Details of Cycling-Made in Italy bike tours

Email: info@bikeitaly.com
FAX: +1 206.312.0080

Phone:
Italy* +39 0424.98671,
Italy* +39 349.618.9836
US 1.810.629.6424
* Eastern Time + 6, Pacific + 9

While you will enjoy our comfortable accommodations and delicious local cuisine & wine, the focus at Cycling—Made in Italy is on introducing you to the exhilaration of exploring our region by bike. We have a comfortable base in Northern Italy’s cycling paradise, the Veneto region. Each day your activities are planned according to the interests and physical condition of the riders in each group. We take a maximum of 10 guests at any given time and are committed to creating custom-designed tours for our guests. There are no rigid itineraries to follow or schedules to keep, you won’t be constantly packing and unpacking as you move from town to town. This is the most affordable way to enjoy bicycle touring in Europe. You’ll have an opportunity to get to know the region, make friends and have time to relax.

Please Note! Terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice. Prices will be adjusted to account for significant changes in exchange rates.

Our regular season starts Saturday May 3, 2008, and ends Saturday September 27, 2008. You may choose to stay one or more weeks (7 nights, 8 days: Saturday to Saturday), subject to availability. We set a maximum limit of 10 guests on any given week to ensure the best possible service. Partial weeks may be available upon request, minimum stay is 3 days.

Our affordable rate of US$1,700*/person/week, includes:

Accommodations in a double room with private bathroom
All breakfasts and dinners
Complimentary pickup/dropoff at the Bassano del Grappa train station
Fast, light Basso® or Wilier® Italian road bikes with 3x9 Campagnolo Ergo drivetrain, or
Italian hybrid bikes with upright seating position and 3x9 indexed shifting
Van support, guide service & coaching on CMI rides

Solo guests: You may elect to have a room to yourself for a US$300/week supplement. If you are willing to share a room with another guest of the same sex, we will try to arrange that at no additional charge; however, if that’s not possible, you will have a room to yourself and be obliged to pay the single supplement for it.

We have high-performance road bikes to fit riders from 5’0” (152cm) to 6’3” (183cm). They are Basso® Champion or Wilier® Escape aluminum frame bikes with Campagnolo® Ergo shifters, triple cranksets, 9-speed gear clusters and Look® or Shimano® SPD clipless or traditional caged road pedals.

We also have a few NordBridge® Cervino hybrid bikes, which have swept-back handlebars and wider saddles with more padding, for guests who either have limited flexibility or otherwise wish to have a more upright riding posture. They are equipped with Shimano SIS 3x9 drivetrains, road tires and the same choice of pedals as our road bikes.

Basso® Champion

Wilier® Escape

NordBridge® Cervino

All bikes are equipped with water bottle cages, spare tubes, patch kits and pumps. If you wish you may bring your own saddle, pedals and/or saddlebags. Helmets are required: please bring your own!

The accommodations you’ll have during your stay with Cycling—Made in Italy have been specially selected for the following reasons:

This charming hotel is strategically located 10 km north of the cosmopolitan town of Bassano del Grappa; in the cool Brenta river valley. It’s near enough to make frequent visits for shopping and piazza life facile but just far enough to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the countryside. One of the most overlooked advantages of a cycling vacation departing from a base location is that you will have a chance to settle in and get a feel for the country at an unhurried, relaxed pace. You can wander in the botanical garden or sunbathe in terraced lawns.

Each morning you can roll out of bed and roll off on a ride starting on one of the area’s preferred cycling roads. We’re lucky enough to have direct access to the newly completed ciclopista del Brenta the Brenta bike path, which extends, uninterrupted from Venice to Munich Austria. You can spin along the undulating ribbon for miles, winding north through tiny villages, heading toward the glorious spires of the Dolomite Mountains. On Sunday mornings the sheer number of colorfully clad club members swooshing by the front of the restaurant is simply astounding. Our guests have commented that there’s more of a risk of getting hit by a bicycle than a car!

Staying in a family-run inn has the distinct advantage that the staff has vested interest of keeping their guests happy. You’ll take up residence in a small village which is still unspoiled by hordes of tourists, even in the busiest season. Serena, the owner’s daughter, oversees everyone’s needs with the keen perception of a professional concierge. She studied languages and can fluently cater to your needs in French, German, English, Italian or Veneto dialect.

The inn has three annexes, which are stylishly decorated with beautiful fabrics and tastefully selected furnishings. Perched high above the road is the original inn; its bedrooms have a spectacular panoramic view of Mount Grappa towering above. The other two annexes have been recently acquired and renovated. They boast spacious modern interiors with brightly lit, warm interiors. There are also efficiency apartments available for families. They’re comfortable, spotless and spacious; all are equipped with private bathrooms, mini-fridges, phones and satellite TVs.

Guests have remarked that it’s hard to decide whether the cycling or the food is better. Each day starts with an abundant breakfast to fuel your energy requirements. Wake up with excellent coffee, hot chocolate, fruit juice, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal and milk, home-made pastry, bread and honey, jams and fruit preserves. Both lunches and dinners are 3-course meals in the Italian dining-out manner, featuring in-season local ingredients: a first course of pasta, risotto or soup made with delicate white asparagus spears or wild porcini mushrooms; a second course, which is usually the meat or fish course, but with vegetarian alternatives; then salad or cooked vegetables. All meals are served with an abundant supply of freshly baked bread, your choice of an excellent local red (Cabernet or Merlot) or white (Pinot Bianco or Prosecco) and mineral water. Dinners are usually at the hotel, However at least two evenings we dine out to get more variety. Occasionally we may trade a lunch for dinner if we’re at a particularly notable lunch spot.

The nearest international airport is Venice Marco Polo (VCE). Public transportation to Bassano del Grappa is convenient, inexpensive, as fast as driving and more relaxing. We provide complimentary transportation from the Bassano del Grappa train station when you arrive. If you prefer to have a private driver fetch you from the airport, for the price of 120 €, we can provide that service at your request.

If you have other travel plans and need directions for driving or using public transportation, please contact us.