A Bicycle Extravaganza
Looking for a unique travel experience? These amazing bike tours provide riders with incomparable experiences throughout the world.
By Kimberly Turner
An active bicycling excursion can turn into an experience of cultural treasures that reveal the variety and scenic beauty of an area. From Europe to South America to the Pacific, vacationers can participate in a variety of tours by Ciclismo Classico, with specifically tailored itineraries that give a taste of the region, creating a lively and unique vacation.
With a mission to make each trip full of learning, excitement, and freedom, Ciclismo Classico thoroughly researches, scouts, and continually upgrades each itinerary, offering the most authentic aspects of each region.
“I think there really is something about the sensory experience of a bicycle tour that really gets people engaged mentally,” said Lauren Hefferon, CEO of Ciclismo Classico.
Four new tours in very different locations have just been added for 2010; a Greece to Italy tour, the Ciclismo Colavita Olive Harvest tour, a La Bella Puglia tour and Norway Classic Fjords tour.
The Greece to Italy trip is an expert level trip covering nearly 500 miles in 13 days. Participants will roll into classical ruin sites and pause in the villages that are rich in their old ways. The trip includes walking amid the ruins of Brutus’s villa in Vella and strolling the sites of the original Olympic games in Greece, among many other sights.
Switching gears, cyclists can also participate in the Ciclismo Colavita Olive Harvest Tour, which will take people on a journey through the Molise region of Italy. Among the red carpet treatment by the Colavita family, the tour includes visiting 1,000-year-old church bells of the Vatican, truffle hunting, lunch served by monks and experiencing every step of the olive oil production process in Molise.
Traveling over to La Bella Puglia in Italy, a beginner five-day 131-mile excursion is offered that is food focused. Cyclists are exposed to spectacular fields of huge, ancient olive trees, captivating clusters of the conical trulli structures, and the taste of the savory cuisine. With warm hospitality and friendly conversation, travelers can also enjoy hands-on cooking lessons.
The last of the new trips is the Norway Classic Fjords tour, a 7-day, 230-plus-mile trip, which takes cyclists on an adventure through Norway’s stunning National Parks and fjords. Visitors will pedal their way to taste fresh Norwegian seafood specialties and climb North Europe’s highest pass.
“We look for locations that have gorgeous scenery, good food and a cultural fascination,” said Hefferon.
Expert tour leaders direct each of these tours and are committed to help each guest become a better cyclist or hiker. The tours also offer daily clinics, coaching with technical and training tips and sports-minded encouragement to enhance guests’ enjoyment and performance.
“These tours are appealing to people who love to be active and want to experience a culture up close,” said Hefferon.
The itineraries encourage participants to taste the regional food, speak the language, and discover the history, and can even show vacationers sights that many locals have never experienced.
“It is a great vacation that you can tag onto another vacation,” said Hefferon. “We can design a tour around anything, to fill your wildest dreams.”
To learn more about these trips and others offered, visit www.ciclismoclassico.com.
