The PezCycling Travel & Tours section hosts our own personal accounts of cycling travel, top rides and places we've visited, places to stay, eat & drink, compiled over more than 14 years of road cycling in the world's best places. Be it a Classic, the Giro or Tour, the Worlds or a national Tour, riding your bike on the same roads as the pros is a luxury that sets cycling apart. Let us know if you've got a Top Ride or Travel story worth sharing with other readers at Content@PezCyclingNews.com.
October - Festive, Fun and the Fall: The days are getting shorter, the leaves are starting to fall as is the temperature. Not to worry, you can still have a lot of fun in October and Peter Easton of VeloClassic Tours shows us how and where.
I recently talked with CycleItalia's owner Larry Theobald to talk about his new operation, Piedmont Cycling Resort. Hotel Ariotto has been CycleItalia’s northern Italian HQ since their start and now they’re featuring what they describe as more than a bike hotel, a true cycling resort.
"Spectating at Il Lombardia" was the subject of the email from PEZ-Fan Ron V. looking for tips on chasing the 'Race of the Falling Leaves'. I had the perfect itinerary for him - since I'd already done it in 2015. With the calendar's last big event coming Oct 7th, here's a nice little read and photo book that I think captures the epicness and essence of beautiful race in a truly beautiful setting.
We're long time fans of the Garda Bike Hotel - family run hospitality as only the Italians can offer, top notch riding for all levels, excellent location in the wine country near Verona. But I thought maybe you'd like in a second opinion - so I talked with Calla Barras - serious cyclist and serious traveller - about what makes the Garda Bike Hotel one of Italy's best bike hotels.
The ErgVideo team not only builds great software, but they travel to famous cycling destinations with a whole team to create their unique content. Their trip to some of cycling’s monumental climbs in the French Alps resulted in some of their best-ever ErgVideo editions.
The high point of the 2017 Le Tour de France was the mighty Col du Galibier at 2645m altitude. I "rode" it last year with Velo Classic Tours - maybe better to say I hauled my carcass up it. Here's a glimpse of the climb as I get inside 3km to the summit. It really is epic & awe inspiring - a must do.
This time next week - Saturday the 1st of July - the 2017 Tour de France will set off from Düsseldorf in Germany for the three week wheeled battle. As the 'Vaterland' is the home of some of the best sausages in the World, we look back at the Pez Grand Tour appreciation of the sausage.
TOP RIDE: Inside the last 3km to the summit of the 21.5km Col du Glandon, the air gets thin as we approach 1924m elevation, the road tilts to 11% grades, and each meter seems longer than the last one. There's a reason they call this one 'Hors Category'.
Prudential RideLondon is the world’s greatest festival of cycling, taking place on the 28-30 July 2017. Created as a legacy of the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games to inspire more people to take up cycling and showcase London and Surrey, if offers seven different cycling events to participate in or watch over the three day festival.
Negroni Week on PEZ wouldn't be complete without homage to a true maestro of mixology. I speak only of Marco - proprietor of the legendary Barolino in Levanto Italy. I vowed after first discovering his bar at the 2009 Giro to return one day with Mrs. Pez - and order two of Marco's best Negronis.
During an awesome week of cycling in Italy, I stayed at the Lungomare Bike Hotel, where bartender Andrea poured me a perfect negroni - here's how he did it.
Travel Feature: If you’re anything like us, the twists, turns, and drama of this year's Tour de France can’t come soon enough. The Tour has earned its reputation as one of the toughest sporting events for good reason.
The 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia opens with three stages on the island of Sardegna - and then quickly logs a rest day to transfer to Sicily at the tip of the boot. I was there in 2008 for the Big Start, and discovered a city and island unlike any other place in Italy, and after my initial shock, my fondness for the place grew 'con molto veloce'.
For thousands of years, intrepid spirits have crossed the Pyrenees, Alps, and Dolomites—from Hannibal with his mighty elephant herd to the campaigns of Charlemagne and the humble treks undertaken by medieval pilgrims. Today, you’ll see spandex in place of chainmail all over these ranges as cyclists challenge themselves to conquer the bucket-list giants.
What surprised me most about the Fleche Wallonne parcours was just how hard this 200km ‘semi-Classic’ is. There’s nothing ‘semi’ about it… It deserves the prime time and throws up 11 rated climbs, including 3 passes over a 1300 meter brute called the Mur de Huy. Here’s how it happened to me…
Top Ride: The culmination of my visit to Holy Week was the long anticipated, much feared, and never completed ride across the parcours of Paris-Roubaix. Finally I learned what it was like to battle the toughest roads in northern France and earn my own lap of honour at the Roubaix velodrome.
Fancy yourself a hard man in the truest sense - the 'Belgian' sense? Then riding the famous bergs is a must do. Among the countless cobbled strips that dissect the hills of the Tour of Flanders, a few have become famous as cycling paths of the Gods. PEZ takes a ride up the best, and nastiest of them all.
The PezCycling Giro Trip 2017 indulges the culinary senses in some of north west Italy's best restaurants. Peter Easton has hand picked these favorites - as our daily reward for riding some of Italian cycle sport's best stages.
The first day of the PEZ & Velo Classic "Giro della Gazzetta" cycling trip this May opens with a day in Milano - watching the Giro d'Italia final TT stage in one of the world's most fashionable cities. The entertainment never stops here, and viewing the race will be just part of an awesome opening day.
The 2017 Tour de France visits southwest France with a stage finish in the medieval town of Bergerac, and a stage start in nearby Eymet. Allan Reeves of FranceFromInside.com cycling tours is looking to combine his family's nearby Chateau de Pitray and Le Tour for a week of cycling, wine and French living.
