Fitness Check
Come fit, you’ll have more fun!| RATING | DESCRIPTION | MILES/DAY | FEET OF CLIMBING/DAY | AVG. MILES/WK |
1 PIG TOUR |
A short flat tour with most bike
tour companies. While we do have 1-pig days, we don’t offer any trips that
average out to a 1-pig rating. |
30-50 | 1000-5000 | 250 |
2 PIG TOUR |
Plenty of hills. Some long, others steep. Non-regrettable for our standard ride-ready client. |
35-65 | 3000-7000 | 320 |
3 PIG TOUR |
Where we all want to be. One or two long days with hills. Good fitness required but no heroics needed. On the long days our follow- vans are pleased to get some company. |
40-85 | 5000-9000 | 360 |
4 PIG TOUR |
Big hills, big miles, mountains likely…stay tuned. | 50-100 | 6000-10000 | 360+ |
 |
As serious as it gets. Famous mountain passes galore, be FIT and ready for pain – and huge satisfaction. |
General Guidelines
All of our trips are designed to satisfy experienced riders. Two pigs are for
less fit or newer riders. Three-pig trips are for fit cyclists comfortable with
riding hilly terrain almost every day. 80% of our guests are delighted with the
riding challenges on the trips they select. We want everyone to come on a tour
that is right for their abilities and we do our best to steer you toward one
we think will work well for you.
We cannot, however, determine your riding fitness without your help, which is
why we encourage you to read the following information and answer our questions
fully on the booking form. We ask you about your past riding experiences and
make it obvious how hard the trips are.
After nine years of enjoying riding in Tuscany with a thousand guests, we have
seen youths in their 70's ride within their limits, and we have suffered the
spectacle of people half that age on fancy racing bikes feeling very uncomfortable
and disappointed about their physical condition.
In general we can refer to three factors that indicate how a guest will enjoy
the physical demands of the rides we offer:
- Cycling fitness going into the trip (Got miles?)
- Past cycling experience (Have you been riding consistently for over 3 years?)
- Present physical condition (How's your power to weight ratio?)
If anyone lacks
one of these elements they should be aware. For example if Winston tells us “I
love riding and nearly raced in college ten years ago, watch every minute of
the Tour on TV, and I live for Ben and Jerry’s Tourmalet
Crunch Bombs,” we love his enthusiasm, but if he happens to weigh 50 lbs
more than he did when he trained and doesn’t get out much on his bike,
a 2-pig tour is the most appropriate. He will still need to get in some miles
before coming over (see our Training Guide below for specifics).
One of our favorite guests was 67, never stopped smiling, was missing a lung,
and would be one of the last riders on the hills, but was never uncomfortable
due to good riding fitness. Not to mention his attitude.
Age doesn’t seem to matter much to cyclists. Weight does on all the hills
we will ride. Some of our happiest guests weigh more than they’d like.
But they ride regularly, and have a good time. Guests who ride little and weigh
a lot are putting a lot of demands on their bodies and on everyone's humors on
our long days.
BEGINNERS
Beginners should go on our 2-pig trips. Three-pig trips are challenging for experienced riders. If you are a beginner and you want to do all the rides BUT have never cycled on hilly terrain, we will suggest a training program (below). We will also ask for your cooperation in knowing when to hop in our follow van, so that our trips may run as smoothly as possible for all. We aren't looking for heroes on our rides and deeply appreciate cooperative people with great attitudes.TRAINING GUIDE
To participate in a Cinghiale tour, please ride for a MINIMUM of:
- 6-10 weeks consistently immediately before your tour
- 100+ miles per week. More for a 3 pig trip
- At least one hilly ride per week, or as many hills as you can find
- At least one ride per week with other people to get used to riding in a group
Again, this is a MINIMUM training guide in order to not feel overwhelmed by
the terrain. If you follow this guide you shouldbe just fine on a 2-pig tour.
Any riding you do above and beyond this will give you that much more leeway to
enjoy the hills comfortably.
You must meet the minimum requirements for basic cycling fitness outlined
in our Training Guide in order to participate in full. You are welcome
to ride only part of the miles, but you must have at least this much training,
for your own sake and ours.
RACERS
If you are a racer, we welcome you on our trips. However, let us know if you are hoping to "race" this tour, as we tend to stop and smell the espresso on our trips. We love strong riders and provide oodles of challenging miles, but we run courteous trips and take care of everyone, and we expect all our guests to be considerate of slower riders, too.NON-RIDERS
We often book couples where one person rides and the other does not. Non-riders need to have a spirit of adventure, be willing to follow along in our follow van for part of the time, and/or help us arrange alternative activities for you. We can help you rent a SmartCar or a scooter and get you to train stations. Our non-riding guests have a great time exploring on their own or in small groups, then meeting with the main group for meals, planned outings, and to swap adventures.
GUIDES
We have a number of friendly and skilled guides riding on every trip to accompany riders of all reasonable speeds. For the smooth running of the ride as a whole, we need all riders to be able to keep up with one of the groups comfortably, and to know when to get in the van if necessary. We will help all riders get to our destinations, but as a group. We ask that all riders realize that the guides are there to keep the groups moving along, and not for individual coaching. Come fit, with a good attitude! It's the best way to ensure a pleasant riding experience for all.
SUPPORT
All trips are fully supported by a follow-van driven by a mechanic and stocked
with food, water, and a first-aid kit.
For safety's sake you must be self-sufficient
in changing your own flats, but we will help you whenever possible.
While the
van is not a taxi for unmotivated riders, it is there for you to take a ride
when you are exhausted or feeling out of your depth, or if you decide to do only
part of a ride.
The rides need to move along at a reasonable speed in the conditions
of that day. This will be determined by Andy. For the sake of the group getting
to our destination we may ask a slow-moving rider to travel in the follow van
if they are delaying the rest of the group. This is needed primarily for the
long days on any trip.
On the long days of the three-pig trips, we frequently
offer our slower riders the opportunity of a rest day in the second van that
goes ahead to the next hotel. This asks flexibility from our guests.
BIKES
Most of our clients bring their own bikes, but an increasing number opt to rent from
our great local shop, which stocks a very nice fleet of road bikes.
Some of our
clients have Hampsten travel bikes or custom bikes built especially for them
and have a great time riding their new machines on our trips.
Our happiest repeat
clients go whole hog and set up a fitting for a custom Hampsten bike. The hot
tip for today’s traveler is the stunning ti Strada
Bianca model with break-away couplers so the whole bike fits into a regulation
suitcase, thus eliminating all travel hassles with the airlines.
Talk to Steve
at www.hampsten.com
GEARS
Bear in mind a road bike with generous gears is preferred. We have never had a guest regret riding a triple or compact crank on our tours. If you rent, tell us immediately if you think you might need a triple chainring set up. There is limited availability on bikes and gears are determined before the trip, not once you have seen the hills!TRIP LENGTH
Most of our tours are nine days long unless otherwise noted. The ninth day is a non-riding travel day, with eight days of riding and one optional rest day in the middle.EXTRA MILES/SHORTER MILES
Extra miles are possible on all trips. We often take a fitter group on an extra loop on days when we have the time.RIDE POLICY
Cinghiale Tours operates with care and consideration for every rider. We are not a race-to-the-next-town, leave-em-in-the-dust kind of tour company, but make sure everyone is accounted for and supported and having a good time. Getting to the next town isn't our main goal. Rather, we aim to ride at a relaxing pace in good company with other cyclists who also appreciate fine company and camaraderie.A NOTE FROM ANDY ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT ON OUR TOURS
"Everyone who comes on our trips has a great time. However, some
folks take a look at the hills and ask "What’s that?" or "Does
a road actually go over that hill?"… and then, "WE don’t,
do we??".
These reactions can be nasty surprises for everyone. The riders who are
ready to ride hilly routes have a better time than the less-prepared guests.
We
want guests to join us that are fit enough to enjoy a cycling holiday in the
Tuscan hills. Tuscany is renowned for its spectacular sights and rolling vistas
with cypress trees lining undulating lanes on every ridge in sight. In other
words it ain't Kansas and yes, we will have to climb all those hills."
And now, the good news:
"The great news is the roads we will take
are almost as old as the hill themselves. Engineers will know that means the
roads are graded for low horse-powered carts and beasts, starting in Roman times.
With the superior pavement that we will find covering these ancient grades
our bikes will thrive on the gentle grades that comprise 95% of our routes. Most of
the time we will be riding on 5% to 8% grades. Easy as pasta."
– Andy
Getting to the next town isn't our main goal. Rather,
we aim to ride at a relaxing pace in good company with other cyclists who also
appreciate fine company and camaraderie.
THE FINE PRINT
All participants must sign our liability agreement and medical forms.
Helmets are required on all rides.
You must ride safely and within your limits.
No littering.