After four years of saving, planning, training and research, Steve and Steve, two U.S. cyclists, embarked on a trip of a lifetime: an 8 night self-guided bike tour to Tuscany, Italy. It was their first overseas cycling vacation, so they wanted to take their time and pick a tour operator that would give bike support as needed, but let them do their own thing.
“Pure Adventures fit the bill,” says Steve.
But despite years of planning, there was one small, yet entertaining, hitch: a local festival that involved residents rolling wine barrels down the streets, not to mention closed roads for the parades and other celebrations. The festival was supposed to have taken place the week before, but had been postponed.
“Pure Adventures notified us about the festival in advance,” says Steve. “Our taxi driver was aware of this and did his best to drive us close enough to our hotel – despite the closed roads – so we could walk the rest the rest of the way.”
“It was an unexpected but welcome event that let us get a better understanding of the local traditions. We enjoyed the spectacle and took many pictures of the townspeople dressed in medieval and period costumes,” he adds.
And this is exactly what makes Pure Adventures unique – our local guides are there to do more than just hand out maps or assist with bike fittings. Keeping up to date on road closures or making dining recommendations are part of what we do.
The Steves went on to enjoy a road-closure free vacation. Here are more highlights from their Tuscany and Umbria trip:
- “The rolling countryside was beautiful and almost always smelled of grapes. The roads were in good condition, and the weather was beautiful every day. The roads had very little vehicle traffic, and meandered through spectacular countryside.”
- “We had many experiences with people from the local villages: asking for directions, making purchases of food, and shopping during and after the rides or at breaks during the day. Most of the people we encountered spoke a little English, but knowing a little Italian is very helpful as well. One day we were cycling in the late day heat and stopped at an autoturistica to ask for some water, they were very friendly and gave us cold drinks – and offered us wine as well! Unfortunately with a large climb ahead we had to decline that.”
- “We stopped for a wine tasting another (flat) day, one evening in Todi, there was a free concert in the piazza – the band performed classic rock hits – I’m thinking we were the only ones in the audience who knew all the words (in English).”
- “Other surprises included stopping at a flea market, unfortunately bike touring doesn’t allow for buying pots, artwork or anvils, lol.”
- “An interesting tour in Orvieto, and got to see the underground caves.”
- “We came upon sheep in a field which were all wearing ‘bells’, putting out a mystical ‘wind chime’ sound.”
While in Tuscany, the two cyclists filmed their vacation and shared the footage with us – look for it here on the blog soon! And of course, thank you Steve and Steve for traveling with us. Pure Adventures looks forward to helping your on next self-guided vacation.