Two week circular tour from Pisa

Nick Hill · June 2007

We have decided on Pisa as a start/finish point and thatnks to the kindness of a CPlus member now have decent maps(thanks jumbolugs)

we are looking at 40 miles per day average so nothing too strenuous

We are going end of september so not sure if we will need to book places in advance

any places to avoid and any must sees would be great

thanks to the guys who have already replied to my earlier post

Cheers

Nick

Its not a vest its a base layer!!

Cathryn · June 2007

I've not toured in that area but spent 6 months in Florence so know the area quite well. It's gorgeous. It's also hilly

Places I'd recommend are: Lucca, Florence (glorious place), San Gimignano, Siena, the Cinque Terre on the coast and further away, Cortona and Arezzo. There are some great wine routes as well if you fancy sampling the local product! You'll have an amazing time, it's so beautiful.

mercsport · June 2007

Any excursion into the hills north and east of Florence's latitude is worth the effort . I recall a great , very peaceful , ride ( for example ) out to Pistoia and then onto the S66 to the S12 which took me up to Abetone ( Monte Cimone ) and onto Modena .
Cathryn's on the ball with her pick of places too . Can't go wrong really .
September won't be a problem for accomodation .

Bruce

Nick Hill · June 2007

Thanks guys

is it best to stick to the S roads Siena and cinque terre were on the list of places to see

Cathryn do you have anymore info on those wines routes? Sounds fantastic

Cheers

Nick

Its not a vest its a base layer!!

Cathryn · June 2007

I did a quick search for the wine routes but didn't find much. Try this:
http://www.waytuscany.net/rooten/questi ... ne_607.htm

Radda in Chianti seems to be the centre of the wine world there, so I'd head there as a starting point, the tourist info will have loads of info. Or check out crazyguyonabike.com and the journals based in Tuscany. Part of the fun is planning your own route!!!

I don't know which roads you should take, but I'd start with the smallest ones on the map and see how you feel as they get bigger!! Very jealous, sounds like a brilliant trip.

mark1956 · June 2007

Florence is a beautiful city, lots of things to see, but book your accommodation as early as you can unless money is no object. It's a very popular tourist destination, and priced accordingly.

Siena is a beautifully preserved medieval city, well worth a visit. Try to go for a stroll through the old town in the early morning, before the tour buses full of day trippers start to roll in at around 10:00 AM. After the day trippers start to overwhelm the place it's fun to hang out in the Piazza del Campo and people-watch.

Shortly after I got back from last year's tour, the New York Times ran a travel article describing how so many classic Italian hill towns were being overrun by busloads of tourists, making life unpleasant for the locals and cheapening the experience for the visitors. San Gimignano was used as an example of a beautiful place being "loved to death" this way. Made me glad I missed San Gimignano on my trip.

My favorite roads were the "strade bianche", marked in white on the TCI maps and not marked at all on bigger maps. Some are paved, others include long stretches of white gravel where the asphalt deteriorated and the local government didn't want to re-pave them. Most of them are old roads that have been superseded by newer, more modern roads, so they are very lightly travelled with local traffic while the faster, heavier traffic is on the newer roads just out of sight and earshot.

mark

philip99a · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by markfelber

Florence is a beautiful city, lots of things to see, but book your accommodation as early as you can unless money is no object. It's a very popular tourist destination, and priced accordingly.

Siena is a beautifully preserved medieval city, well worth a visit. Try to go for a stroll through the old town in the early morning, before the tour buses full of day trippers start to roll in at around 10:00 AM. After the day trippers start to overwhelm the place it's fun to hang out in the Piazza del Campo and people-watch.

Shortly after I got back from last year's tour, the New York Times ran a travel article describing how so many classic Italian hill towns were being overrun by busloads of tourists, making life unpleasant for the locals and cheapening the experience for the visitors. San Gimignano was used as an example of a beautiful place being "loved to death" this way. Made me glad I missed San Gimignano on my trip.

My favorite roads were the "strade bianche", marked in white on the TCI maps and not marked at all on bigger maps. Some are paved, others include long stretches of white gravel where the asphalt deteriorated and the local government didn't want to re-pave them. Most of them are old roads that have been superseded by newer, more modern roads, so they are very lightly travelled with local traffic while the faster, heavier traffic is on the newer roads just out of sight and earshot.

mark
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Totally agree about the white roads. For gentle touring they are great and usually far more enjoyable than the main roads. They are often farm roads.

No idea if this is the sort of thing that interests you, but we made great contacts (in advance) with local low-key, touring, utility, non-sports type cyclists via FIAB (Italian Federation of Friends of the Bicycle):

http://www.fiab-onlus.it/english/index.htm

They're trying to start a Sustrans-type cycle route network:

http://www.fiab-onlus.it/english/bicitale.htm

Campag Super Nova; faster than a cannon ball

philip99a · June 2007

Here's the Florence posse cycling very slowly round a deserted Florence (looks like a Sunday morning; Italian cities aren't usually so traffic-free!)

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=nzANqiKZ- ... ed&search=

This so much makes me want to be there:

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=NaJFv8mIfmE

And another

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=nWlYKK5oHII

And this is much further north (Brescia) - watch out for the little girl with stabilsers!

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=aU5vVevID ... ed&search=

Campag Super Nova; faster than a cannon ball

Nick Hill · June 2007

Fantastic help as usual from this site

will look at the videos when I get home as no access at work

also cross San Gimignano off the list of places to visit

getting very excited already, may need to think about booking places though

Cheers

Nick

Its not a vest its a base layer!!

rhnb · June 2007

If you're flying in to Pisa then a great start is to ride over to Lucca via Monte Serra - a really lovely route. It's a stiff climb, especially with panniers, but well worth it.

Some info here on a couple of tours I've done in Tuscany/Umbria (both leaving from Pisa).

http://www.bikeit.eclipse.co.uk/index.htm

Cathryn · June 2007

Don't ignore San Gimignano, it's amazing (or it was 10 years ago when I went). The trick (with a lot of tourist places) is to arrive after 5 and leave before 9. It's a different place. San Gim is just gorgeous...go and see it!!

Lucca was the place we loved the most though. Apart from Florence. (Bit of a Florence fan, me).

Nick Hill · June 2007

I must admit i am getting slightly concerned from all the posts stating how hilly Tuscany is.

Problem with all these thing is its personal perception.

I know for a fact mine annd my girlfriends ideas of hilly are very different :-)

will pick up the cycling italy book and start some more in depth planning me thinks

we don't want holland but we also don't want the alps, well one of us doesn't

Cheers

Nick

Its not a vest its a base layer!!

K Blackwell · June 2007

Nick, Tuscany can be very hilly indeed. The road into San Gimignano is long and steep. If you want flat there's the coastal strip. This runs from north of Viareggio all the way down to Porto San Stefano (from memory). The road from Viareggio to Florence is also flat. Then there's the road from Empoli to Poggibonsi and Siena.

The thing to bear in mind is that most of the towns in Tuscany and LeMarche are perched high up on hills (Pisa an exception). So, mighty pretty, but can be a real bind on a bike if you're unfit.

If you stay in Florence, would book ahead as it's busy nearly all the year.

mark1956 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nick Hill

I must admit i am getting slightly concerned from all the posts stating how hilly Tuscany is.

Problem with all these thing is its personal perception.

I know for a fact mine annd my girlfriends ideas of hilly are very different :-)

will pick up the cycling italy book and start some more in depth planning me thinks

we don't want holland but we also don't want the alps, well one of us doesn't

Cheers

Nick

Its not a vest its a base layer!!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Tuscany is hilly by any standard, but it's very pretty part of the world. The climbs aren't as long as the Alps, but they can be steep.

Travel light, fit the lowest gears you can find (I used a 22x32 low gear), enjoy the scenery, and treat yourself to a gelato at the top.

mark

Two week circular tour from Pisa

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