EXPERIENCE CYCLING ITALIAN STYLE

By Edward J. Bunker 09/06 (tour guest)

AHH, BELLA ITALIA….

Just hearing those words roll off my tongue fills my mind with an overload of incredible memories! Cycling in Italy can be so much more than riding from one wine tasting to the next. Cycling has so much to offer. You’re out in the elements, which stimulate your often-suppressed senses, you get reacquainted with you body and how it works, you can travel amazing distances with relatively little effort, and that effort can be rewarded with copious amounts of food and drink when finished! Now, put those experiences in a culture that embraces the bicycle, is steeped in history, is located in jaw-dropping scenery, and you have found cycling heaven. The air is heavy with a mix of jasmine and vineyards, cowbells tinkle softly on the hillsides, the beautiful inhabitants speak their romantic language that all blends into a magical blur as I ride by. I feel a happy contented smile grow on my face and in my mind.

Because Italy takes a bit of an effort to get there, it is wise to carefully select a bike touring company to get you there and take you around. What I’ve looked for over the years, and am happy to say found with Grandfondo Tours, is something that would be very similar to my riding experiences at home. Usually once a week, I ride with several of my friends. We all are able to ride similar distances at similar pace, and like to ride in the morning for 4 to 6 hours to leave the afternoon free. We like to include a coffee stop along the way, and we always wait if someone gets dropped for whatever reason. What makes up those rides is what I would want on a cycling holiday. Similar daily distances, how the rides are conducted, food stops, and some time for culture in the afternoon. Because as much fun cycling is, there is definitely more to life in Italy than riding! I love the contrast of hard physical effort in the morning, then after a refreshing shower and nourishment, putting on some nice clothes and strolling through a beautiful Italian town. Sipping on a cappuccino, people-watching from a street-side café, strolling through ancient streets and checking out beautiful buildings, stores and churches tucked away neatly in a corner of town. And with a few basic words of Italian, you will be welcomed into the hearts of the people you meet.

It was with pleasant surprise then, as my first ride with the Grandfondo group unfolded. It felt like these people had been riding with me for years! We always did a nice warm up ride together for a few Kilometers, then those who felt frisky were set loose, but always regrouped at a key junction or coffee bar. Now, because “the boys and me” (my cycling buddies) like to ride mountains whenever possible, the Grandfondo Campagnolo trip was right up my alley. Every day there was immortal mountain pass after mountain pass to stroke off my “to do” list. Every day the ghosts of great cyclists of the past rode with me – well they would’ve actually passed me – but hey, they’re ghosts and I still have a few clicks left in me yet. Climbing past memorials, numbered switchbacks, painted names, hearing the faint cheers of the ancient crowds, helping me, urging me upward to the summits of some of cycling greatest climbs and allowing me entry into a level of cycling that many of us can only dream of attaining. Every day was like this – every day! As I climbed the immortal Mortirolo pass on the last day of an incredible 2 weeks, I knew in my heart and especially my legs that I was done. I had left all of the cycling “me” on those slopes, and was completely happy that I had the chance to experience it all. And that “to do” list now is painted proudly on the top tube of my bike, giving me inspiration and fond memories as I ride contentedly around my home.

Atop the Mortirolo

As our summer in Italia comes to a close we have a lot to be thankful for. This summer started with our largest tour to date.  Thirty guests and eight guides rode from Florence to Rome in ten days. This was a custom tour for a group of chiropractors that were in Italy for a training seminar for ART “Active Release technique” created by Chiropractor / iron man tri-athlete / former fighter pilot, Dr. Michael Leahy. You have never seen so many people working the kinks out of each other! This tour featured the great cities of Siena, San Gimignano, Pienza and Orvieto, and ended on Lake Bracciano where we set up a fairytale bicycle themed wedding at the Odescalchi Castle. (Feature story in the next issue) We also had a romantic surprise re-proposal of marriage at the Vatican in Rome by Michael Leahy to his wife Patti. He even flew in their parents for the occasion, and had arranged to be re-married in the Polish Chapel the following morning. Now that’s some good connections! This tour was wonderful and generated so much interest that we have added it to our regularly scheduled events.

The next tour was our classic Campagnolo tour. What a great group of people! We had our youngest tour participant yet: David from Minnesota (ya). David received the trip as a gift for his 21st birthday. Thanks Dad! We added wine tasting at the Poggi winery near Affi this year. The wines and the atmosphere were fantastic. Now for the Granfondo Campagnolo. The long course was 130 miles and 15,000 feet of climbing (ouch), the medium course was 70 miles and 7000 feet of climbing, and the short 57 miles and 6000 feet of climbing. The tour group was divided among all of the categories and we all finished with happy but very tired smiles. Our second week of this tour was centered in Bormio.  This beautiful village with its medieval center hosted the Alpine world champion-ships in 1985, and again in 2005, so you can imagine its surrounding terrain!  By day we enjoyed the legendary climbs of the Stelvio, Gavia, Umbrail, and Mortirolo.  At night we were treated to outstanding dinners and even a little grappa tasting. I had no idea grappa came in so many varieties.

One of the custom tours we ran this year was named the “Tuscan Odyssey.” This was a romantic private luxury tour for two people and featured the cities of Orbetello, Pitigliano, Montalcino, Cortona and Siena. Our guest couple stayed in luxury villas and upscale hotels. They also had van support, and a cycling guide on the road. This tour was such an amazing route that we have been asked to offer this tour each year. It has been added to our yearly tour listings, available for private tours of 2 to 6 persons with your custom dates.

We explored some new routes on the Maratona tour this year. The tour started by Lake Garda (near Verona Italy) and then moved to the awe inspiring Dolomite Mountains. After a couple of days riding passes we rode in the largest and most popular Granfondo in Italy, the Maratona dles Dolomites. This Granfondo is limited to 8,500 riders, half from Italy and half foreigners. Each year more than 30,000 people try to gain entry into this event and riders are chosen in a lottery system. This year we had 10 spots in this event. For 2007 we have 16 places which are already filling up! The Maratona has three courses, with the longest including 91 miles and 14,000 feet of climbing. This year our riders did an amazing job. Seven of our team of ten completed the long course including two women. Go Girls!! Two riders Martin and “Razz” decided they wanted to ride back to Lake Garda the day after the event. Martin logged another 150 miles that day. What an Animal!

Our final tour for the year was the Pinarello tour. This was the first tour we have offered where the ladies out numbered the men. We were very pleased to be joined on this tour by our newest cycling guide Massimo who is so full of energy, life and Italian flare, “Fantastico!” This year we enjoyed eating at a new agriturismo (working farm) restaurant Ca’Perisane in Bardolino. The food was amazing; we even had ostrich, and my new favorite desert the “After Eight Mint Semi-Fredo.” In Bormio we trekked to a “local’s only” hot springs pool next to an ice cold river. A few people were even crazy enough to go in the river. Burr!  The day we conquered the Stelvio and Umbrail passes Tobias and I also celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. Our wonderful guests made this day very special for us by surprising us after dinner with Champagne, roses and chocolate. This brought instant tears to my eyes. Our tours start with a group of strangers united by a love of cycling adventure, but they quickly become a group of friends sharing much more than the road.  Thank you again for this heart warming gesture!

This year was truly amazing. We would like to give a special thank you to our great staff and all of you that participated in our tours this summer. We look forward to seeing many of you next year and in the years to come.

 - Carrie (tour staff)