The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Umbria 2019

April 26th to May 9th

Ride Director: Julie Leever
Ride Co-Director: Tom Leever
Report by: Dave Haney

A first trip to Europe. A first cycling trip. I am not a CYCLIST!

When my wife, who I’d consider a life long cyclist said she’d like to book a cycling trip in Italy I defaulted to our age old rule, “ If you book it, I’ll go.”

Soon emails and confirmations appeared from BAC but they were quickly flipped to the “read later” inbox. The only preparation made was to ride my stationary bike for an 30 minutes every morning, follow a list of packing provisions and make arrangements to rent an E-bike - if only to make sure the experience was more enjoyable. The itinerary could be read on the plane!

On the plane intimidation set in. What torture lie ahead?

Enthusiasm over seeing the next castle, taking the next picture, exploring the next village, drinking the next cappuccino, tasting the next pasta dish and absorbing the scenes into my memory bank made the daily ride distances seem easy.

To keep us out of traffic we followed the roads less travelled. In the limited distance we rode busy streets we encountered very courteous and respectful motorists.

In a few areas the roads had deteriorated and cracks had developed where gravity attempted to pull the pavement down the mountainside. For all but the most experienced cyclists wider tires would be recommended. Descents are steep so good brakes are essential. There were short sections described by some of as highly vibrational.

Day 5 would be considered the most difficult. This ride to Assisi is shorter and has a 15 km climb. By taking our time with a stop in Bervada and Collepino Castle for lunch (part way up the climb) we enjoyed the long decent into Assisi. Smell the roses along the way this is a scenic day that will pass before you know it!

Routes were made available in Garmin and Ride with GPS formats. There were a couple of confusing spots however expanding the map for more detail quickly resolved any issue. We saw the van many times during the day ensuring our steady progress.

The bike rental company supplied top notch equipment and staff were happy to make adjustments to insure a proper fit.

Our leaders Tom & Julie have travelled Italy extensively and were amazing resources everywhere we went. To get the group mingling quickly they used icebreaking exercises with great results. Each evening the route for the next day was discussed before we headed off for a group activity and another delicious evening meal. Eat tonight pedal harder tomorrow became our motto!

Accommodations were very good. Most memorable was our night in Piegaro where we stayed the night in a castle! How often does that happen?

This ride - my first BAC Ride was a blast! Now we’re looking forward to another trip next year - maybe a bit more difficult!