THE TOURS 2011
- please ask for appointments via the contact form
- and in September from the 10th to the 17th
- July, from the 9th to the 16th
Why an odd name like Home Made? Simple, because it describes what we’re doing in our desire to create genuine cycling vacations in Italy. Vacations on a bike that have the goodness of home cooked meals with the famliar feeling of being amongst old friends. Home made also describes us, in the sense that the people creating these cycling vacations are the following; Italian cyclists, ex-patriots cyclists who have lived in Italy for decades or European cyclists who have been coming to Italy since they were teenagers.
Since we live here and have been guiding and designing cycling vacations for a long time, we’ve decided to dream up a few cycle tours that we’d want to come on ourselves. A week of really incredible riding, staying in truly hospitable places with excellent food and not paying an absurd amount of money to do it.
The town of Castagneto is on the Mediterranean coast of Tuscany, in fact the “Agritourismo” where our guests would stay is in the hills just a few kilometres inland, over looking the sea. An agritourismo, for those of you unfamiliar with them, are working farms that take in guests for vacations. It is a variation on the bed and breakfast theme Italian style and has allowed many farms to generate needed income that helps augment what they earn from farming.
HOW THE TOURS WORK
For our tours we are putting a limit of 12 guests on the group. In part because in Tuscany Fonte di Foiano has a maximum number of people it can comfortably accommodate and because with smaller groups it’s easier to establish lasting friendships. After many years of guiding this is what keeps us in the business, the long term relationships that are created. But who can deny that riding ones bike for a living is pretty nice?
The week’s vacation will run from Saturday at lunch time to the following Sunday morning’s departure. Castagneto is a 50 minute drive from the Pisa Airport which has train connections right from the terminals. We will pick you up at the local train station in Donoratico for no added cost. If you wish to be picked up at the airport the round trip fee would be 150 euros per person. For the Dolomites getting picked up at the airport is a necessity unless one rents a vehicle. The Venice airport is roughly 2.5 hours by car from Alleghe and it’s the only airport from which we can offer transportation, if you fly into any other airport you’ll be on you own. Well, with the exception of Treviso maybe. Cost is 150 euros per person round trip.
At Fonte di Foiano the family offers two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, so lunch is on our own. This will consist of picnics on some days, grabbing a sandwhich on other days and stopping at a trattoria on yet other days. Figure that two lunches will be yours to pay for, the rest we will cover. In the Dolomites the accommodations are full board and all but one or two meals will be at the hotel. All meals that Home Made Cycle Vacations covers include water and table wine. Soft drinks, coffee, bottles of vintage wine and cocktails are the guest’s responsibility.
RENTING BIKES
Depending on where you are traveling from to reach Italy you may want to think about renting a bicycle. Obviously there’s nothing as nice as having your own bike to ride, anywhere, even more so on these roads. However it is becoming increasingly incovenient to travel with a bicycle. Which is irrational when you think about it, we should be encouraged to do anything with a bicycle, especially travel. Since no encouragement is offered in this direction one needs to think about renting and we can be of assistance there. A pro shop in the nearby town of Donoratico with whom we’ve worked for years offers a line of top end racing bikes for rent. Ask for details if you’re interested.
VEHICLE SUPPORT
For the tours in Castagneto vehicle support, a nine passenger van following the group, is optional and adds a slightly higher price. It’s really only necessary for longer rides, the ones which exceed 110 kilometres and where we want extra clothes and the comfort of knowing that for whatever needs arise there is a mechanic behind us in the van. In the Dolomites however it’s a necessity due to the ever changing weather conditions. Extra clothing needs to be shed before each climb and put back on once we reach the top the passes for the descent down the other side. This cost is figured into the total cost of the tour so no extra fee is involved.
WHO COMES ON OUR TOURS?
What sort of riders typically come on these bike tours? Generally cyclists who have been riding for at least several years, know themselves and their bikes and have good general fitness.
However, it’s not unusal for beginning riders to come on our tours and have a wonderful time. Our rides are not races and there is no sense of competition. The pace of everyone is respected and taken into consideration, no one is ever left behind. The group always waits at intersections where the route changes directions, we’ve never lost anyone in all these years. For the Dolomites it is even easier, mountain passes must be climbed at a pace that is sustainable and we always stop at the top to re-group and put on more clothing.