Tuscan sunset

Tuscany! Il centro del Mondo!
Sold out to private group
September 13-20, 2008
7 nights (Sunday - Sunday)
Castagneto Carducci - Tuscany, Italy

The Tuscan light is peaking in the fall as the grape harvest begins, the pace slowing, and as always, we savor every minute. Enjoy life! It's our motto and the synergy can be felt the moment you and your bike head out on the strada del vino (the wine road). It's the best riding, most relaxed and most enjoyable camp that we do! Join us!

This is the most rural, and perhaps most authentic and surely the least crowded corner of Tuscany. The New York Times lists Tuscany as one of the top places that you need to visit, fortunately our corner of Tuscany is not on the 'must-see' list...as its treasures are less known but all the more rich in their obscurity.

Group riding is fun in Tuscany!

The roads however are in abundance and the scenery stunning. We call it the centro del mondo, the center of the world - because it is mecca for cyclists. You owe yourself a pilgrimage. Whether you are new to camp or you've come to camp before, celebrate our decade in the centro at the Zi's with us! Perfetto.

2007 Tuscany highlights: The weather was nearly perfect from Sunday through Saturday - sunshine and dreamy blue skies.

We rode about 500 kilometers or 300 miles during the week - with our longest day of about 120 kilometeres (70 miles) to Massa Marittima. The most climbing came on the ride to the hilltop jewel town of Volterra - featuring 5000 vertical feet of climbing on undulating roads.

Our ride on the island of Elba was mesmerizing as the turquoise sea shimmered and beckoned, one of the clearest days on record - we felt as if we could touch Corsica. The food - from the first plate of Mauro's tortelli to the last bit of tiramisu - was sublime. We could not have asked for more.

Endurance riders Gary and Russ pedal home from Massa

Enjoy the photo gallery and join us for more of the same - in 2008 as we enter our second decade with our good friends at Hotel Zi' Martino in the centro del mondo.

2008 PRICING: $4,250 shared room, $4,750 single; includes: 7 nights lodging, daily breakfast, guided & supported daily rides, most lunches, six dinners, olive press visit, Bike Camp jersey and Camp tee shirt. Price does NOT include airfare. Price subject to currency valuation surcharge and is based on 1 euro = US$1.40. Deposit: $1,000.

Pisa airport transfer option: $100 each way (one pick up and one dropoff time). Rome airport transfer is also an option, priced depending on group size. Must be booked 30 days in advance. Subject to availability.

What makes this Bike Camp different?

Leaving Elba

We stay in one location, we treat you to unparalleled ride service including daily instructional tid-bits that cover stretching, cornering, group riding dynamics, and the gentle art of pushing yourself. Our professional guides share our passion for cycling. We generally have a client staff ratio of 3:1 including former racers like Laura Peycke or ex-pat cycling enthusiasts like Mark Mahan & Krista Smith - all with a story or two to tell, expertise to share, and smiles on their faces.

Our spacious 3-Star hotel is accustomed to catering to cyclists, the padrone raced in the Giro d'Italia 40 years ago - and he still cranks out the morning café for the group.

Our meals are typically family style, more than you can eat and the best of Tuscan home-cooking. But there is more - we organize excursions to the local olive press, take a walking tour with a local guide of our hilltop town, and do our best to savor the sweetness of small town life. And we transport you to the island of Elba - where we ride the most beautiful part of the coastline and finish with a dip in the sea. It's all part of a cycling week that is truly unsurpassed. Yes!

All rides supported by at least one and often two vans. Group size 25-35 (including guides). Yes!

Bike Camp reserves the right to cancel any camp with less than 10 participants.