WHERE WE STAY
We will split our time between two locations in Tuscany.
Castagneto Carducci will be our launching pad. We’ll spend the first night and last three days of the tour cycling our home turf and exploring the nature reserve Macchia della Magona.
Our transfer day will take us away from the coastal Maremma inland to the province of Siena. Here we will base out of a small tenuta near Casole d’Elsa for four nights.
This gives us two long transfer rides of 110km/70miles, two days of loop rides visiting the Chianti region and the Forest di Berignone, and shorter rides returning to the hotel in time for lunch.
GEARED FOR
In Italian Strada Bianca translates to white road. This tour will look for enjoyable strade bianche, and will also take advantage of some gorgeously paved roads. If you love riding on dirt roads for the reward of escaping traffic and enjoy the challenges that come with rougher road surfaces, this is a tour for you. Participants should be well experienced riding gravel roads and have the skills required for stretches of dirt roads with some loose rocks.
This a three-pig tour and will require good fitness to spend longer days on the bike and still arrive at the hotel with a smile. This is not a tour for beginners nor for gnarly bros who want to race and compare scabs.
We will plan our routes riding as many stretches of gravel as is reasonable—plan on 10-30% gravel riding each day.
Bring your favorite bike with 35-45mm tires and a seat bag with spare tubes. Mountain bikes are not necessary and a road bike with sort-of-big tires is not sufficient. Andy will be riding his Hampsten Gravel with 40mm tires and generous gears.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Andy has been talking of a gravel tour since he and Steve first designed the Strada Bianca for Hampsten Cycles. As we see the gravel trend solidifying into the new norm we are excited to have more requests for gravel options on our tours. So for 2024 we invite guests to join us on the roads we choose to ride when we aren’t guiding tours.
Our routes will highlight the more quiet parts of the Maremma, Macchia della Magona, various national and state parks and nature reserves spanning from Volterra to Siena.
Many areas we will cycle through were once part of the Etruscan rule and we will note old ruins and mines of that era.
TRAVEL DETAILS
This tour begins and ends with transportation from the Pisa (PSA) airport.
Pick-up: 11:00 Saturday, Oct 5
Drop off: Sunday, Oct 13: we will coordinate the shuttle time to the Pisa Airport to accommodate the majority of departure needs. We will also provide drop-offs at the local train station in Castagneto.
Please email us your travel information, including arrival & departure details (flight number, times, scheduled trains) when you have them booked. Departure flights scheduled before 8 a.m. may not be accommodated in our shuttle times, so please alert us if you have an early flight.
INCLUDED IN TOUR
Transportation from and to Pisa Airport
8 nights of accommodation
8 breakfasts, 7 dinners, 7 lunches
Guide supported riding, mechanic support, follow vehicle if accessible on our route otherwise nearby
Food and drinks on rides
Limited gravel bike rentals, please send a bike rental form as soon as possible, 250 euros/week
TOUR DETAILS
8 riding days, 8 nights, fly home on the 9th day
Single rooms are limited, there is a supplement of $500, please indicate your rooming preference on the booking form
Deposit of $1,000 is requested upon booking confirmation
Balance of $3,300/$3,800 with single supplement due by July 5, 2024
Weather: It’s hard to predict these days— daytime temps range between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit, but there is always the possibility of wet weather. Evenings and mornings will be brisk.
Limited gravel bike rentals available
