Italy (all)

Has links to lots of mountain bike itineraries all over Italy, and over 60 such (and counting) in or near Piemonte (Piedmont): detailed descriptions (in Italian) and maps - very nice job!

This is one of the mythical Alpine passes, made famous by great Giro perfomances by Fausto Coppi and others.

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Has a section for Off Road Tours.

Here's a simple question for you. Where is the best mountain biking in Europe? Well, 'best' depends on what floats your boat; sun, singletrack, downhills with chair lifts? However, when I lived in Germany, I posed this question to several biker friends, and always received the same answer - ``Lake Garda''. I searched through magazines for the answer and it was once again ``Lake Garda''. I was starting to see a pattern emerging. Well, my mate Dickie was on a student exchange to Trento, which is close to Lake Garda, in northern Italy. Therefore, I decided to take a few days off work and head on over the Brenner to see what all the fuss was about. The visit also coincided with ``BIKE fest'' a weekend festival where thousands of German mountain bikers get drunk in a field beside the Lake, then try to ride 80 miles the next day.

The next day's ride was decided to be a 'biggy'. I had the 'Moser' guide book of Garda, which is in German only, and provides route cards, guaranteeing that you will not need a map. I always find guide book routes too easy, so I selected a 'very hard' grade: Monte Casale. Big mistake. We set off with just the route cards, into a nondescript Italian forest, with no idea where we were headed, except that it was 'very hard'. The forest tracks climbed incessantly, until we branched off onto some pleasant singletrack. Suddenly as Dickie rode through the forest ahead of me, he unexpected threw his bike to the ground and let out an uncontrollable string of expletives! I rushed up to him, wondering if he'd been bitten by a snake. The trees fell away in a 1000m pure vertical plunge to the valley far below, we were at the edge of the cliff we had seen yesterday, and Dickie had almost ridden over it! The singletrack then proceeded to wind its way precariously along the edge for a couple of kilometres, before climbing up to the summit of Monte Casale at 1632m.

In summary, I have no doubt that this area offers the best trails in Europe. Unfortunately none of the routes are way marked, and no English language guide exists for the area, meaning that you must rely on good map reading as a means to explore the area. See you there!

Auf dem Ligurischen Grenzkamm durch die Seealpen von Ventimiglia nach Cuneo. From the MTB page of Florian Michahelles. Includes Praktische Tips und genaue Daten zur Tour.

Claudio Colombo has several illustrated reports of tours in Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland

A massive travel site, this guy has been everywhere.

Hier finden sich einige deutschsprachige Reiseberichte von Fahrradtouren, die hoffentlich unterhaltsam und informativ sind, aber auch vielleicht die eine oder andere Anregung für Leute geben, die selber einmal so etwas machen wollen. Für englischsprachige Radtourenberichte habe ich hier auch einen Anfang gemacht, ebenso für schwedischsprachige Radtourenberichte, wobei noch ein bißchen auf norwegisch und dänisch dabei ist, aber diese drei skaninavischen Sprachen sind so ähnlich, daß man entweder alle drei ein bißchen lesen kann oder eben keine davon.

An enormous collection of bicycle tours all over the world.
Eine enorme Sammlung von Fahrradtouren in der ganzen Welt.

This site offers a wealth of information about cycling in Veneto.

BiciVeneto is a homage to my two greatest passions: bici *(bikes, short for biciclette), and the Veneto region of Italy, my adopted home. It's an apt combination, because contrary to the common perception, all of Italy is not cycling crazy, and there are, in fact, regions where you will not encounter many cyclists at all. The Veneto, on the other hand, is a land of generations-old cycling heritage and traditions, and bicycling in all forms is a way of life. If you ask the Veneti why this is so, they will answer that cycling is a tough sport which demands hard work, stubbornness, and sacrifice, qualities which are an integral part of their character. The Veneto is arguably the most ``cyclistic'' of Italy's 20 regions: There are an estimated 25,000 licensed riders, belonging to several federations (in a population of 4.4 million).

La bici è un modo per scoprire le meraviglie naturali che arricchiscono le Alpi e l' Appennino, ed è sembrato giusto presentare una finestra abbastanza ampia (in collaborazione con Apt, Pro Loco e Privati) sulle varie località trattate. La parte di utilità ciclistica raccoglie ciò che interessa ad un appassionato: recensioni sulle riviste e sui nuovi prodotti delle aziende che collaboreranno con noi, mercato dell'usato, opinioni, link per i siti delle gare ed altro ancora [...].

[P]roponiamo itinerari per conoscere e visitare i colli ed i monti del Nord Italia. La descrizione degli itinerari trascende le tecnicità dei cicloamatori professionali proprio perché vuole rivolgersi a tutti, come una guida turistica. Ma ovviamente con le note della descrizione e con l'ausilio delle mappe, disponibili ormai per metà degli itinerari proposti, anche i più ``preparati'' possono affrontare l'itinerario con tutte le notizie necessarie.

Questo sito si rivolge a chi ama organizzare i suoi viaggi per conto proprio, fuori dalle rotte del turismo di massa, senza acquistare ``pacchetti preconfezionati'' da tour operator od agenzie di viaggio.

This site is for those persons who like to plan their travels by themselves, out of the road of mass tourism, not inclined to buy something ready made from big tour operators.

David has written a book on bicycle touring in Tuscany. The site offers many useful links for Italy in general, Tuscany, Umbria, Marches, and Lazio, and miscellaneous travel sites; as well as a picture gallery.

Situated almost in the center of the Italian peninsula only one hour away from Rome, Abruzzo it's one of Italy best kept secrets. Most of its economic life takes place on the coast facing the Adriatic Sea but its very heart lies among the many mountains ranges that run along its territory. Here you can find the highest peaks in the Apennines. Coast and mountains are fastened together by a green belt of gentle hills lined with olive trees and vineyards. Thanks to a foreseeing policy of land preservation now thirty percent of its territory is protected as National Park (4 right now) or wildlife reservation.

A practical guide (not terribly up-to-date, though).

Has a map of bike paths inside Florence, a calendary of events in Florence and Tuscany, a list of bicycle shops, and will have descriptions of rides around Florence, and also... inside it!!!

Cycling photographer Sue Darlow has lived for many years in the city of Modena, where you don't have to be a cyclist to cycle.

The first time I visited Modena, a small city near Bologna in the plain sandwiched between the Apennines and the Alps, and famous for its balsamic vinegar, I cycled there from the airport. What a pleasant surprise. In addition to a lovely porticoed city centre painted in warm yellows and earthy browns and the magnificent marble Romanesque cathedral, the place was alive with cyclists. [...]

Now that I have lived here for so many years and observed the Modenese awheel, something has dawned on me: a 'bike culture' is not necessarily something that is self-consciously created by people who love and promote cycling, who know all about gear ratios, aerodynamics and frame angles and who dress the part.

Bicycle paths in Turin.

This is a book ``[detailing] the unusual happenings of Neil [Anderson] and Sharon while cycle touring the small Mediterranean island of Sardinia''.

With timetables.

Complete information, from the site of FIAB - la Federazione Italiana Amici della Bicicletta.

Offers a Timetable of main train connections.

July the 12th 1970: the group decided to participate to the 200 km cycling race in Switzerland. Three members of the board of directors (Freschi, Casali and Brandolini) left for Brunnen, to achieve the Alpine license. They came back from Switzerland and decided to create the Apennine license in Cesenatico, in order to emulate and to excel the Alpine one. Brandolini chose the route and Casali organised the race. The 20th of May 1971, the first edition started, at that time called ``Audax cicloturistico di Gran Fondo Sociale: Brevetto Appenninico di Km 200'' Seventeen riders started at 5 o'clock in the morning from their usual meeting point: ``Bar del Corso'' This was the first step: today Nove Colli attracts thousands of people every year.

A cycling Club in Trentino.

FIAB, la Federazione dei ciclisti urbani e dei cicloescursionisti is the Italian national bicycle advocacy group. Now featuring La rete cicloturistica nazionale (the national bicycle touring network). Some local chapters:

• Bici & Dintorni, an advocacy group in Torino, associated to FIAB and ECF
• Amici della Bicicletta di Padova
• Associazione Aruotalibera - Pordenone
• Gruppo Ulisse - Trieste
• Cicloturismo Sangiorgino - San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine)
• Amici della Bicicletta di Verona includes plenty of useful links to other organizations, and precious information for the bicycle tourist
• Amici della Bici di Brescia has among others tours descriptions in the Brescia area

A cycling club of Melzo (Milan, Italy): includes the report of a Coast to Coast tour in Italy.

From the online pages of Radwelt, the journal of ADFC.

From Bike - Dolomiti e Dintorni.

Maps describing the Northernmost part of a a nationwide bicycle path in Italy.

Load your bicycle on a bus and visit a beautiful park in Liguria - a service run in Summer 1998, see the article for details.