here is something that you should know straight out of the saddle when considering a Tuscany bike tour - Tuscany is officially 92% hilly.
Think about that - 92% of the time, you are either going up or coming down. Logically therefore, 46% of the time, you are riding your bike up hill!
A Tuscany bike tour really does offer some truly wonderful rides. But this hilly fact really does separate the enthusiast cyclist from the casual vacation bike rider.
Cycling to be Enjoyed? Take an e-Bike
Riding a bike through Tuscany is something to be enjoyed not endured.
This is why at Inspired ITALY we create Tuscany bike tours using only e-bikes. The casual cyclist often underestimates the Tuscan terrain at their peril. Add in such factors as the warm/hot weather and a Tuscan bike tour for the unprepared is an endurance test by bike!
Below is a typical altitude profile of a ride taken from our Tuscany e-Bike Safari itinerary.
It shows the altitude profile of a ride from Villa Vignamaggio via Greve in Chianti to Radda in Chianti. The time shown below is the estimated elapsed time to cover this ride on an e-Bike.
28.22Km | 1:38h | +776 m | -588 m
Ride Together through Tuscany
The modern pedal assist e-bikes enable the rider to select their level of assist, from ‘off’ through to turbo.
Do not be lulled into a false sense of security though, this is a bicycle - when you stop peddling there is no power. Even in turbo on those climbs, you’ll be spinning quite hard.
Following his Tuscany eBike Safari, we asked Dave if there was anything that disappointed him, "My waistline". Oh how we laughed ....
The Tuscany Bike Tour Calorie Count
To give you some indication, our Fragrance & Flavours adventure 8 days, 7 night Tuscany bike tour consumes around 4,000 calories over six cycle days and if you cycle each and every day.
That is an average of around 700 calories per day. Depending upon your use of the pedal assist, you might burn more.
Self Guided or Guided?
We have long since dispensed with the maps, notes and seat of the pants navigation. Our navigation systems are driven by the latest large screen GPS turn-by-turn satellite navigation from Bosch.
Those clever German engineers have developed what must be the worlds most advanced and comprehensive bike GPS system. It really puts the power of navigation in the riders hands.
Your Tuscany Bike Tour itinerary is loaded for each day, dived as morning and afternoon sections. Of course, you can still take matters into your own hands, if you so wish, but we’ve been to a great deal of time and effort to find the best cycle routes.
So Why Go Guided?
On the self/GPS guided bike tour, sure you get to see the terrain, the views, but the guided bike tour brings it all to life. The local history, the side lanes, the flora and fauna, the folklore and shaggy dog stories from ancient and modern history.
Riding with an Inspired ITALY Leader is like riding with your friend. They aren’t just there to be followed. They live here. This is the place that they have made their home and they want to tell you all about how wonderful it is.
You get to share the experience with a few others and we strongly believe that the very best experiences are shared.
A guided bike tour of Tuscany is going to reveal far more about the area than a simple GPS itinerary.
Weather
September into October tends to be the obvious choice for a Tuscany bike tour. But May into June, in our opinion is just as strong a contender.
Here is a whole page on May/June v September/October.
▪︎ Spring vs Fall? Best Month for a eBike Adventure in Italy
Wine
Tuscany produces some of the world's best-known and loved wines. \
Surely you cannot take a bike tour in Tuscany without taking the opportunity to taste a little Chianti, Brunello or Nobile di Montepulciano. Perhaps the anti-establishment ‘super Tuscan’ take your fancy. Fact is, there are a huge number of vineyards all very keen to have you visit.
We’ll just give you a few special ones to call in on, like Ciacci Piccolomini D'Aragona, Livernano, Fèlsina or Vignamaggio.
