Piedmont Cycling Resort

News from CycleItalia: "We've teamed up with Hotel Ariotto to offer you something new, Piedmont Cycling Resort. With this new program you can enjoy the Monferrato hills with an ala carte itinerary designed by YOU. Come for just two nights or stay for weeks, it's your choice. With no fixed arrival or departure dates, no schedules, you are in control of your vacation. Enjoy B&B in the hotel or take a self-catering apartment. Rent a car and drive yourself there or opt for an airport shuttle. Bring your own bicycle or rent one from the hotel. Ride, relax, eat, repeat. It's all designed to give you the utmost in flexibility."

More details will be available soon on www.cycleitalia.com but here is some more information:

"We've lost count of the times that guests, after sampling the cycling and gastronomic opportunities at this peaceful wine country hotel, have asked, "Why can't we just stay HERE for the entire week?" Now you can. Spend as much time as you like at Hotel Ariotto in the Monferrato hills. Relax by the panoramic pool, ride a variety of scenic loops or combine both for a truly relaxing and enchanting sample of the Piemontese lifestyle.

We've joined forces with Hotel Ariotto (our HQ, featured in BICYCLING Magazine July 2013) to bring you Piedmont Cycling Resort. Come for as little as two days or stay for a week or longer, it's your choice. Enjoy B&B lodging in the hotel with plenty of options for lunch and dinner or take a self-catering apartment and cook for yourself using products from the local market. Either way, it's cycling heaven.

Ariotto features free laundry facilities, a spacious bike garage/workshop, easy access from the A26 autostrada and a variety of other activities (vineyard visits, etc.) to make this a memorable vacation for everyone.

Pricing is ala carte:

Two-night stay $299 (hotel, B&B, per person/double occupancy)
includes lodging and ride routes

Single supplement $100 / additional hotel nights $100 per person

Self-catering apartment $1298 includes ride routes
(no meals included, one week minimum, up to two persons)

Bike rental $299 up to one week
(limited sizes and quantities, call for details)

Airport transportation to/from Malpensa airport $199 (each way)."

Contact CycleItalia for more details.

Photo: Jered Gruber for BICYCLING magazine's July 2013 issue "Feast Your Thighs on Piedmont, Italy" (linked above).

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 3,000 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.     

Ciclismo Come Una Volta: CycleItalia

CycleItalia writes in to say that they are are celebrating their 15th year anniversary of offering cycling tours in Italy.

In the words of owners Larry and Heather, "CycleItalia was inspired by the culture of Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, when "steel was real" and Campagnolo was on its way to being king. Major bike races were followed not only by those at the roadside but also the daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, and later by radio broadcast. With no video and few photos, the journalists and broadcasters of the day had to be creative and eloquent to capture the imaginations of their readers or listeners; they transformed the sport's heroes and villains into mythic characters of epic proportions.

We've never lost this romantic notion of cycling, though we're long past our own racing days. Now our desire is to recreate that "come una volta" ("like it used to be") atmosphere in which cycling and friendship are shared along with hearty meals in the countryside through which we pedal. Italy is still the best place in the world for this, as demonstrated by the explosion of vintage bicycle (bici di epoca) rallies, such as Tuscany's L'Eroica, where the food and wine and the sense of history are as important as the ride.

As the modern world of cycling moves toward electronically controlled machines of ever-more exotic materials, and fuel for cycling devolves into chemical goo squeezed from mylar packets, we look back to the era when cycling was less scientific, but more fun. Our tours are far from easy, but they embrace a spirit of enjoyment derived not from who can ride the fastest or who has the fanciest bike, but simply from the timeless joy of cycling in Italy "like it used to be."

To celebrate their anniversary they are offering a 100% merino wool, long-sleeved trainer/sweater to those that reserve a CycleItalia 2013 guided tour before December 1, 2012. Visit www.cycleitalia.com for more details.

Larry has shared some some  stories with us in the past:
First Hand Report: Colle delle Finestre
Why We Took Up Cycling in the First Place
CycleItalia Cortina Loop

A guest on one of CycleItalia's tours, Rich, wrote several stories for us; a couple of them here:
Training for Italy
The Most Beautiful Climb

Good time for a reminder: stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.