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Bicycle routes in Tuscany between Siena and Florence |
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It's generally agreed that the bicycling possibilities throughout the Chianti region are extremely good - smooth roads, beautiful scenery, challenging climbs, long down hill runs, and historical sites and vineyards on almost every route. Greve lies right at the centre of the great ride from Siena to Florence, and is in fact an excellent base for circuits literally to all four points of the compass. I'm hoping that cycling enthusiasts will contribute some notes for this page, but in the meantime I refer you to some links and an excellent book.
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E-Bike tours in Tuscany
 An excellent way to really learn what Tuscany is all about is to join an e-bike guided tour of the Tuscan countryside and its castles, monateries, villages and town. Our recommended Tuscan e-bike tour operator is Tuscany Quintessence who offer single and multi-day guided e-bike tours through various parts of Tuscany, with accommodations, meals and much else included. |
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The main ride is the Sienna -> Greve -> Florence route
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White road bicycling in Chianti |
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 Greve in Chianti –> Panzano –> Radda –> Castellina
About 40 km, hilly, half to a full day
Leaving Greve from the pointed end of Piazza Matteotti, turn left at the Greve church and then right again onto the SS 222 (Via Chiantigiana) in the direction of Panzano. Continue straight on past the turn-off to Lamole until you reach Panzano. Continue downhill on SS 222 and after 3 km turn left off the SS 222 onto road towards Lucarelli. Continue on to Radda in Chianti. It's not necessary to ride into Radda but it's worth a quick look. Before reaching Radda, or after returning a short distance from the town centre, take the road for Castellina. You’ll reach an intersection with SS 222 again, turn left onto SS 222 and after 1.5 km you will arrive to Castellina. |
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The best book I have been able to find is Guida Cicloturistica del Chianti. It is written in Italian but its maps, profiles and photographs make it invaluable even if your Italian is not all that good.
Published by: nuova immagine editrice, Via S. Quirico, 13, I-53100 Siena (SI), Italy.
Fax 0039 0577 44 633 ISBN 88-7145-143-0.
Be sure to tell them that you heard about the book on this web site.
The book provides details of 20 itineraries in the Comunes of Castellina, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole, Greve and Radda, with 32 excellent maps, route profiles (heights, distances, type of road, incline, things to see, including photographs to help you identify architectural landmarks on the way. |
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Guida Cicloturistica del Chianti
Giancarlo Brocci and Fabio Masotti
Associazione Parco Ciclistico del Chianti
Piazza Ricasoli, 50
I-53013 Gaiole in Chianti (FI) |
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Click on the image to the left to gain an idea of the scale of the maps in the Guida Cicloturistica del Chianti. |
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Another excellent cycling guide is published in English and German by the specialist German publishing house Esterbauer.
The Cycling Atlas Tuscany has been assembled by a group of cycling enthusiasts and consists of 23 circuits grouped by area: coastal Tuscany, southern Tuscany, eastern Tuscany, Chianti (four tours), and northern Tuscany. The ring-binding is strong and seems sweat-resistant. The font of both the text and maps is quite small but both text and maps are detailed and extremely informative. There are photographs that provide a bit of atmosphere plus height/steepness profiles and an annotated list of the main sights in each town on the circuit.
The four Chianti routes are:
• Florence to Sienna via Greve, consisting of four tours
• Destinations around Radda
• Sightseeing tour through Chianti (including Monteriggioni)
• The hilly scenery between San Gimignano and Volterra (including Certaldo)
This book is listed on Amazon.co.uk at an inflated price. It would be best to order it from the publisher's website where it is listed at € 15.50. |
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Cycling Atlas Tuscany
An original cycling tour book
Verlag Esterbauer GmbH
ISBN 3-85000-049-4 |
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Mit Stöppel Unterwegs.
Toskana
Ralph Eder
Spöppel Verlag, Weilheim
ISBN 3-89306-072-3
This is another good book which is available in German - I don't know if it has been translated. The author provides 30 tours, most of them south of Florence, but several around Lucca and Carrara. The maps are small but clear, and there is a great deal of information on things to see on the routes, plus information on where to park your motorised transport. |
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Buy it at Amazon
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Italy by Bike
105 Tours from the Alps to Sicily
Touring Club of Italy, 2004
ISBN 88-365-2938-0
This book provides 105 detailed itineraries including one in Switzerland and one in Austria, with several routes exclusively for mountain bikes. Of these, 46 are easy and on lightly trafficked roads (for families, beginners), 41 are for experienced riders and 18 are physically demanding. 105 maps and 200 photos.
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There is also the following German book, now out of print:
Genußradeln in der Toskana mit Elba
H. Dumler
Weltbild Verlag
ISBN 3-89652-074-1
In my opinion the routes in this book depend too heavily on the main roads and could be dangerous, especially on weekdays. |
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The open road - cycling in Tuscany! |
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Country life - bicycling in Tuscany! |
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