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.

LOGISTICS: Arrival day is Monday, May 3, 2027 in Florence and departure from Florence is Tuesday, May 18, 2027. Fly in and out of Florence (FLR). Tram/Bus line 23 is under $5. Taxi is around 20 min $30-$40 depending on your luggage. There is no hotel shuttle. Our first meeting occurs on Tuesday May 4 at 6:00 PM at Hotel Silla (Via De'Renai 5, 50100 Firenze PH:+39 055 234 2888, www.hotelsilla.it) followed by a group dinner. Bike boxes stored at the Hotel Silla. Tenth time tour is offered by leader Julie and Tom Leever. Tour details are in the Welcome Letter posted in “Ride Leader Docs”.

MAPS & CUE SHEETS:  A document will be posted in Ride Leader Docs that will have the link to give access to the RWGPS Event.  We recommend that you print out hard copies of both the maps and cue sheets.  This document contains instructions for printing in case you are not familiar with Ride with GPS.

DESCRIPTION: We begin the tour with a lay-over day in Florence where you can plan your own activities before our first group dinner on our second night in the city. 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 back to Castellina in Chianti for a 2-night stay and our final group dinner before we say, not good-bye but, arrivederci in Florence.

COST & ADMINISTRATION: Mi-18/Max-22. Estimated cost is $2,775 based on an exchange rate of $1.22 = € 1.00. Included in the price is 15 nights lodging in 3-4 star hotels, all breakfasts and 6 group dinners, luggage van & driver, bus transport to Siena and a wine tasting. Final payment of $ 1,775 is due January 15, 2027. Depending on currency exchange rates, there may be some minor adjustments in the amount of the final payment.

HEALTH & SAFETY: Vaccinations for COVID and boosters are highly recommended but not required. Participants are expected to come to the tour in good health and ready to ride. In short, if someone tests positive for COVID but they can ride their bike, then they can stay on the tour with precautions in place which will mean protocols for isolation, masking, social distancing. If a participant is too ill to ride, then they must isolate in place with the possibility that they have to depart from the tour. Participants are expected to come to the tour in good health and ready to ride. Should someone's health become compromised and the group’s health and safety placed in jeopardy, a plan will be developed by the ride leader(s) and communicated to all individuals. The expectation is for the group to work together to mitigate any spread of infection or illness as a means to ensure the tour can continue as planned.

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 BikesPlusTravel (https://bikesplus.travel). Details and rental form posted in the 'Ride Leader Docs'. Each rider will pay BikesPlusTravel directly with a credit card.

SINGLES SHARING:.It is recommended that singles wanting to share a room try to find their own roommate. The Ride Leader will assist singles to find a roommate. When a single rider applies for the ride, you will be placed on the wait list and a room will be reserved for up to one month from your application. Once a roommate is found, both riders are added to the tour. If the single rider is unable to find a roommate, they will have the option to receive a full refund (minus the BAC Ride Registration Fee and Payment Processing Fee) or pay the $ 755 Solo Supplement and stay on the ride assuming space is available. If a single person pays the supplement, they may continue to seek a roommate but must plan to participate without a roommate if necessary.

SOLOS: Space for 3 solo riders with an estimated solo supplement of $ 755 due on January 15, 2027. Solo supplement payments should be made by check or Zelle. 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.

Pay through Zelle:

● In your bank's website, add Bicycle Adventure Club as a new recipient, with email address treasurer@bicycleadventureclub.org

● Initiate a payment

● In the Message block, enter the name of your ride. If you have questions, contact Nancy Bohnett nbohnett@bicycleadventureclub.org or Ernie Coose erniecoose.bac@gmail.com.

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: 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. 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: BAC maintains two insurance policies: a) United States, and b) Foreign (all other countries). Both the U.S. and Foreign policies are considered secondary policies to your personal medical insurance policy. They are subject to a $1000 deductible and may not cover all expenses related to an accident. Copies of the current policies are located under the “Docs” tab on the BAC website. Before participating in any BAC tour, you should assess whether your medical and travel insurance coverage is sufficient. While touring in the U.S, the BAC insurance includes coverage for injuries due to accidents during the bike trip. Members’ personal insurance will need to cover medical emergencies such as sudden and unexpected illness (i.e. treatment for unexpected illnesses, including Covid, are not covered). While touring internationally, i.e., outside of the U.S., BAC maintains Foreign accident insurance to assist with expenses related to accidents, medical emergencies (including sudden and unexpected sickness), and repatriation. Insurance will apply door-to-door for treatment and travel for a maximum of 90 days overall. Coverage extends to a limited period spanning the published BAC trip dates, allowing for side trips occurring before and after the BAC ride; the limitation period is 7 days before or after the published BAC trip dates. The policy covers the cost of treatment for Covid and other unexpected illnesses, but not quarantine.

CANCELLATION POLICY: The BAC ride registration fee and payment processing fees are non-refundable unless the entire tour is canceled due to insufficient enrollment.  Any refund amounts are dependent on our finding a replacement, plus any cost incurred before you cancel. If we are not able to fill your position, any refund will be based on the principle that costs not be increased for those who are completing the tour. Your share of fixed costs like the administrative, luggage van, leader and van driver expenses will be deducted from your eventual refund. We will attempt to recover lodging costs (most places will refund up to 30 days advance notice). Whatever we can recover, you will get back after the tour is completed and the final accounting takes place. 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 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.