Following the Giro

[Deleted]

My Girlfriend and I are wanting to follow the last week of this years Giro. We thought flying in and out of Milan and hiring a camper van/RV would be the way to go so we can take our bikes and bike boxes and be relatively independent. However I am having some trouble finding options on the internet for rentals out of Milan. We would really like to take our bikes so we can enjoy a bit of riding while there and maybe test ourselves on a couple of the famous climbs.

Does anyone out there have any alternative suggestions/advice/guidance or if anyone else is interested in doing something similar let me know.

[Forum Admin]

Maybe check out the other thread - "giro"? There's a whole gang heading out to Chamonix to meet up with Kevin & Julene and to watch some stages of the Giro from there. I'm sure you'd both be welcome.

[Deleted]

I've just entered the "Giro d'Italia Dolomiti Stars", which is the Giro's version of the Étape du Tour. A mountainous loop of 170 Km, with a shorter option of 110 km, start/finishing in Arabba. (The Dolomiti Stars is apparently the name of a group of ski lift owning companies in various Dolomite resorts, who are helping sponsor the event).

www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/ChallengeGazzetta/2005/

Unlike the Étape it's not (yet) massively over-subscribed with entries, so in theory you could enter anytime pretty much up to the day beforehand.


There are similar ones also arranged for both the Milan-Sanremo and Tour of Lombardy, both being the final 100 Km or so of the pro race routes, taking place on the day after those races – sort of like the Tour of Flanders weekend: watch the pros and ride the course yourself.

[Forum Admin]

With Chamonix being - effectively - directly on the Italian motorway network, this could be a feasible excursion from the 'base camp'...

[Deleted]

Thank you for the offers and suggestions. We have decided to take trains instead of a vehicle and base ourselves in Como and Trento. Trento appeared to be a particularly good option as there a four stages which start or finish relatively near by.

Previously when travelling with our bikes we have just used cardboard bike boxes to transport them. However we are considering using bike bags as the cardboard boxes are rather cumbersome and hard cases would probably mean pushing the baggage weight limit on BA. Does anyone have any particular recommendations for bike bags or have any negative or positive experiences related to using them over cardboard boxes or hard cases?

Also any recommendations for bike friendly accomodation near to Trento and guidance with regards to the italian rail system and travelling with bikes would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Eddie Rosser

p.s. I do hope to be able to come for a ride some day soon but I presently work particularly unsociable hours and am also trying to squeeze in some study (although I only have 2 more weeks of study left).

[Deleted]

You could try here -

HOTEL MONTE BONDONE
LOCALITA' VANEZE, 72
Fraz. VANEZE
I- 38040 MONTE BONDONE, Italia

Tel [phone]
Fax: [phone]

E-mail [e-mail]

It's about 1300m up Monte Bondone (which I think is on one of the stages this year), just outside Trento. I stayed there a couple of years ago and it's very bike friendly - it's run by Paolo & Denise (who speak excellent english) though it might be a bit pricey - I was on a group deal so I dont know what the rates are.

I did a great ride up over Monte Bodone, down to Riva del Garda then back up to Trento via Rovoretto, a lot of it on dedicated cycle tracks alongside the river in the Trento valley.

Getting there by train is dead easy, I flew to Bergamo, got the train to Verona and then a connection to Trento - you can plan train travel on the net then just bowl up and buy your tickets at the station (you might need a bit of phrasebook italiano to get by). Some trains have dedicated racks for bikes, others have a sort of guards area, I never had any problems getting my bike onto a train. (or bus for that matter)

I use a generic padded bike bag which is branded as Evans, Cyclesurgery, Tifosi etc. It has a shoulder strap and most importantly, wheels at one end so you can roll it along. It comes with padded wheel bags. I put pipe insulation on the frame and stuff bubblewrap, clothes etc inside for extra padding (see the Tenerife pictures in the DP photo album for more tips). I've not had any mishaps so far...........

Ian

[Deleted]

Decathalon made a good one, not on their website, but worth checking for. Hard-base with internal fork clamps, protection for rear mech, padded sides, skate wheels at one end and solid strapping. wa about £80/90 a couple of years ago. Got to Oz and back without any mishaps with one...

[Deleted]

I'm selling 2 bags, the decathalon one mark is talking about, And a large padded dhb one
£110 for the pair

Or £70 for the decathalon, £50 for the DHB

[Deleted]

Thanks for the suggestions. I contacted Hotel Monte Bondone and they were very helpful but we decided that it was a little bit out of our price range and we would probably be better off staying in the valley rather than having to face a climb up the mountain each day to get back to the hotel. We managed to find a nice looking little farm stay just out of Trento which will hopefully do the trick. Thanks for the reassurance re the train travel also. My girlfriend has been doing a crash course in italian recently so we should be able to get by on the communication front.

Ronnie - I am interested in the bags if you still have them for sale. Do you have any pictures? Why is the DHB bag cheaper than the Decathlon bag?

Cheers

Eddie

[Deleted]

I have one of those Decathlon bags – they are great. I saw mine being dropped 2 metres onto runway tarmac from an overloaded and too fast-moving luggage trolley at Paris airport, yet the bike was/is absolutely fine. Good for taking on Eurostar or TGV too because they just about fit through the luggage security scanner and into the suitcase racks on the trains.

[Deleted]

Eddie i will try and send you a couple of pictures tonight

[Deleted]

Sorry, looks like I chose to hide my email address when setting up my account. Best address to send pics to is my work one...

[e-mail]

[Deleted]

have sent you an email

[Deleted]

Ronnie

Sorry I forgot to cc my personal email when I sent you one from work on Friday - had a reasonably hellish week. Send me a text or give me a call on 079 3214 5199.

Cheers
Eddie