Green Roads of Tuscany 2024

† 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

OVERVIEW: If you look at a Michelin map, the roads that are highlighted in green indicate “scenic roads”. Most of this tour follows these green roads. To get the views you have to climb so be prepared. The average day registers over 2,800 feet of climbing. Except in and out of Florence, you will cycle country roads with light traffic and unbelievable views. This tour combines a circle route through Tuscany, with 5 locations of 2-3 night stays.

RIDE RATING: The trip is rated a 3A!, averaging 32 miles per day and 2,870 feet of climbing. There are two difficult days that are required, one is 40 miles long with 3,630 feet of climbing and the second is 43 miles long with 3,960 feet of climbing. Using a different metric, the number of feet per mile, a difficult ride is widely recognized as 100 feet per mile. A moderate ride is 50 feet per mile. This tour averages a 92, or almost at the difficult stage every day. An additional factor to consider is that half of the rides are on layover days, where you choose how much you ride on those days. Maps and Cue Sheets will be available a few months prior to the tour start date from Ride with GPS.  Participants will be invited to access the routes with an event linke where they can download routes to their mobile device and print maps and cue sheets. 

LOGISTICS: Arrival day is Friday, May 3, 2024 in Florence and departure day from Florence is Saturday, May 18, 2024. Our first meeting is on our second day of the tour at 6:00 PM  on May 4 followed by a group dinner. The tour ends with our final ride Fly in and out of Florence. Bike boxes stored at the Hotel Silla. Ninth time tour is offered by leader Julie Leever and new Co-Director, Richard Frederick. Tour details are in the Welcome Letter posted in “Ride Leader Docs”.

DESCRIPTION: We begin the tour with a lay-over day in Florence where you can plan your own activities before our group dinner on the second night.  We ride from Florence, south to the Chianti region with a stay in Castellina in Chianti. Then we travel through the traditional Tuscan landscape to San Gimignano, for a 3-day stay with loop rides from our hotel. We continue south-east through the Crete Senesi, the most photographed region of Italy. For our rest day in San Rocco a Pilli we take a bus into Siena for a guided walking tour. Our furthest point south from Florence is San Quirico d’Orcia where we stay for 3 days. There you can opt for a variety of loop rides with a hotel perfectly situated to offer elegant views and tranquil sleep. Loop rides are possible to Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza and Bagno Vignoni. This area offers some of the most scenic rides of the tour. Our non-tourist destination is Buonconvento, a fortified village that is an undiscovered gem. We cycle a different route to Castellina in Chianti for a 2-night stay and our final group dinner in Castellina.  Our last ride is  on Friday, May 17 iinto Florence where we say, not good-bye but, arrivederci.

COST & ADMINISTRATION: Min 18/Max 22. Estimated cost is $2,370 based on an exchange rate of $1.15 = € 1.00. Included in the price is 15 nights lodging in 3-4 star hotels, all breakfasts and 7 group dinners, luggage van & driver, bus transport to Siena and a wine tasting. There will be an additional non-refundable BAC fee, of $100. Final payment of $ 1,370 is due January 15, 2024. Depending on currency exchange rates, there may be some minor adjustments in the amount of the final payment.

Health & Safety: We will invite participants to a Zoom meeting about 6 weeks prior to the tour start date to discuss health and safety rules. You are responsible to adhere to the travel requirements stated by your airline and our destination in Italy. Vaccinations for COVID are required and boosters are recommended. Participants are expected to come to the tour in good health and ready to ride. In short, if you are ill on the tour, be it a cold or test positive for COVID and you can ride your bike, then you can stay on the tour with precautions in place. In this case, protocols for isolation, masking, and social distancing are required. If you test positive and cannot ride your bike, then you must isolate in place and depart the tour. We will all need to be flexible as safety comes first..

TANDEMS/E-BIKES/RENTALS: Tandems and e-bikes will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.  Talk with the leaders about this. Rental bikes will be available through CycleEurope (cycleeurope.com). Details in the Welcome letter. Each rider will pay CycleEurope directly with a credit card.

SINGLES SHARING: It is recommended that singles wanting to share a room try to find their own room mate. The Ride Leader will assist singles to find a room mate. When a single rider applies for the ride, you will be placed on the wait list and a room will be reserved for a limited time. Once a room mate is found, both riders are added to the tour. If a single rider cannot find a room mate by January 2024, they may be added to the ride on the basis of a solo room if space is available.

SOLOS: Space for 2 solo riders with an estimated solo supplement of $ 380 due on January 15, 2024. Solo supplement payments should be made by check and sent to BAC. Checks should be made out to “BAC” with a notation of the tour name included on the check and mailed to:  Bicycle Adventure Club, PO Box 23998, San Diego, CA 92193.

WEATHER: Temp avg. 59 F - 70 F with an avg. of 6 days of rain.  Most days are warm to hot but if it rains it can be chilly.  Full rain gear, long-fingered gloves and long rain pants are recommended.

ETIAS Pre Screening:  ETIAS stands for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. It is the new visa waiver for short-term stays in Europe. ETIAS is not a visa but it will be required to travel. Effective May 2024 travelers to Europe must complete the new mandatory pre-screening security questionnaire ETIAS. Without ETIAS approval, travelers from the US, Canada, and many other countries will not be able to book travel into Europe. The program will have a 180-day introductory grace period but will be mandatory by 2024. Approvals can be issued quickly and once issued are valid for 3 years. ETIAS applications can be completed online here:  https://etias.com/etias-application

INSURANCE: Before participating in any BAC tour, you should assess whether your medical and travel insurance coverage is sufficient. BAC maintains insurance that covers expenses related to accidents, medical emergencies such as sudden and unexpected sickness, and repatriation. This coverage applies when touring outside the US and your home country, regardless of your nationality. It will cover you door-to-door for a maximum of 90 days but will expire if you make a side trip not related to the BAC tour for more than 7 days before or after. There is limited coverage for a family member to join a covered person in an emergency. The policy covers the cost of treatment for Covid and other unexpected illnesses, but not quarantine. You should ensure that your vaccinations are up to date. Coverage is subject to a $1,000 deductible.

CANCELLATION POLICY: The BAC Ride Registration Fee and Payment Processing Fees are not refundable unless the entire tour is canceled because the number of participants registered is less than the minimum established for the tour. 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 are completed. If a single participant cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the canceling roommate may also be liable for the solo supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour. BAC encourages members to purchase trip cancellation insurance.

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 register for this ride, use the sign-up links just above the Ride Description. After preliminary acceptance, you will be moved to the pending list and receive an email requesting you to go back to the BAC site to digitally accept the terms of the Release of Liability (ROL), and pay the Tour Deposit and the non-refundable BAC Ride Registration Fee by credit card.. As soon as your deposit has been processed, your name(s) will be added to the Participant List. BAC members with questions may contact the Ride Director by "clicking" the name at the top of this Ride Description