Ride Director Comments

This tour may be full. Go ahead and get on the wait list as there may be some openings if not all confirm their participation.

Ride Description

OVERVIEW: The Piedmont region of Italy is surrounded by the Italian Alps and the French Maritime Alps. This tour travels from west to east with multi-night stays at every stop. Arrival day is Monday, May 19, 2025 at Hotel Concord, Turin, Italy. There is a private bus transport from Turin to Saluzzo to begin cycling and at the end of the tour from San Marzano Oliveto to the Turin airport Caselle Torinese for departure on Monday, June 2, 2025. This is the fouth time this tour is offered by Julie Leever.  Each stop on this tour has a 2-day stay. We have avoided stays in larger towns in an effort to minimize cycling in heavy traffic.

DESCRIPTION: On this tour you'll see vistas framed by snow-capped mountains, rolling vineyards and mostly smaller villages with vibrant local economies. The cuisine features local produce like hazelnuts, truffles, and Arborio rice used for risotto. As we venture east the region's wine changes from the famous Barolo red to the Asti Spumanti bubbly of Bubbio. The tour begins with a free day in Turin and a morning guided tour. From the hotel you can walk to the centro storico.  Turin is a city of museums boasting a total of forty. The most famous is the Egyptian Museum which rivals the one in Cairo. Recently opened, the National Cinema Museum is housed in a spectacular former synagogue. For car buffs, there's the National Automobile Museum where you can trace the Ferrari's development. We bus from Turin to Saluzzo where we start cycling. There we stay at the former estate of the Marquis of Saluzzo. It's a short walk into town where we'll have the house special at a local trattoria. Leaving Saluzzo, you'll see a border of snow-capped Alps as you head toward our next destination, Fossano. The Palazzo Righini in Fossano is a designated 'Small Luxury Hotel' rated 5-star.. Located in the centro storico, you'll step back in time as you stroll the medieval arcades that border Via Roma. En route to Barolo, the landscape of vineyards rolls out like a flying carpet. You may have to yield the road to a passing tractor on paved farm roads that cut through the vineyards. In Barolo we'll have a wine tasting in the hotel's cave, featuring one of the oldest wine producers in Barolo, the Brezza family. You need only gaze out the window to see the vineyard that surrounds the hotel. The next stop was added this year after a 10 year gap. The Castello Bubbio and its restaurant closed after our 2014 tour. But there were several reasons to put this location back on the tour. Next, we take a circle loop to stay with our hosts Carlo and Paola in Cortemilia and dine at their award-winning restaurant. Our last stop, heads north to San Marzano Oliveto where we stay for 2 nights at the agriturismo Le Due Cascine, run by Bartolo and his family and greeter dog Willy. From there we take a bus to the aiport for a mid-morning drop-off.

RIDE RATING: SHORT OPTIONS: 2A ! avg 29 miles/day and avg 2,000 feet of climbing. LONG OPTIONS: 4B avg 39 miles/day and avg 3,709 feet. There is one difficult required riding day that is 35 miles long with 3,740 feet of climbing. Over half of the rides on this tour are optional loop rides. A Ride With GPS link to the tour routes will be posted on Ride Leader Docs with instructions on how to access and download the routes. Routes are avaiable to download to your navigation device or smart phone. You should plan to print the maps and cue sheets.

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. 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 but 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. That may mean departing the tour or arranging your own transport to subsequent hotels on the tour. Protocols for isolation will be required. We will all need to be flexible as safety comes first.(NOTE-this text may change if the CDC changes their COVID recommendations.)

LOGISTICS: Fly in and out of Turin-Caselle International airport (TRN). Arrival day is Monday, May 19, 2025 at Hotel Concord, Turin, Italy. Hotel web site: hotelconcordtorino.com The closest train/bus station to the Hotel Concord is the Porta Nuova station. Our first official meeting is on Tuesday, May 20 at 6:00 PM followed by a group dinner.  At the end of the tour, we depart on Monday, June 2, 2025 from San Marzano Oliveto at 8:00 AM for a 10:00 AM drop-off at the Turin-Caselle International airport. Bike boxes will be transferred from the hotel in Saluzzo to the last hotel, Le Due Cascine, in San Marzano by the Leaders.  

TANDEM / 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. Delivery fees will depend on the number of people renting. With 10 or more delivery fees are usually waived. Each rider will pay CycleEurope directly with a credit card..The last time we offered this tour we only had 3 riders renting. I was able to find a local bike shop for bike rentals. 

COST & ADMINISTRATION: Estimated cost is $ 2,320 based on an exchange rate of $1.12 = € 1.00. The initial deposit is $1,000 plus non-refundable BAC fee of $ 100. The final payment of $ 1,320 and Solo Supplement of $ 530 is due on January 15, 2025. We may adjust the final payment in early January if there is substantial change to the exchange rate either up or down. Included in price are 14 nights lodging, in 2-4 star hotels except the Dimora Storica in Fossano which is 5 star, all breakfasts, 9 group dinners, happy hour refreshments, luggage van & driver, and bus transport from and to the Turin airport. Note: ONLY solo supplement payments may be paid via Zelle. All other payments must be paid by credit card through the BAC website.

SINGLES: 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, they may be added to the ride on a “space available” status.

SOLOS: Space for 2 solo rooms with an estimated solo supplement of $ 530.  Solo supplement payments, due January 15, 2025, should be made by Zelle or check. 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: The weather is typically cool in the AM & PM with some sunny hot days possible: average highs will be 69F, average lows will be 56F. May has an average of 4 days with rain but when it rains it will feel cold so plan to bring full rain gear.

CANCELLATION POLICY: The BAC ride registration fee and payment processing fee is not refundable unless the entire tour is canceled due to participation below stated minimum requirements. 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.

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.(e.g., annual influenza, tetanus, etc.). Coverage is subject to a $1000 deductible. If traveling outside your home country you may wish to consult with a travel physician or nurse to ensure that the appropriate vaccinations are up to date.

SIGN-UP: To submit a request to join this ride use the "links" displayed above this Ride Description. 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 and the initial tour deposit $ 1,000 by credit card. As soon as your deposit has been processed, your name(s) will be added to the Participant List. To contact the Ride Leader, "click" the name at the top of this Ride Description.