Sicilian Baroque Beauties 2017

This ride is a fixed-base or semi-fixed-base ride, please read the ride description for more details.

† Explanation of BAC Ride Fee – This fee is not included in the Estimated Cost and is non-refundable once submitted. The Ride Fee for US and Canada is $85 and $100 for all other countries, both are per participant.

Ride Description

Join us for 10 wonderful days in the beautiful southeast region of Sicily, home of abundant sunshine, brilliant colors, unparalleled history, splendid wines and great local cuisine and all for ONLY $1725 per person double occupancy! This is a SPLIT-BASE (i.e. – two FIXED BASES) tour that will begin only 3 kilometers from the city of Noto (4 nights) and end in Ragusa Ibla (6 nights), both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The tour will also take us to several other villages with this same designation to include Siracusa, Modica, Palazzolo Acreide and Scicli, which represent the high level of artistic and architectural achievement in the Baroque style of the day.

INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF $1725 USD (PER PERSON DOUBLE)

• Two 4 Star (****) cycling friendly hotels, one located only 3 kilometers from the city of Noto and the other in the heart of Ragusa Ibla, both named UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2002.
• Per person double occupancy room for 10 nights.
• Daily continental breakfast.
• Dinner on 9 evenings to include 3 courses plus wine, water, and dessert. A daily vegetarian selection will also be available, and there will be no meal repeats during our stay. Dinner on the evening of our day off (during our stay at the second hotel in Ragusa Ibla) will be on your own. The hotel will provide us many wonderful alternatives, all only a short walk to the main promenade.
• Daily business meeting and Happy Hour prior to dinner.
• Exclusive website for accepted participants only which will provide GPS tracks, maps and much more information about the ride and sight seeing opportunities in the area. Maps, route sheets and GPS tracks of the suggested daily cycling routes will be available at that time.  Participants must print maps and route sheets in advance of the tour and bring them with them. The Ride Director will not have maps and route sheets for participants at the start of the trip in Noto. Contact the Ride Director or Co-Director with any questions. The website will be available approximately 6 months in advance of departure.
• Transfer of your luggage from our first hotel near Noto to Ragusa Ibla.  We will ride from Noto to Ragusa Ibla on cycling day 4.
• Pickup via luxury motor coach will be at the Catania, Sicily airport for transport to our first hotel near Noto. Departure will be from our hotel in Ragusa Ibla to the Catania airport for flights back to Rome or other destinations in Europe on your way back to the USA. Dates and times for arrival and departure are outlined below. Arrivals and departures should be planned accordingly. Travel time to the hotel near Noto from the Catania airport is approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, while 1 hour and 30 minutes is required to travel to the Catania airport from Ragusa Ibla.
• Arrival Date/Time:  Departure by bus shuttle from Catania airport to our hotel near Noto will be Saturday, September 9, 2017 at 4:00PM local time.
• Departure Date/Time:  Departure by bus shuttle from our hotel in Ragusa Ibla to the Catania airport will be Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 7:30AM local time.

NOTE THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE DATE AND TIME FOR ARRIVAL AND TRANSPORT TO OUR FIRST HOTEL NEAR NOTO. TIME STATED WILL BE PROMPT WITH NO EXCEPTIONS SO THAT WE MAY STAY ON SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRST EVENING SEQUENCE OF EVENTS.

ARRIVAL and DEPARTURE
Arrival and transport dates and times to our first hotel near Noto and from our second hotel in Ragusa Ibla from/to the Catania airport is outlined above. We will also provide luggage transfer from the first to second hotel during cycling day 4 and our ride to Ragusa Ibla.

We purposely are starting this trip on the weekend in order to give you the opportunity to arrive early or stay later and do some sightseeing on your own during lower peak travel times. To this end, several options exist in planning your arrival and departure. Inexpensive flights can be scheduled via Ryanair (for example) to/from Catania from Rome and from other aiports in Europe. To avoid the issue of transporting/storing your own bike, high quality bike rentals will be available. Participants must make arrangements for renting bikes directly with the rental company.  Details on rental options will be provided by the Ride Director and/or Ride Co-Director upon your acceptance on the ride.

CYCLING FRIENDLY HOTELS
We will be staying in two 4 Star (****) hotels during our time in Sicily.  The first hotel is only 3 kilometers from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Noto and 3 kilometers from the convergence of the Mediterranean and Ionian Seas. It was established as a holiday house in the 18th century and is surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens. The pool overlooks the city of Noto in the near distance. A visit to Noto is a must for our guests and one of our rides will conclude here! We will spend 4 nights here before riding to our second hotel in Ragusa Ibla.

Our second hotel, a new property in Ragusa Ibla, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is also a 4 Star (****) hotel. The hotel is situated overlooking a beautiful valley (of Santa Domenica) and will make a delightful setting for our breakfasts, dinners, and nightly meetings. The hotel is located a very short walk to the promenade of Ragusa Ibla which is packed with excellent restaurants, quaint bars and wonderful shops, not to mention the historical significance of the setting. We will spend 6 nights here. Our first evening dinner will be on the day of our arrival after our ride on cycling day 4. However, dinner on the evening of our day off, our second day in Ragusa Ibla, will be on your own in the village. Also on the day off you can relax and roam the area at your will after our ride from Noto the day before. Tour options in the area will also be provided. 

Both villages, Noto and Ragusa Ibla, will afford you the unique opportunity to witness for yourself the Baroque art and architecture of the area. Both cities are packed full of historical significance for you to enjoy.

CYCLING IN SICILY’S SOUTHEAST REGION & RIDE RATING
Rather than wasting time and energy packing and unpacking each day (except one!), our SPLIT-BASE ride will do loop (or out and back) rides of 30 to 50 miles of varying but moderate terrain, returning to our hotels early to mid afternoon each day. All roads we will ride are paved and consideration has been given to avoiding high traffic areas. Maps, route sheets and GPS tracks of the suggested daily cycling routes will be available in advance of the departure date and can be discussed with the Ride Director or Co-Director. Plan to make 2 to 3 stops sampling the quaint coffee shops and take lunch (not included in the trip price) in one of the villages along the way. The Ride Director or Ride Co-Director can make suggestions for you.

The Quick-Look Ride Rating for this ride is 3B (3/climbing – 2500 to 3500 feet and B/distance – 35 to 50 miles). The average daily climbing for this ride is 2802.7 feet ranging from 1400 to 3960 feet. The average daily distance is 38.5 miles ranging from 27.7 to 48.4 miles. See chart below for complete list of suggested rides.

Riding the first 2 days will provide moderate terrain in the coastal areas near Noto in the southeast corner of Sicily, north to Siracusa/Ortigia and south to the fishing villages of Marzamemi and Portopalo. Day 3 will take us to the beautiful area of Cavagrande del Cassibile Nature Reserve with a bit more difficult riding. We will end Day 3 in the village of Noto.   

On the day of our transition ride, our 4th ride day from Noto to Ragusa Ibla, terrain will become more difficult. This will be the most difficult climbing day of our planned rides but is quite scenic and on paved back roads with little to no traffic. Our day off will be the day after our transition to the second hotel.

Subsequent ride days 5 – 9, will take us to Palazzolo Acreide, Scicli and Modica (famous for it’s wonderful chocolate!) as well as other quaint villages in the area to include the beach towns of Donnalucata and Marina di Ragusa.

Riding Day	Villages/Sites Visited	Climbing in Feet	Distance in Miles
1	Siracusa*/Ortigia	1400	45.4
2	Marzamemi/Portopalo	2127	48.4
3	Cavagrande del Cassibile Nature Reserve/Noto*	2239	28.4
4	Noto*/Ragusa Ibla*	3960	37.3
5	Palazzolo Acreide*/Giarratana	3781	42.9
6	Scicli*/Modica*/Donnalucata/Marina di Ragusa	3685	41.6
7	Giarrantana/Hotel Antica Stazione/Ragusa Ibla*	2320	30.5
8	Giarrantana/San Giacomo/Ragusa Ibla*	1995	27.7
9	Ragusa Ibla*/Giarrantana/Chiaramonte Gulfi	3709	44.3
	*Indicates World Heritage Site

Please note the rides we have developed are suggested rides and follow our path of arrival near Noto, transition to Ragusa Ibla and riding in the Ragusa Ibla area. However, we have developed alternate rides of more and less difficulty and will be happy to point these out and make GPS tracks and maps available. The Ride Director and Co-Director can provide assistance with questions you may have about the alternate routes.

TERMS
The maximum number of BAC members on this trip will be 36 and the minimum 22 which includes the Ride Director and Co-Director. The price of $1725.00 USD is per person double occupancy and includes the items listed in the “INCLUDED IN THE PRICE . .” section above and is based on an exchange rate of $1.25 USD to 1 Euro plus a 10% contingency. Deposit is $750.00 USD per person and balance of $975.00 USD per person is due July 1, 2017.

Singles are welcome and may either occupy a room by themselves provided our hotels have enough rooms available to accommodate our maximum number of guests. Singles wishing to room alone will have a single supplement charge of $500.00 USD, again, provided enough rooms are available to accommodate our maximum number of guests. Singles may also share with a roommate and we can provide names of other singles requesting to join the ride but it is the responsibility of the singles to finalize arrangements.

A non-refundable $100.00 USD BAC fee will be due to BAC upon your acceptance on the ride by the Ride Director. This fee is not reflected in the price stated above.

CANCELLATION POLICY
The BAC ride registration fee of $100 USD per participant is not refundable unless the entire tour is cancelled. Refunds of tour payments will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and on costs that can be recouped. The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour’s remaining participants will not incur any additional cost as a result of cancellations. If the canceling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time. If the canceling participant can't be replaced, any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report is completed. If a single participant sharing a room cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the cancelling roommate may also be liable for the single supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour.

RIDE PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITY
Please remember that BAC Ride Leaders are volunteers, and that successful tours depend on participants providing much of their own support.  Participants are expected to come to the ride well trained, in good health and ready to accomplish the required daily riding using well-maintained bicycles.   All participants should accept responsibility for a safe and enjoyable tour.  We encourage you to read the ride description carefully and respond to requests from Ride Leader.  While on the ride, support your Ride Leader with offers to help with various tasks such as happy hour preparation and clean-up.  Please do not interfere with the ride by inviting non-participants onto any portion of the ride or tour.  Please keep the Ride Leader informed of any special request you may have and respect the Ride Leader’s decisions.

SIGN-UP
To submit a request to join this ride use the "links" displayed above this Ride Description.  Following your registration you will receive an email from the Ride Director requesting information about yourself in order to help us qualify you for the ride.  When you are accepted, the Ride Leader will move you from the Waitlist to the Pending List.  At this time you will receive an email notification to login to the BAC website to sign the release of liability form and pay the non-refundable BAC ride registration fee online.  Once those steps have been completed, the initial deposit of $750 will be due.  To contact the Ride Leader, "click" the name at the top of this Ride Description.

If you have questions about the ride please contact the Ride Director listed above.

Arrivederci and Happy Cycling!