Cycling is popular, fun, healthy and a relaxing pastime. Everyone owns a bike of some sort and cycle
lanes abound. Okay, some are shared use lanes with pedestrians but even here there are no problems,
for all cyclists give priority to pedestrians and ride patiently. On the roads, car drivers give way
to cyclists, are courteous towards them and drive carefully around them.
The tooting of a horn is only used to alert a cyclist or group of cyclists that a vehicle is present
and may pass shortly. All cycles have lights (90% have a dynamo) and a bell. Very few riders wear a
helmet, only the fast moving racer types. High visibility clothing is not required.
Any group of roadies out training or racing is given priority to pass through roundabouts with
little loss of momentum. The last rider through always signals his thanks to the waitng car drivers.
In every shopping or amenity area there are plenty of cycle stands for convenience and security.
Obviously this is not any town in the UK, I only wish it were so. However this cycling Utopia does
exist - in Italy. I have just spent a marvellous fortnight there with my wife on the Adriatic Coast
near the town of Cesenatico. Where? The birthplace (and still the home) of Marco Pantani.
The area is as flat as a snooker table for miles. On my last ride of the holiday, we rode about 25k
inland before hitting a hill. The hills do tend to rise up quite suddenly though so they are good
for training. The town is also the starting point for the Nine Hills ride every May. A 210km ride
that had 8,300 participants this year and 10,500 a couple of years ago.
I only found it by chance and was lucky to get cheap Ryanair flights from Glasgow to Stansted then
on to Forli where the hotel owner's son was waiting to take us on the 1/2 hour drive to the hotel.
Now that's what I call customer service. The hotel has a 25m heated swimming pool and is very
popular as a training centre for triathletes early in the year. The owner, Dante Del Vecchio, is a
former racing cyclist who, at 66 years, is as fit as a butcher's dog. He provides loads of
information, routes and ride outs for his guests, whatever level of fitness.
You can tell I was impressed by the place and I thought I should share my experience. If anyone
wants any details of the hotel, I'll be happy to post them. Since I was there in the final two weeks
of the season, the town was fairly quiet with no night life to speak of. It is an old fishing town
with excellent restaurants and numerous pastry and pizaa places. I was after a chill out holiday so
it suited me perfectly.
Oh, and by the way, it is possible to rent good quality road bikes (approx £1200 retail value) for
just 60 Euros (£40) a week if you don't trust the airport baggage handlers with your pride and joy.
Hope this is of use to someone.
regards, Calum