside of Europe is not an easy task. At Bike Rentals Plus we rent tandems, panniers and BOBs to make the logistics easier.

How to Choose a Tour Company

2008-12-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

Ten Questions to Ask Any Bicycle Tour Operator

How do you know which one is the best bicycle touring company for you?
Here’s a list of questions that will help guide you to the right choice.

1. How long has your company been in business?
New companies are okay, but be aware that the Internet has enabled small and inexperienced companies to look very impressive. This question will help you determine just how much and what kind of experience a company really has.

2. How is your company structured? Do you have staff in the home office AND overseas?
Some companies have a skeleton staff in the home office, and these same people run their tours overseas! That may be okay, but make sure that the BEST people are both answering questions in the home office AND running tours abroad.

3. Describe your tours for me. Who takes them? Is there a good match between your needs and the tour company? What is the "culture" of the company? Who will you be traveling with, veteran cyclists? Experienced travelers?

4. What distinguishes your adventure travel company from others?
Do they provide luxury travel?
The packing list you’ll receive for most tours includes a section about “what not to bring” including your gold jewels, your evening gown, or your business suit. Our tours are casual and our philosophy is to enjoy the best of the local culture, including authentic cuisine and centrally-located, locally-owned comfortable hotels.

Do they cater to extreme sports or just the adventure portion of your trip?
We love to ride our bikes and believe that there is no better way to explore the world. We have itineraries for all levels of experience and ability, and we find nothing more satisfying that converting “non-cyclists” to cycle touring. By getting out of the car or bus, your senses are open to the sights, sounds, smells around you…AND you become accessible to chance encounters with local people. When’s the last time you had an old Italian woman cheer for you on the uphill as she beats a rug on her balcony?

Are they an educational travel company? Do they provide guided tours, or self-guided tours? If you are looking for something specific, such as a wine tour, culinary tour, or cooking classes, can they provide this?

5. How long have you been running the specific tour I am interested in? Whether it's a bike tour through Italy, France or Turkey, every adventure tour has a "life" of its own. If the company has been offering a tour for a long time, they can tell you all about it. If it's a new tour, there are probably some bugs that need working out. That may be okay if they're a reputable travel company. But you should at least ask.

6. What is your most popular active vacation, and why? This lets you know where and in what they specialize. They should be able to tell you a lot about this particular tour.

7. How have past customers described the degree of difficulty on this tour? Many travel companies rate the difficulty of their active vacations. This allows you to choose a vacation package that suits your fitness level. Our tour rating system clearly ranks the physical challenge of each tour we offer.

8. May I speak with someone who has been on this tour? You should be able to speak with a staff member who has been on the tour that interests you. When you pick up the phone to ask if you’ll survive the climb over the Andes, you’ll talk to someone who has actually done it. Alternatively, ask for names of customers who have done the trip.

If you are a single woman in your 50’s interested in touring Europe, for example, ask to speak to someone like you who has been there before. If you travel as a couple, ask for the email addresses or phone numbers of at least two couples.

9. Tell me about the composition of the group on the vacation I've selected. You probably don't want to be the only single 30-year-old in a group of older couples on a cycling tour through France. So, ask about group composition. But remember, you'll probably have more fun with a mixed group rather than a homogeneous group anyway.

10. What is the history of this particular tour? Does this tour usually fill up? How often have you cancelled it? You want to ask these questions for two reasons: First, if it is a popular tour that fills fast, you don't want to be left out! Second, if the tour cancels often (which is sometimes the case during low or “shoulder” season), you don't want to get stuck with an airplane ticket and no tour!

Our Single Most Important Piece of Advice: Begin Planning NOW!

2008-12-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

If you are experienced at bicycle touring you know that planning ahead, especially for an overseas trip, is critical.

I'll never forget in 2001 when we were in Italy for the summer and were headed to Ireland to develop a new escorted bike tour. We flew into Shannon Airport and had been in touch with a bike shop in Ennis to rent bikes. I had been talking with this fellow for two weeks and was satisfied that he could provide good quality bikes for our ride.

We arrived in Ennis with panniers, as usual, and a duffel bag with shoes, helmets, locks, tools, and so on. When we got on our bikes the duffel would be strapped astride the panniers to collect the daily flotsam and jetsam you tend to collect: jackets, lunch, maps, and on.

We shuttled to our hotel, spent the night and headed off to the bike shop. "Oh that's right," says he. "You were coming today, now weren't you?" The bikes weren't ready. "Come back after lunch," says he. After lunch, the bikes weren't ready. We finally got them about 5 p.m. and lost an entire day of riding.

The moral, of course, is: make sure you can depend on your rental suppplier OR make sure to bring your own bikes. But if you bring your own bikes you need to:

1) Know where you are arriving and how you'll get to your inbound base (by train? by car? van? or will you pedal?)
2) If you pedal, where will you leave your cases or bike boxes?
3) And if you are pedaling, how's the route from the airport? Is it doable?

In short, think ALL of this through before you get on the airplane.

One last story: We had an acquaintance here in Colorado who had found three weeks to fly to Rome and do some cycling in October one year. We talked at length about his plans. He would: fly to Rome with his own bike, begin pedaling right at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, head north, and then maybe take the train back to fly home.

His bike didn't arrive on his flight. And it didn't arrive the next day. He waited four days for his bike to arrive and he was so paranoid that it might come in and he wouldn't connect with it that he spent a bundle of money staying in a hotel near the airport shuttling back and forth twice a day to see if it arrived.

He was so demoralized with having spent so much money in the hotel and for having missed out on four days of cycling that he changed his ticket and came home on day 5!

Why this blog

2008-12-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

We know you. You would like to take a European bicycle tour without the huge cost of an escorted tour. You'd like to:
- design your own route;
- find your own lodging;
- use your own bike.

Problem is:
- you're not familiar with the territory;
- you'd like suggestions on lodging;
- taking your bike can be a real pain.

So you've found us and we can help.
We can:
- help you plan your route because we know the territory (or can find someone who does);
- we know the hotels, B&Bs, and agritourist lodgings;
- tell you where to find rental bikes (all types of bikes from the lightest and fastest to the most sophisticated mountain bikes to simple, quality touring bikes to take you down the road.)

For most of the above services you should visit www.BikeRentalsPlus.com.

But check with us regularly or sign up for our e-mail newsletter to get all the latest hints and comments on bicycle touring.

On this blog you'll find:
1) Comments and thoughts from people who've already done it themselves.
2) Ideas on where to rent a bike for a quick and easy day tour or half day tour on your own.
3) Suggestions for tour operators who offer escorted day or half-day tours in wonderful places like Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Florence and the Chianti Hills.

And a lot more! So let's get mowing, moving, pedaling. . . . whatever!