Rome to Home 2015

[wintonbina]

Well, the first 4 days are loosely planned!
Day 1 Rome Airport to Grosseto 111miles.
Day 2 to Pisa 95miles
Day 3 to Genoa 110miles
Day 4 to Monaco 116miles.
We are going to try & stick to the coast roads and staying in small hotels.
Your thoughts please!
Tony

 

[briantrumpet]

Your thoughts please!
Tony

Genoa's really grim! I don't know if there's an alternative, but it's not a pleasant ride through there - busy, industrial and tatty.

 

[psmiffy]

Genoa's really grim! I don't know if there's an alternative, but it's not a pleasant ride through there - busy, industrial and tatty.

A bit harsh on Genoa - yes if you keep to the sea then the docks do seem to go on and on - however the old town is worth a look - world heritage site and all that - certainly not so repulsive on the occasions i've been there to high tail it into the hills.

 

[briantrumpet]

A bit harsh on Genoa - yes if you keep to the sea then the docks do seem to go on and on - however the old town is worth a look - world heritage site and all that - certainly not so repulsive on the occasions i've been there to high tail it into the hills.

Fair enough - yes, we were on a tight schedule, so pedalled through the straight through grim bits as fast as we could. Sounds like there's a more scenic route, if you have time.

 

[andym]

It's about 11 kms from the centre of Genova to Voltri - which takes you well past the docks.

Tony can I ask what you are hoping to get out of this?

The route you've chosen isn't bad but definitely the least interesting and scenic alternative you could have chosen. (BTW don't assume that the coast road is flat - between La Spezia and Genova it definitely isn't, and some sections of the SS1 Via Aurelia are off-limits to bikes). But you seem to be basically only interested in getting in the maximum number of miles a day: what is the point If the experience is dull and boring? You might just as well save yourself some money and do the miles on a turbo trainer.

Sounds like there's a more scenic route, if you have time.

No there isn't a more scenic route - but you need to take the time to look around, or just be a little bit curious. The city psmiffy is talking about is a few metres off the main road.

And of course ultimately you determine how much time you have.

 

[briantrumpet]

The route you've chosen isn't bad but definitely the least interesting and scenic alternative you could have chosen. (BTW don't assume that the coast road is flat - between La Spezia and Genova it definitely isn't, and some sections of the SS1 Via Aurelia are off-limits to bikes). But you seem to be basically only interested in getting in the maximum number of miles a day: what is the point If the experience is dull and boring? You might just as well save yourself some money and do the miles on a turbo trainer.

Depends how you view these things - we did Paris to Rome in eleven days, and though we did have some tedious sections (in order to stick within the time we had available) it was worth it for the bits which weren't tedious/grim. A day on the turbo wouldn't have got us from Cuneo to Chiavari. And we wouldn't have found the restaurant where we had to eat 2kgs of steak before getting back on the bikes....

 

[andym]

To be more specific about the Via Aurelia. SFAIK this is a superstrada through most of Toscana. I've ridden parts of it near Montalto di Castro in northern Lazio - so at some point south of Grossetto it becomes a normal road (although still a dual carriageway) but I don't know exactly where. It also becomes a normal road north of Livorno (but you're better off sticking to the coast via Viareggio).

The old road the Vecchia Aurelia is still in place for much of the way - although not very interesting (with the exception of the section between Livorno and Castiglioncello). The most problematic spot is south of Grossetto where the best option is probably to go through Montiano, Magliano di Toscana, and Capalbio.

I'll be publishing a guide to the coast toute with the saner more attractive options.

Depends how you view these things - we did Paris to Rome in eleven days, and though we did have some tedious sections (in order to stick within the time we had available) it was worth it for the bits which weren't tedious/grim. A day on the turbo wouldn't have got us from Cuneo to Chiavari. And we wouldn't have found the restaurant where we had to eat 2kgs of steak before getting back on the bikes....

Hmm - you missed out on the scenic route into La Spezia and the old city of Genova and probably an awful lot else besides (eg the scenic road above Chiavari?). (I did this route earlier this summer mostly focusing on mapping the route to the border and I now realise how many interesting places I bypassed - so I'm going back next year).

No doubt you found things to enjoy, but would you have found more if you'd taken longer, or aimed to cover fewer miles? I'm absolutely certain you would have.

I can understand people not being interested in sightseeing but when arbitrary mileage targets mean bypassing the most challenging and interesting cycling and confining yourself to flat, boring, busy roads? I'm mystified.

 

[briantrumpet]

No doubt you found things to enjoy, but would you have found more if you'd taken longer, or aimed to cover fewer miles? I'm absolutely certain you would have.

I can understand people not being interested in sightseeing but when arbitrary mileage targets mean bypassing the most challenging and interesting cycling and confining yourself to flat, boring, busy roads? I'm mystified.

...though we certainly wouldn't have got from Paris to Rome in the time we had available, and probably wouldn't have raised £7400 for Hospiscare, if we'd gone on a more circuitous route. Another time, more of a sightseeing route would be nice. But this wasn't the time - I'll accept there was a price to be paid. But we still got to see plenty of interesting places, even though Genoa wasn't one of them for us. It's great that you've obviously got really good knowledge of what there is around there, then others can make informed choices.

 

[wintonbina]

It's about 11 kms from the centre of Genova to Voltri - which takes you well past the docks.

Tony can I ask what you are hoping to get out of this?

The route you've chosen isn't bad but definitely the least interesting and scenic alternative you could have chosen. (BTW don't assume that the coast road is flat - between La Spezia and Genova it definitely isn't, and some sections of the SS1 Via Aurelia are off-limits to bikes). But you seem to be basically only interested in getting in the maximum number of miles a day: what is the point If the experience is dull and boring? You might just as well save yourself some money and do the miles on a turbo trainer.



No there isn't a more scenic route - but you need to take the time to look around, or just be a little bit curious. The city psmiffy is talking about is a few metres off the main road.

And of course ultimately you determine how much time you have.

Hi AndyM,

The reason we are doing this bike ride challenge is to raise as much money as we can for my late son's foundation and also to raise our profile so that more people become aware of us and how we can possibly help them in their sporting dreams. The guys that do these 'challenges' only have limited time off from their work (we are all volunteers for the charitable stuff) and our contacts at the local TV companies & newspapers have said they will cover us if the events are newsworthy enough (ie extreme). But we do get time out to enjoy ourselves, the banter between the guys is immense but as I said previously its all about the fund raising for us.
And if the scenic route is only a few miles longer and less hillier please let me know because we would prefer it!
Many thanks,
Tony

 

[andym]

Hi Tony (and Brian)

I should have realised we were talking about sponsored charity rides. D'Oh!

I guess getting people to sponsor you on the basis of a combination of the amount of climbing and the miles done, is probably too hard a sell.

Sadly I can't offer a scenic route that's *less* hilly, than the coast road, but if you wanted something that was a bit more interesting without a massive detour I'd suggest going via the Lago di Bracciano and the Lago di Bolsena (the north Lazio coast really isn't that great and you may also find the road quite slow). And in Toscana I'd suggest following the road through the hills a little way inland: Campiglia Marittima - Suvereto - Sassetta - Castagneto Carducci - Bolgheri - Guardistallo - Cecina. If you can find the time the road between Ameglia and Lerici (near La Spezia) is well worth it.

Campsites inland are IME much better than on the coast. If you are going out of the main season then bungalows on campsites can be an economical option. Booking.com has extremely good coverage, and is definitely the easiest way to find accommodation (and out-of-season, bargains).

Good luck.

 

[wintonbina]

Well......I think I have the route(ish) sorted. We, 21 of us + a physio & a driver are intending to fly out to Rome Airport on Friday September 18th and start the ride by 'visiting' Campiglia Marittima, Sassetta, Bolgheri, Cecina, Pisa, La Spezia, Genoa, Sanremo, Aix-en-Provence, by pass Avignon, then on to Clermont-Ferrand, Tours, Mayenne, Saint Lo and finally to Cherbourg where we will catch the ferry home to Poole/Bournemouth on Saturday 3rd October 16 days in total so I would appreciate any advice on improvements, better (flatter) roads, places to visit as long as it's not too far off the beaten track and accommodation tips please!
Many thanks,
Tony
I

 

[Dave Davenport]

accommodation tips please
I

We only stayed in one (which we thought was very good) as we camped most of the time between Genoa and Caen this August, but there seem to be loads of agritiuristica (farm guest houses) in northern Italy.

 

[briantrumpet]

Well......I think I have the route(ish) sorted. We, 21 of us + a physio & a driver are intending to fly out to Rome Airport on Friday September 18th and start the ride by 'visiting' Campiglia Marittima, Sassetta, Bolgheri, Cecina, Pisa, La Spezia, Genoa, Sanremo, Aix-en-Provence, by pass Avignon, then on to Clermont-Ferrand, Tours, Mayenne, Saint Lo and finally to Cherbourg where we will catch the ferry home to Poole/Bournemouth on Saturday 3rd October 16 days in total so I would appreciate any advice on improvements, better (flatter) roads, places to visit as long as it's not too far off the beaten track and accommodation tips please!I

If it's any help, when I rode down to Die in 2012, I covered part of the route, from the Rhône to Tours, and all of that was an absolute delight. I stayed in B&Bs all the way, but as I was only me (and not 21), I suspect none of my recommendations would be helpful. Though the highlight accommodation was in Boën, at a place called Chez Gillou: http://www.chezgillou.com/ - stupidly cheap, clean and quirky. Might have enough space. Anyway, the route I took is here: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1441823 - if you want to ask about any of the places on that route, I'll see if I can remember!

 

[wintonbina]

Hi Tony (and Brian)

I should have realised we were talking about sponsored charity rides. D'Oh!

I guess getting people to sponsor you on the basis of a combination of the amount of climbing and the miles done, is probably too hard a sell.

Sadly I can't offer a scenic route that's *less* hilly, than the coast road, but if you wanted something that was a bit more interesting without a massive detour I'd suggest going via the Lago di Bracciano and the Lago di Bolsena (the north Lazio coast really isn't that great and you may also find the road quite slow). And in Toscana I'd suggest following the road through the hills a little way inland: Campiglia Marittima - Suvereto - Sassetta - Castagneto Carducci - Bolgheri - Guardistallo - Cecina. If you can find the time the road between Ameglia and Lerici (near La Spezia) is well worth it.

Campsites inland are IME much better than on the coast. If you are going out of the main season then bungalows on campsites can be an economical option. Booking.com has extremely good coverage, and is definitely the easiest way to find accommodation (and out-of-season, bargains).

Hi andym,
Do you have an email address where I can ask a few questions & to use your knowledge of the routes please?
Cheers,
Tony

 

[andym]

Hi Wintonbina

There's shedloads of information on my website (including a guides to riding the coasts of Liguria, Toscana and Lazio):

http://italy-cycling-guide.info

I have along list of places and routes that I still haven't written about, so if you can't find what you're looking for please do get in touch using the contact-form on the site.