Tuscany Gravel Explorer Overview
Our first European foray into running a gravel-specific tour. Where better to start than the home of the ‘Strade Bianche’ in Tuscany? This unique tour embraces quintessential Tuscany but from a more off-the-beaten-track perspective. Designed by our resident gravel fanatic – Guido Gazzaniga (pictured below) – this exciting itinerary will appeal to any of you out there with a passion for finding the road less travelled. Our May Gravel tour dates have been set deliberatley to link with our Montalcino Eroica tour.
Our gateway for this tour is the beautiful city of Florence. From here we are able to explore many of the cycling routes of ‘La Bella Toscana’ that we have got to know so well over the years including the Val d’Orcia, Chiantigiana, and the 7 bridges roads. Our route takes in the beguiling towns of Arezzo Siena and Loro Ciuffenna as well as a plethora of enchanting hill towns along the way. Our refreshments will focus on the Sangiovese grape and general relaxation catered for by the numerous natural springs – ‘terme’ – that can be found en route.
What is gravel riding? A nicely presented video from Shimano that explores the essence of what they believe gravel riding to be all about. Try watching this without an urge to get out there and explore!
Team Members on this Tour
James Geen - Trip Specialist
James has been with Ride and Seek since the start and is one of our most valued guides. A photographer by profession he lives in the Alps with his wife and daughter. During the winter he is kept busy taking photos all over the Alps and then comes on board to guide tours in the summer. Our trip specialist for Provence he has managed to encourage riders from across the ability spectrum up Mont Ventoux. His patience, good humour and natural propensity to guide make him a super popular member of the team with guests and colleagues alike.
First cycling memory:
Priory Park, Southend, first time without stabilisers with my Dad running alongside holding the saddle
Favourite bike:
I'm loving my Cotic Rocket at the moment (Steel is Real!)
Top climb:
Colombier, as it's a great winter ski tour too.
One thing on your bucket list:
Humanitarian photography trip to the Middle East
A special skill you bring on tour:
Random (and often useless) facts, pretty handy with a Pappagallo (repeating verbatim what somebody else is saying) and an english sense of humour.
Favourite Ride and Seek tour gastronomic experience:
Not a classic highlight given what it is - pork tripe sausage - but my experience of eating andouillette on our Provence tour will never be forgotten by me or any of those around me!
Languages:
English, French and 9% Italian (according to Duolingo)
Ride and Seek tours you lead:
Provence, Hannibal, Eroica, 3 Islands
Chris Small - Guide
Chris is an ex professional squash player who represented Scotland throughout his career and came close to a medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Squash took him to Italy where he is now based with wife and 2 kids in the lovely city of Florence. When he retired from playing squash full time he then applied the passion and discipline he had shown with squash to cycling. As well as guiding for Ride and Seek he runs bike tours in Tuscany and is a veritable expert on the Chianti region and all it has to offer – including the wine!
First cycling memory:
Jumping 10ft off the side of a hill on my brother's BMX and landing on rocks and nettles. Bruised and battered but learned a valuable lesson.
Favourite bike:
Current De Rosa SK Pininfarina
Top climb:
Mount Teide in Tenerife
One thing on your bucket list:
Haute Route Alps
A special skill you bring on tour:
Riding 20000km a year keeps me in good shape and allows me to help guests in their moment of need. My passion for cycling means every day on the bike is a good day full of enthusiasm.
Favourite Ride and Seek tour gastronomic experience:
I live in Florence so it is hard to get much beyond a Fiorentina steak and a glass of Chianti in San Gimignano
Languages:
Italian, English
Ride and Seek tours you lead:
Hannibal & custom tours
Guido Gazzaniga -
First cycling memory:
My first ride without training wheels, I was four and I was riding in my parents’ house corridor. I clearly remember I saw the sky one second before crashing into a door.
Favourite bike:
My Bice Bicycle steel gravel bike.
Top climb:
I love the alps, so any climb in the alps would fit, but if I have to pick one I would say the Gavia pass.
One thing on your bucket list:
Two things: the Carrettera Austral and a biking trip across Japan
A special skill you bring on tour:
I’m a stress-free person since 2015, at least when I’m on a bike, but I’m doing pretty well also when not riding.
Favourite Ride and Seek tour gastronomic experience:
There is a gelateria in Pienza that is simply one of the best I’ve ever experienced - and I've had lot of gelato in my life!
Languages:
Native Italian, fluent English and French, conversational Spanish and basic Portuguese
Ride and Seek tours you lead:
the 3 Islands Epic, and Hannibal
Tuscany Gravel Explorer Tour Dates & Prices 2023
| Stage | Start Date | End Date | Days | Cost (Euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscany Gravel Explorer (Spring) | 20th May | 26th May | 7 Days (6 nights) | €3,250 |
| Montalcino Eroica | 26th May | 29th May | 4 Days (3 nights) | €,1800 |
| Tuscany Gravel/Montalcino Eroica Combo | 20th May | 29th May | 10 Days (9 nights) | €4,590 |
| Classic Eroica – Gaiole | 29th Sept | 2nd Oct | 4 Days (3 nights) | €1,800 |
All tours and individual stages are available as a custom tour for your group – contact us for details.
What’s Included?
- Accommodation in our carefully selected hotels
- Meals – hotel breakfasts, snacks en route and pre/post-ride nutrition, lunches including the famed Ride and Seek picnics, multi course group dinners with a focus on the local cuisine.*NB we include occasional independent lunches & dinners to break up the week
- Ride and Seek jersey
- Garmin 1030 use with all routes preloaded
- Ride and Seek water bottle
- Kit laundry service once a week
- Passionate, experienced and knowledgeable guides always on hand to help
Not Included
- Alcoholic beverages
- Bike hire
- Pre & post tour accommodation
Supplements
- Single supplement – Our prices are based on twin/double occupancy. If you wish to have your own room then a supplement is applicable.
Deposit
- To reserve a place on a stage of this tour we ask for a deposit of €1000 (or your local currency equivalent). We also accept payment in GB£ and AU$. The final invoice will include any applicable single supplements and bike hire costs.
Tuscany Gravel Explorer Food & Wine
Tuscan cuisine is characterised by its close association with the land. The unique language of the ancient Etruscans may have all but disappeared but their earthy cuisine lives on in Tuscany. Simplicity is the key to Tuscan cuisine that reflects the region’s peasant traditions and changing seasons. You’ll get plenty of chance to experience the essence of Tuscan gastronomy on the Eroica tour with the rest stops renowned for their novel approach to cycling nutrition. Where else on a cycling sportive would you be offered Ribollita, a hearty soup based primarily on stale bread, cabbage and cannelloni – Tuscan white beans – which is the essence of peasant fare? If you prefer something a little lighter you could always sample Panzanella – a unique a bread salad with tomato and basil. Our personal favourites on the ride though are the salami and bruschetta that are moreish in the extreme!
On the wine front again you won’t be disappointed when it comes to the Eroica rest stops – yes they serve wine! Home to many great wines, Tuscany is the great rival to Piedmont for the mantle of being Italy’s premier wine area. The Tuscans certainly believe that they are deserving of the honour and with Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and the ‘Super Tuscans’ all produced in the region they clearly have a strong case. In the lead up to the Eroica event we will visit our friend’s vineyard in Montalcino for a Brunello wine tasting, as well as exploring the Chiantigiana where a lunch time tipple is almost obligatory.
Written by Australian expat Isabelle Dusi, this book is slightly different from most of its genre in that the author had already been in Montalcino for a number of years before she wrote it. Slow in parts this book nonetheless provides a charming account of Tuscan village life.
Isabella Dusi, Vanilla Beans & Brodo
Written by tour guide Dario Castagno this book provides a humourous insight into some of the extreme situations he has found himself in. Heavy on anecdotes about tourists you hope you’ll never encounter, this book, whilst slightly shallow, is still a good read.
Dario Castagno, Too Much Tuscan Sun -Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide
Finding a book that focuses on Tuscany and the Romans is hard given the all encompassing nature of their empire. As an overview of Roman influence in Tuscany though the Blue Guide does a great job. Be warned it contains over 500 pages but as a definitive guide of the region it is hard to beat.
Alta Macadam, Blue Guide – Tuscany
Iris Origo’s book is a classic that is written in diary form. With an immediacy that only a diary can give, this chronicle of daily life during the Second World War is powerful in its simplicity. In light of the affluence of the area today this book presents an insight into an altogether less fortunate era.
Iris Origo, War in Val D’Orcia – An Italian War Diary 1943-44
Tuscany Gravel Explorer History
Named after the Etruscans, one of its original inhabitants, Tuscany or Toscana in Italian corresponds closely geographically to ancient Etruria. The Etruscans, known mostly nowadays for their impressive tomb sites, withstood the inevitable Roman expansion for a century or two until succumbing in the mid 4th century B.C.
Roman rule lasted close to 8 centuries and besides a few minor hiccups (such as Hannibal!) the region flourished. Road networks throughout Tuscany facilitated transport and trade and settlements on the sites of modern Florence, Lucca, Arezzo, Pisa and Pistoia prospered.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century BC, and brief occupations by the Byzantines and Ostrogoths, Tuscany became a Lombard duchy (6th-8th cent. A.D.), with Lucca as its capital. Charlemagne destroyed the Lombard kingdom and the Frankish Empire ruled from the 8th to the 12th century. Castles, Monasteries and Abbeys were built, many surviving today, and many of the towns developed into communes independent of the Holy Roman Empire.
The rivalry between these communes in Trade and war was intense and after a period of Pisan dominance in the 11th to 13th centuries Florence became the foremost city in Tuscany. The relative peace that followed, initially ruled over by the Medici, was the catalyst for the prolific artistic style that identifies the area today and is known as the Renaissance period. This period marked great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe.
After the Medici, Tuscany was ruled by the Austrian Dukes of Lorraine. The Dukes of Lorraine modernized and developed the area but in 1861 Tuscany voted in favour of annexation to a united Italy. Florence was briefly, prior to Rome, capital of the kingdom of Italy from 1865 to 1871.
Sunset on Siena – photo taken by Antonio Cinotti
A once in a lifetime experience. It was challenging, but fun, a great festival and full of nostalgia and atmosphere. James our guide on the day was incredible and the food and wine were superb along with Ride and Seek’s knowledge of all things Italian. My biggest worry was Anne-Maree as a non rider, in terms of what would she would do whilst I was riding. The way she was included in the group made the trip an unforgettable experience for us both. Thanks again Dylan to you and your colleagues, it was a special ride.
Dave – L’Erocia & Tuscany
I didn’t fully understand what I was in for, but the tour far surpassed my expectations. The rides leading up to the event, visiting Nostra Vita, the vintage bike preparations, the vintage shopping in Gaiole, our top-notch accommodation at Agriturismo Molinello, and the professionalism of the Ride and Seek crew, made this week one of my all-time favorites. I’ll be coming back next year!
Sarah R – L’Erocia & Tuscany
Next:
Overview
The Trip
Our first European foray into running a gravel specific tour. Where better to start than the home of the 'strade bianche' in Tuscany?
Email me the Tour Overview Book Now Schedule a CallTour at a Glance
Tuscany Gravel Explorer (Spring) Dates: 20th – 26th May 2023
Countries: Italy
Number of days: 7 days
Price: €3,250
Grading: 
Eroica Montalcino Dates: 26th – 29th May 2023
Countries: Italy
Number of days: 4 days
Price: €1,800
Grading:
Eroica Gaiole Dates: 29th Sep – 2nd Oct 2023
Countries: Italy
Number of days: 4 days
Price: €1,800
Grading:
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