Toscana is always an adventure, but we love sharing it with friends - both new and old. Have a peek at our photos in the photo gallery!

Interested in your own Tuscan holiday? Contact us and let us know!

Yes, riding the race (for Mark) and photographing/spectating (Kristine) at the event was amazing, but it was the days that led up to the event that had us both 'over the top' in love with L'Eroica. Seeing a little Italian town transform back into the past -- the piazza fill up with bike enthusiasts selling crates full of every bike part you can imagine, vintage cycling jerseys hanging from tent rails, bikes from bygone eras parked up against buildings, old-fashion facial hair to match the vintage jerseys and old bikes and a 'pop-up' cycling photo journalism museum in the town's recreation building sharing photos of the sports earliest heroes -- had us both ready to make this an annual trip.

Now that the event is over, and we are back in the states, we (yes BOTH of us) find ourselves seeking out all things L'Eroica. So, in that spirit, we wanted to share a blog with you. It's all about bikes/bike parts, it's all about vintage, and well...it's just cool.

http://www.eroicacicli.com/

 Want to check out photos of our L'Eroica trip? See our Photo Gallery. Interested in checking out this event for yourself? Click on our Upcoming Itineraries. Need one of our trip brochures? Contact Us!

Ciao!

The routes have been determined for the Tour of California and Bella Vita Vacations is busy planning our Tour of California Lake Tahoe Trip!

We happen to think Lake Tahoe is one of the most gorgeous places in all the world, let alone the #1 place to visit in California. The lake has something to offer everyone - cyclists, hikers, photogs, nature-lovers, history buffs, kids and more. It's a great place to kick off Spring and we are looking forward to sharing our slice of Lake Tahoe while participating in a 'Lake Tahoe First' - the start of a premiere cycling event.

Stage One - Rolls out of South Lake Tahoe and heads in a clockwise direction up the western shore of Lake Tahoe, where the riders will encounter the first of three KOMs (“King of [the] Mountain [climbs]”) on this stage at Emerald Bay (elev. 6,850’). The race will then continue north and descend into Tahoe City while working its way through the small towns on the north shore and past the casinos in Stateline, Nevada. The race will then continue to hug the shoreline on Lakeshore Blvd., ultimately connecting with Hwy. 28 to make the return trip to South Lake Tahoe. This will be the first time the Amgen Tour of California will venture outside of the Golden State. The 27 miles of race route in Nevada will provide compelling scenery, including Spooner Pass (elev. 7,000’), the second of the day’s KOMs, from which the beautiful blue waters of Lake Tahoe can be seen. Continuing south, the race will pass through South Lake Tahoe and head back north for another half lap around the lake. At King’s Beach on the north shore of the lake, the racers will make a left turn on Hwy. 267 and start the final 7.5 run to the finish, but waiting for them will be the 1,000’ climb to Brockway Summit that will take them to the highest point of the stage at 7,200’. After a quick descent and a left turn onto Northstar Dr., the racers will face the final 300’ of climbing up the 1.5-mile route to the finish in North Lake Tahoe at the spectacular Northstar at Tahoe Resort.  

Stage One provides BVV clients ample opportunity for viewing the race. And if you dare to ride the route, Mark will happily be your guide!

Stage Two - One of the longest stages of the race, Stage 2 has “sprinter” written all over the race route. Starting at the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics and one of the largest ski resorts in the U.S., the riders will head north to the town of Truckee and then west past the infamous and rugged Donner’s Pass. At 7,100’, this will be the only KOM of Stage 2. From here it will be a more than 7’000’ of descending to the State’s Capitol (elev. 25’) in Sacramento.

Like Stage One, from our location, there are also great viewing options, including participating in the starting activities. This route is actually one of Mark's favorite rides when we visit the lake.

We hope you'll consider joining us for this amazing race event 'in our own backyard'. For more information, contact us!

Based at a wonderful Villa at the center of the Chianti region, this trip promises to be memorable. As is our tradition, we have lots of great activities planned, but customize to our clients' desires. Contact us for more information! Space is limited on this trip.

The Bella Vita Tahoe residence offers a fantastic view of the lake and classic mountain-resort accommodations.  The Bella Vita Team provide the finest home-cooked meals, fine wine, and personal attention not found with larger tour groups.  Space is limited so book your trip with us now.  Easy shuttle transfers are available from Reno airport and  rental bikes are available if you wish to travel without your own bike(s).  Contact us for more details. 

Ciao

Bella Vita Vacations

Stay tuned to our blog for updates and photos of our amazing trip!

Ciao tutti!

The 2010 Giro's stage 7 will cover some of the same strada bianca as the Montepaschi Stradi Bianche Toscana race.  Enjoy a week of riding in the beautiful rolling Tuscan countryside. 

Our 2nd tour for 2010 is planned for May 13th through 17th and will include watching stage 7. What will make this stage infamous are the 2 10km-long stretches of Stada Bianche, the famous white gravel roads that traverse the region.    Our tour will be based out of a gorgeous villa in the heart of Tuscany's Cianti wine region.  This area provides amazing riding offering both hilly and flatter routes, as well as the Stada Bianche that criss cross the area.  Aside from the great cycling, we will tour local castles, participate in wine & olive oil tastings at neighboring wineries, take part in authentic tuscan cooking classes and so much more.   For example, Castel Brolio dates back to the early 12th century and is still a residence for the Ricasoli family and home to their winery.   We will also do a wine tasting tour of the Volpaia Winery in nearby Radda in Chianti.  This medival village and winery dates back to the year 1172 and is an amazing example of old wine-making tradition utilizing some surprising modern day technologies.

Bella Vita Vacations tours are all custom-tailored to our clients needs for the ultimate Italian cycling vacation.  We offer complete all-inclusive packages with aiport pick-up/drop-off, transportation to all site-seeing events, accomodations, and food (breakfasts and dinners).  Professional mechanics on staff to assist as needed.   Our tour packages are designed to offer unique cycling and site-seeing experiences in Italy without the stress of doing everything yourself. 

Our first tour is planned for March 1st through 8th and will include watching the 1-day classic Montepaschi Stradi Bianche Toscana (formerly Monte Paschi Eroica).  This is an amazing race that covers 190km of beautiful Tuscan countryside.  What makes this race famous are the 57km contested over the Stada Bianche, the famous white gravel roads that traverse the region.  The race also has a unique finish in Siena's Piazza del Campo.  Siena also offers fantastic shopping and site-seeing opportunies.  For a real shopping experience, the Prada Outlet store in nearby Montavarchi is a must.   Our tour will be based out of a gorgeous villa in the heart of Tuscany's Cianti wine region.  This area provides amazing riding offering both hilly and flatter routes, as well as the Stada Bianche that criss cross the area.  Aside from the great cycling, we will tour local castles, participate in wine & olive oil tastings at neighboring wineries, take part in authentic tuscan cooking classes and so much more.   For example, Castel Brolio dates back to the early 12th century and is still a residence for the Ricasoli family and home to their winery.   We will also do a wine tasting tour of the Volpaia Winery in nearby Radda in Chianti.  This medival village and winery dates back to the year 1172 and is an amazing example of old wine-making tradition utilizing some surprising modern day technologies.

Our 2nd trip for 2010 will be in October to coincide with the L'Eroica, the period cyclotouristic rally for which the pro 1-day race Montepaschi Stradi Bianche Toscana was modeled after.  Truly a unique event that takes a step back in time to the heroic early days of cycling. Amazing atmosphere and camaraderie. This tour will also be based out of a fantastic Tuscan Villa in the Chianti region and will include a tour of Castel Brolio, wine & olive oil tasting tours of the Ricasoli and Volpaia wineries, and much more.  An optional 2nd week will include watching the Giro di Lombardia which is the weekend after L'Eroica and some fantastic riding days in the picturesque Dolomites.

Bella Vita Vacations tours are all custom-tailored to our clients needs for the ultimate Italian cycling vacation.  We offer complete all-inclusive packages with aiport pick-up/drop-off, transportation to all site-seeing events, accomodations, and food (breakfasts and dinners).  Professional mechanics on staff to assist as needed.   Our tour packages are designed to offer unique cycling and site-seeing experiences in Italy without the stress of doing everything yourself. 

Contact us now if you're interested! We will book up fast for these events!

Brian Roberts from Goodyear, Arizona joined Kristine and I for the entire trip.  Our first week included a few days in Abruzzo riding the lower slopes of the Appenine Mountains.  The warm weather and clear blue skies followed us up into Tuscany for a few day, where we spent a day in Sienna, toured the Volpaia Winery, went to Brolio Castle and stopped for some wine tasting at the Ricasoli Winery.  Brolio Castle is almost perfectly preserved and is still a full-time residence. 

For the second leg of the trip, we headed back to Abruzzo and picked up Scott and Katharine Elliot in Rome on the way.   While in Abruzzo, we went to watch stage 17 of the race.  That stage finishes with a monster climb and we arrived early enough to pick a great spot to camp out in the small village of Pretoro, where the climb really kicks upward, then ride those those last 15kms to the stage finish.  I did manage to ride the additional 5 kms beyond the finish to the actual Blockhaus summit, which rough roads and lingering snow kept the stage from going all the way up.   There was just enough time to ride back down before the road closed and we watched the approaching helicopters and race caravan come through.  The riders eventually came by more-or-less groupo compacto.  Di Luca was the regional favorite but Menchov stayed glued to his wheel all the way up.  Pellizotti snuck away early in the climb and stayed clear for the win.  Di Luca attacked repeatedly but never could shake Menchov until the final 100 meters.   Armstrong put in a solid effort to chase down Pellizoti but never could make up much ground and finished well off.   Once the race came through, we headed back to Roio for a quite dinner.  The last fews days of the trip was spent in Rome.  We spent one very-full day doing the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and a quick trip over to see the Vatican.  Our apartment for the weekend was right on the Piazza Navona and was amazing.  The final day of the trip was spent watching the final time trial though the streets of Rome.  We had a perfect spot right at the start chute.  Once the last riders went off, we walked across the piazza to catch them coming back into the final couple km's .   Some light rain had been falling off and on for the last 20 riders going off, but Menchov had the worst of it since he was last. After Menchov flew past us, apparently he fell in the last km only to recover quickly and take the Maglia Rosa home.

All in all, we had a fantastic time. Two weeks filled with riding the Italian countryside - Abruzzo mountains, 'Strade Bianche', and along the shoreline of the Adriatic - lots of wonderful site seeing, good food and most importantly, we had great company. It was great to spend our travels with our new friends Brian (Harv), Scott and Katharine. Grazie tutti!