Piemonte region in Italy

[MadRocketSci]

Hey,

Wondering if anyone has first hand experience renting a good road bike in/around Turin and/or the surrounding Piemonte region (Asti, Alba, Acqui Terme, Cuneo,Pinerolo, Sestriere, etc). Looking to explore the area on two unmotorized wheels. General tips on which of these towns or the even littler ones in the area to go to, where to eat/stay, ride, friendly high-end bike shops, etc, is appreciated, as I've got a few trips to Turin coming up this year.

Allora, grazie mille!! :)

[Mr. Pink]

I'm slowly planning a trip to Italy, maybe this fall, although my recent knee scope may have delayed that. I want to do both Tuscany and the Piemonte in the same trip. This is what I found in the Piemonte that looks pretty nice: http://www.piedmontbikehotel.com/en/home.htm

Pretty much a full service bike hotel out in the country. Tripadvisor reviews are excellent.

Please report back if you get there before me.

[MadRocketSci]

I'm slowly planning a trip to Italy, maybe this fall, although my recent knee scope may have delayed that. I want to do both Tuscany and the Piemonte in the same trip. This is what I found in the Piemonte that looks pretty nice: http://www.piedmontbikehotel.com/en/home.htm

Pretty much a full service bike hotel out in the country. Tripadvisor reviews are excellent.

Please report back if you get there before me.

Thanks Mr. Pink, that's a great find, i see a visit sometime in my future. I like this model of hotels catering to cyclists and having a bike rental agreement with one of the big italian bike companies (De Rosa/Belvedere, Bianchi/this place) so you can understand what you're getting. They're treated as a demo fleet and sold off at the end of the season so the equipment is mostly new and in great shape.

[tiretrax]

I'm not sure where the Hotel Belvedere is located, but I remember reading about it. It also has a topline fleet of rental bikes and a mechanic on staff. I think it's not unusual in that part of the world. I would also contact Eros Poli (I think he may work for In Gamba), Hampsten, and some other outfitters to get their recommendations on bike shops if you want to go that route.

I hope you will provide a post-trip recap (with pictures, of course) so we can learn from your experience.

Have great time!

[Mr. Pink]

The Belvedere is on the Adriatic in Riccione, pretty far from the Piemonte. That place looks real tempting, too, and very affordable, but my first priority is Tuscany, Piemonte second, maybe Lake Como third.

This hotel: http://www.molinello.com/eng/index.html is located just a little southeast of Siena, and has a cycling orientation.

[tiretrax]

The Belvedere is on the Adriatic in Riccione, pretty far from the Piemonte. That place looks real tempting, too, and very affordable, but my first priority is Tuscany, Piemonte second, maybe Lake Como third.

This hotel: http://www.molinello.com/eng/index.html is located just a little southeast of Siena, and has a cycling orientation.

That looks great. That area has some great hills and Strada Bianche. Velotel has written about some adventures in the area. I am sure he can make some recomendations. In Gamba tours works in that area, but it will add to the expense. Also, one of the forumites has a rental in the area - could be a good source of info.

The Dolomites are a fantastic place to ride, too, if you want to ride some epic climbs.

[MadRocketSci]

I did go to the Belvedere last year at the end of the season (early Oct), and had a blast. Honestly I traveled through Tuscany for 4 days before getting there and I'm not sure that the Rimini/Urbino/San Marino/Carpegna area suffers that much by comparison. I mean you look around on the rides and pretty much go "yup this is what italian wine country looks and feels like." The food is where the Belvedere really stands out, it's ridiculous....and I consider myself a bit of a snob about that at this point...better than olive garden for sure, even after they sent all their cooks to tuscany for training :)

I guess i hadn't realized how far this bike hotel concept had established itself, so it's a great surprise since i don't want to haul a bike around with my biz stuff. My bike at the belvedere had chorus 11 and was in good shape apart from a creaky bb30 bb, but i kinda didn't find myself minding as it was like a built in metronome for standing climbs...

I suppose there should be a thread about first hand experiences in italian (or french) bike hotels....

[tbike4]

My 2¢ on the subject of dining. You have to have pizza here: http://www.spaccanapoli-to.it/
I spent about 3 months in Torino 20 years ago doing a contract job at Fiat and I ate a LOT of pizza. They serve pizza al metro or by the meter. I went there so often that the owner would always offer a free Grappa after the meal to us wacky Americans. Good times.

[MadRocketSci]

My 2¢ on the subject of dining. You have to have pizza here: http://www.spaccanapoli-to.it/
I spent about 3 months in Torino 20 years ago doing a contract job at Fiat and I ate a LOT of pizza. They serve pizza al metro or by the meter. I went there so often that the owner would always offer a free Grappa after the meal to us wacky Americans. Good times.

Cool, thanks, been to Napoli, stayed in Spacca Napoli, this place is close to Porta Nuova (hello, ladies!), will check it out...

and just curious, was the Porta Nuova under construction back then? Some coed at the Politecnico University told me it's been under renovation her entire life...

and at some point i'll find out how to take those yellow city bikes out...need some kind of permit card...

[Mr. Pink]

That looks great. That area has some great hills and Strada Bianche. Velotel has written about some adventures in the area. I am sure he can make some recomendations. In Gamba tours works in that area, but it will add to the expense. Also, one of the forumites has a rental in the area - could be a good source of info.

The Dolomites are a fantastic place to ride, too, if you want to ride some epic climbs.

I did some exploring the Thanksgiving before last in a little Fiat 500, with the intent of scouting the roads. It's unreal around there. The coolest part is that a climb, which, in many cases, can be quite the climb, ends in a 14th century city. With awesome food and buildings. Montepulciano, Pienza, Cortona, Siena, and many other smaller towns. They did all this as a defense from the maurading whatever. Boy, did they fight a lot.
There are also a lot of climbs that shouldn't be scoffed at further into the country. A large old lava dome, Mt Amiata, dominates southern Tuscany and has a few roads going over it.
We drove further east of the Siena area to Volterra, and that was the most impressive for beauty and riding. Fantastic stuff. If somebody opens a bike hotel near that city, I'm in.


The view from our room in Montepulciano:

[Mr. Pink]

Looking south from Pienza. it's late November, which is actually greener than the summer.

[Ray]

I did go to the Belvedere last year at the end of the season (early Oct), and had a blast. Honestly I traveled through Tuscany for 4 days before getting there and I'm not sure that the Rimini/Urbino/San Marino/Carpegna area suffers that much by comparison. I mean you look around on the rides and pretty much go "yup this is what italian wine country looks and feels like."
My feelings exactly - I spent a week at the Belvedere back in 2010 and it was one of the peak cycling experiences of my life. It's at the beach, so you don't expect much, but it doesn't take long before you find yourself in very Tuscan-like hills, some rolling, some pretty tough. And San Marino is as epic a climb as I personally ever need to do. I know there are bigger badder ones out there, but when I got to the top of that, I felt like I'd worked for it.

And, yeah, the food is insane. Lunches and breakfasts are good - dinners were flat out insane. Also a great place to vacation with a non-cycling spouse if he/she likes the beach and you go in summer. I rode about every morning, some days with guides, some days on my own, while my wife read on the beach. Then we'd meet for lunch and then both hang at the beach in the afternoon. It was pretty much heaven...

-Ray

[basilic]

In terms of cycling near Torino: drive 50km west to Susa. One of the best passes anywhere is colle delle Finestre. The last few km is a dirt road, but very doable on a road bike (the Giro went there a few times). From the col you can descend to Fenestrelle on alsphalt (then up to Sestriere), or turn off to the colle Assietta, an old military ridge road that crosses several passes >2000m, lengthwise if you will, all the way to Sestriere, about 35 km. That one is rougher, doable on a road bike but you have to pay attention. from Sestriere descend to Cesana, Oulx, then Susa.
Another good climb out of Susa is Mont-Cenis to the North - the col is in France, past the dam lake. Riding uphill take the small road through Novalesa/Moncenisio, very quiet; back downhill the main road is just fine.