Italy

Cycling is truly a journey of the senses. And there is no better place than Europe, where the villages, castles, cathedrals and museums are unrivaled and the reward of breezing along under your own power is an exhilarating experience. What you see, what you feel, what you encounter is sharper and more relaxed, more complete, when the warm yellow sun, the lush green pastures and the crystal blue lakes dissolve the tension of our everyday lives.

You see the details that are only a blur to most tourists. You meet the country folk – on bicycle just like you. You come to understand the tranquility of a pace of life that is no faster than the pumping of a pedal. Free of gas…. Free of schedules and crowds!

But how to go about it? Well, first you will need to decide whether you wish to do an organized Europe biking tour, or whether you prefer to do it on your own, or maybe something in between. Here are your choices:

1)     Sign up for a bicycle tour with a tour operator: This is certainly the most convenient way to travel by bicycle, because everything has been taken care. In effect, all you need to do is show up, pedal, enjoy, sightsee, eat, drink, sleep. When you are tired or don’t want to climb a hill, the support van will help out. The multi-lingual guides share with you their local knowledge and passion. The group size will normally range between 8 and 20 participants.

2)     Do it yourself: This means a lot of preparation, because you will need to bring your own bicycle (or rent one abroad), find your own route, arrange your own hotels, fix your own flats. You are likely to end up on roads which you would not have chosen, had you know the alternatives. Last but not least, you will have to carry your own luggage on your bicycle.

3)     Do a self-guided trip: In this case, an organization supplies you with a bicycle and maps.  The hotel reservations are made on your behalf. Often, your luggage will be transported from one hotel to the next. However, there will be no support during the day (i.e. no sag-wagon, no repair service, no snacks, no water refills). There are no tour guides to share with you their stories. Nor will you experience the camaraderie with like-minded travelers as you would on an group bicycle tour.

Travelling with a bicycling tour operator gives you the fullest experience, in terms of overall enjoyment and efficiency. But how do you choose the bike tour operator that is right for you? Here are some aspects you can consider asking/investigating regarding the tour operator(s):

1)     What kind of hotels do they use?: Do they openly list their hotels, or are they somewhat secretive about them? In general, two-star hotels are considered to be low-budget, whereas three to four-star hotels are quite comfortable. Five-star hotels are more difficult to find in the countryside. Checking the websites of the hotels will give you insight into the amenities.

2)     What kind of bicycles do they use, and is the bike rental included in the trip price?: Which brand? What type of bicycle (road bike, hybrid bike)? Unless you are planning to ride through very hilly terrain, a hybrid or touring bike will suffice. The medium-width tires make for a comfortable ride no matter what the road surface is, and a back-rack plus a front pannier facilitates you to carry your ‘day-stuff’. Watch out for hidden costs, such as surcharges for the bicycle.

3)     Do they operate their own trips?: or do they simply act as a travel agent? Tour operators which run their own trip are closer to their product and therefore tend to do a better job because the ‘own’ the product, feel responsible for it and constantly make adjustments based on direct feedback from their guests and guides.

4)     Which meals are included?: Usually, all breakfast, some lunches and most dinners are included in the trip price. What kind of restaurants do they use? Are the drinks during dinner included?

5)     Which events are included in the trip price? e.g. museums, castles, wine tasting.

6)     What is the maximum group size? Groups of 16 or over become a zoo, especially if the number of guides and support vans are kept to a minimum. This leads to the next question:

7)     What is the guide to guest ratio? i.e. how many guides are on the trip? With a ratio of 1 guide per 6 guests, you can be assured of perfect service. With a ratio of 1 guide per 10 guests or more, there is no way they can keep track of you and you practically end up on a self-guided trip.

8)     Are there daily mileage choices? Does everyone ride the same route or are there longer/hillier routes for avid cyclists and shorter/flatter routes for those who wish to ‘take it easy’?

9)     Do you get route descriptions and maps? Or do you always ride in one group? A detailed route description will give you the freedom to ride at your own pace and choose your own distance. Having a guide on a bike gives you the opportunity to simply follow.  A good touring company can offer you both choices on the same trip.

10)  Do they allow children on the trips? Or do they offer separate family trips?

11)  How long have they been in existence? Have they just begun operating trips, or do they have decades of experience? Go for the latter, because nothing is as frustrating as being ‘misled’ by people that don’t exactly know what they are doing or where they are going.

12)  What is the level of difficulty? Are the trips rated? And what is your level of experience? Needless to say, this is all very subjective. See below for recommended regions and their expected ratings.

13)  Has the trip already been confirmed? Or is there a chance that it will be cancelled due to insufficient demand?

14)  And don’t forget to read the small print: What if you need to change the dates or cancel the trip? What about travel insurance?

15)  What will the weather be like? Naturally, no tour operator, no matter how upscale, can control the weather. But what they can do is offer the trip during the most agreeable months. For example, be aware of companies which offer Italy during the (usually) grueling hot months of July and August.  Nor do you want plan a bike tour in Holland in October. And by November the days get very short no matter where you are in Europe.

Last but not least, you need to decide where you would like to travel and what kind of terrain you are looking for.

Easy destinations (flat or gently rolling) include the following:

• Netherlands / Holland
• Belgium / Flanders
• Denmark
• Loire Valley
• Normandy
• Mosel Valley between Trier and Koblenz (Germany)
• Salzach Valley near Salzburg (Tauernradweg)

If you don’t mind a few hills, you could consider:

• Burgundy
• Brittany
• Provence
• The ‘Romantic Road’ in Germany
• Lake Constance
• South-Tyrol Adige Valley (Etsch) in

The intermediate cyclists will enjoy:

• From Vienna to Prague (or the other way around)
• Rioja wine region in Spain
• Piedmont in Italy
• South-West of Ireland (Kerry, Cork)
• Dalmatian Islands in Croatia (between Split and Dubrovnik)

Avid cyclists will have a ball in:

• Tuscany
• Umbria
• Sicily
• Corsica
• Slovenia
• Pyrenees

Some last advice: if you have never been on a Europe biking tour and aren’t sure which trip is right for you, why not start with an easy destination. If you find out during the trip that you want more miles, your guide can always find them for you! Another piece of advice is that you will enjoy your vacation more if you plan several 20-mile rides during the weeks before your trip. It gets your body (especially your behind!) and mind in shape for the riding position.

Your friendly Europe expert,

Ron Van Dijk

If you have any question about Europe bike tours, please email me at ron@austinlehman.com

Today was our last day with our guest and my last day in Italy. We started our day with breakfast at our hotel and then packed up for the drive into Florence. We drove our guest into Florence, right where our journey began. It was our Tuscany tour coming full circle, it was surreal that we had accomplished and seen so much of Tuscany in just one week. From conquering the hills of Italy to each and every city we rode through, the trip was a success. This was my first trip with Austin-Lehman and I’m hooked! Seeing a country by bike is the best way to see a country and the only way I want to travel from now on. All of our guest during this trip came together as a group and had the time of their lives. I think everyone gained a new passion for cycling and traveling. Another huge hit was the introduction of the e-bikes (electric bikes) on this trip. Our Tuscany tour is a level four difficulty for the biking part and there is some tuff hills to climb. But with these e-bikes the hills of Tuscany are accessible to anyone. When I first got the call to go to Tuscany and document the release of the e-bikes, I knew the bikes were going to be great; but I had no idea they were going to be as powerful as they are. You know the e-bikes work when you have someone twice your age passing you going up hill with a big grin on their face. I even got on one of the e-bikes to see what they can do and its incredible the extra power they give you. You still have to pedal, they don’t do all the work for you. But they give you that extra push you need to make it up the hill or just keep up with the group. The best part is the batteries last all day and when you’re going downhill, you can recharge the battery. When you select the recharge function it also acts as a gear to slow you down, so your not having to squeeze the brake as hard as you can to slow down. These e-bikes are changing the game of cycling and the way people commute, we saw a glimpse of this in Europe as you can see more and more e-bikes riding around.

After we dropped our guest off in Florence, George (the guide) and I drove to Pisa where I was flying out of the next day. I spent a few hours walking around the city and taking a 1,000 photos of the leaning tower of Pisa. I even paid the 15 euros to walk to the top of the tower, but it was well worth it! Walking out to the edge of tower that is leaning is even a little rush for me and the view at the top was phenomenal.

After I was done saving the tower from falling over, I walked up and down the Arno river before I headed back to my hotel for an early morning flight.

That’s it! My whole Tuscany adventure laid out in a few blogs. It truly was an adventure of a lifetime and something I will always remember. I got to see the Italy I always dreamed of, tried some new food and gained a new passion for cycling. I want to give a personal thanks to my guide George; he provided me and all of the guest with an unbelievable trip. To give you a little insight of the effort that our guides provide for our guest, it’s a 6:30am-12pm job! Getting the bikes ready in the morning, going over the route directions, serving fresh fruit on a silver platter, being our translator, driver, motivation and our friend. After all that, he’s planning out tomorrow while everyone heads off to bed. The crazy thing is that’s about half of everything he is doing for the group. Always having someone there for you while your traveling is priceless and that’s what makes Austin-Lehman special. We have the most experienced and dedicated guides in the business to provide you with the ultimate adventure vacation. So I invite everyone to stop dreaming of an adventure vacation and make it happen with an Austin-Lehman Adventures.

With love,

Jon

But that’s not the last of me! I’m headed to Haarlem in Holland tomorrow to check out our Haarlem to Odoorn tour. So if you like flowers or cycling or traveling or just a good story, then I invite you back here for a taste of Holland. Also keep checking our website and Facebook for a lot more photos from my adventure!

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Today was the last day of cycling for our Tuscany tour, but we ended it with a bang. We started with a big breakfast at our hotel and then a 14km downhill ride out of San Gimignano. We rode north to Certaldo and as always our trusty guide George was waiting there with snacks and water. But today he was also holding tickets to the funicolare, which took us up to the top of Certaldo.

After taking the funicolare down the hill, we set out for Montespertoli to have lunch. We had lunch at La Terrazza, where we got to enjoy tagliatelle with truffles, quite the treat after riding all morning.




From Montespertoli we rode to Signa, where right before our last big hill of the trip; Robin showed what the e-bikes are really capable of. A “real biker” all set up with a nice road bike and jersey passed us at the bottom of the hill, I jokingly told Robbin to go pass him. Next thing I now she was flying up the hill passing the guy! The look on his face as he got passed was priceless, he couldn’t believe his eyes that some lady with a pink jacket on was passing him. These e-bikes are the real deal, the power they give you is ridiculous. Now the average or even not so average biker can handle a real cycling tour like Tuscany.

We ended our cycling in Signa and our guide drove us up to our hotel in Artimino. It was quite sad finishing our last day of riding, after riding for 5 days you don’t want to stop! Once we settled into our rooms, we met up for a wine tasting at the hotel. A little wine and cheese put a big smile on everyones face.

Our farewell dinner was the perfect end to a perfect trip. Our guide George, gave everyone a little personal gift and a wooden Pinocchio. Then we went over the weeks WOW’s, from seeing the Mangia Tower in Siena to Robbin blazing through the hills of Italy on the e-bikes; the whole week was full of WOW moments. I really couldn’t have asked for a better trip! The weather was wonderful, all of our guest had a great time and ending a trip in better shape always helps. The best part is we have one more day in Italy, so check back soon to see how my Tuscany adventure ended.

I’m headed to Pisa tomorrow, so check back to see some photos and stories. I promise you’ll see a cheesy photo of me holding up the tower!

Jon

Last night was our last night in Siena, I am going to miss Siena! Each morning we have breakfast at the hotel and then our guide does a briefing on the day’s ride and activities. We get a turn-by-turn route description and also maps of the cities that we stop in, it’s really nice having the details of the day laid out for you. All of the routes that Austin-Lehman uses are hand picked; they spend months choosing which cities to see and which roads to take, so our guests can get the absolute most out of their trips. Our European director Ron van Dijk goes on the rides himself, exploring the best routes possible for a great adventure. Our tours don’t just take you to the big cities and popular museums, we get our guest right into the heart and soul of a country. So now about our ride to San Gimignano, today’s ride took us to a different landscape of Tuscany. We got to ride through forests and by rivers, and it was nice to see the change in scenery.

We made our way north to the city of Colle Val d’Elsa, here there is a street called Via Vittorio Meoni and if you can pedal your way up to the top, ALA we’ll give you a bottle of wine. Trust me it is a brutal winding street, that is very steep. But Jim “montebello” Waite made it to the top in one piece and earned himself a nice bottle of wine. Don’t worry if you’re not in his class: there’s an elevator at the bottom of the hill and it takes you right up to the amazing views over the town.



Once Jim and I caught our breath, the group got back onto the open road and headed to San Gimignano. When we were about 12km outside of San Gimignano, Misty let out her “WOW” for the day as we got our first glimpse of where we would be staying the night. We stopped and took in the incredible view of San Gimignano, that’s when Misty exclaimed one of my favorite quotes of the trip: “This is why I came to Italy, this is what I wanted to see! It’s like a fairytale.”



The next WOW of the day was riding into San Gimignano and seeing our hotel for the night.

After we relaxed on the balcony for a little while, we walked up to Prunello’s Fortress at the top of the city. I will add some panorama shots once I get back home (so check the ALA Facebook for more photos to come)

Once we got done exploring the city, we headed back to our hotel and were amazed at the ristorante at La Cisterna. A panorama view of what seemed like all of Italy.
So after another beautiful day and a delicious dinner, we retired for the night. Tomorrow is our last day of biking for the trip and were riding to Artimino.

Ciao,

Jon

Here at Austin-Lehman we try our best to provide as many WOW moments as possible and today was full of them! Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Tuscany proved me wrong. We drove south from Siena to Sinalunga in the region of Le Crete and started our ride on top of a gorgeous hill.

We rode about 5 miles north to Asciano, there we stopped at the Museo Civico Archeologico e d’Arte Sacra Palazzo Corboli. The museum holds archeological finds dating from the antiquity and art works from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries originating in the area around Asciano. The museum contains the wooden Crucifix by Giovanni Pisano, they also have an archeological section that documents the Etruscan population of the upper Ombrone valley. After the museum we stopped at a little café for some cappuccino and gelato, our group had no problems making time for gelato. But that is what traveling is all about, taking the time to enjoy the little things!

Next we rode to Chiusure and had lunch at Licia Gorelli, which is real deal for Italian food! Mama Licia grows her tomatoes herself and they are the best! They spoiled us with two massive plates of pasta, some prosciutto with cheese and even some wine. They also had extra virgin olive oil that they made themselves, it was delicious!



After a long lunch we got back on the bikes and headed to Siena. Even after everyone had big and long lunch, I still got passed by our guest on the e-bikes and I didn’t even drink any wine! Its amazing how the new e-bikes level the playing field, I had guest that were more then twice my age pass me on the hills all the time. Its remarkable how great these new e-bikes work, there not motorized by any means. They just provide extra help when you need it, with an assist level of 1-4. You choose how much help you need at the click of a button. I personally think that they are going to change how people commute and think about biking and this is coming from someone who has raced BMX and mountain bikes.

We ended our ride a little short today and took the van back to Siena. But not before our guide stopped at the top of a hill right before Siena, giving us one of the best views of the trip.

Today can only be described as epic! The whole day was full of views, rolling green hills, we had the roads all to ourselves and the Tuscan villa’s where spread out all over the countryside. My cheeks were sore today from smiling so much, I have a smile on my face just thinking about today. But all good days come to an end, we were just lucky enough to end our day dinning at a ristorante & pizzeria and sleeping in a fancy hotel in Siena.

A più tardi! (see you later)

Jonathan

Tomorrow were biking to San Gimignano, check back here for more stories and photos!

Today we started our ride from our hotel in Siena (Hotel Villa Patrizia) and rode southwest to Belcaro, which is a lovely little town on the way to Sovicille. Most of the little towns in the region of Tuscany make you feel like your going back in time, they still have their medieval charm and classic Tuscan style buildings with beautiful orange and grey stones. Almost every town in this region is built on top of a hill, so they have amazing views and are filled with churches and castles. After Belcaro we continued our ride across the countryside to Sovicille and had sandwiches at an authentic Italian café.

Then we headed back to Siena, for a 2-hour walking tour. We had a fantastic guide, who knew the city of Siena extremely well. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the Mangia Tower, which has a shell shaped plaza in front of it. Each year they have the Palio di Siena, which is a horse race around the plaza; where the jockeys don’t ride with saddles. (It looks like it would be a pretty wild race) After our walking tour we decided to get some pizza at a little pizzeria in the heart of the city. I can say that the pizza in Italy is the best and I eat a lot of pizza, so trust me on this one! But not only is the pizza good, the Tuscans really pride themselves on great food and we have had plenty of it on this tour! All of the food here is made with the freshest ingredients grown right here in Tuscany, you can really taste the difference. Full of pizza, we headed back to our hotel to get a good rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow we are riding from Siena to Sinalunga in the region of Le Crete. I herd good things about tomorrows ride, so check back here for some stories and photos!

Arrivederci,

Jon

First things first, I am positive that a biking tour is the best way to see a country. I have traveled a lot by normal standards, but haven’t gone on a biking tour until now and from now on it will be the only way I explore a country. Biking just gives you the freedom to explore what you want, at the pace you want. You experience so much more by biking, then you would walking or taking a tour bus. Now for day 2 of the Tuscany tour: An early morning breakfast at the hotel and some cappuccino to get us ready for the day. Then we left Florence this morning and drove south an hour to Castellina in Chianti, where we started the first day of cycling. The weather has been perfect since we have been here, sunny and warm. Right before we started our ride from Castellina, our wonderful guide George surprised us with a WOW. What’s a WOW you ask? Here at Austin-Lehman Adventures a WOW is literally when your guide brings you some delicious treats on a silver platter. Todays WOW was fresh fruit including: bananas, pears, apples and strawberries and another silver platter with dried fruit including: papaya, kiwi, pineapple and apricots. After our WOW we set out on our biking tour to Siena, with four of our guest trying out the new E-bikes. The new E-bikes were an instant hit, with the option of extra power when you need a little help getting up those Italian hills. With a boost range from I-IV, anyone is able to conquer the Italian countryside. I must admit that I got passed a few times by our guest riding the E-Bikes, they were real excited to pass the young guy on the trip.

Right off the bat you see the beauty of the Tuscany region, vineyards and classic Italian homes spread out through the countryside as far as the eye can see. We had an early lunch in Radda and then set out to continue our real Italian cycling tour. Sometimes in order to get the best views of an area you have to work for it and Italy makes you work for some of those views with its hills, but with hard work comes reward and after each hill there was an incredible view and a nice long downhill to follow.

I was really impressed with all of our guest, everyone finished the ride and no one took any of the shortcuts we provide. After our ride we headed into Siena for a fancy dinner at Ristorante Da Enzo. The dinner was full of laughs and stories from our first day of riding and of course in Italian style a little bit of vino. My favorite part of the day had to be the cycling, we got to see so much of the Tuscany region and it was the FIRST DAY of riding! After dinner we had a little walk around the city center and then headed back to our hotel for the night.

Check back here for more stories and photos from my Tuscany tour with Austin-Lehman Adventures!

Chao,

Jon

Two weeks later I was packed and on a plane to Florence for a seven day Italy bike tour. I had never done a guided tour, nor had I ever been on a tour with Austin-Lehman. I have done a lot of traveling, but it has always been with a few friends or on my own; I now think guided tours are the way to go.
With all of the accommodations and sights mapped out, I was able to relax and take it all in. Florence is an amazing city, adorned with: cathedrals, famous art, statues and fashion. Everywhere you look there is a brilliant marbled church, a statue and art from Michelangelo, fresco paintings and fashion stores galore. The church we ended our walking tour at, Santa Maria Novella; is where Michelangelo first started painting.