cycling in florence

[mickeydrippin60]

well i am going on hoilday in september and ime takeing my bike. As stated above ime going to florence and was wondering if any one had any tips or new any good routes. i was thinking of doin about 100miles or so. erm i dunno what else to say apart from cheers in advance mike

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Cycling in Florence.....ye gods......chapeau sir. Make sure your insurance is paid up.

 

[mickeydrippin60]

where is chapeau sir and whats the traffic like in florence

 

[Will1985]

Chapeau is French/cycling parlance for respect (lit. "hat's off to you sir").

I would want to get out of the city as fast as possible, but if you are based in the centre that isn't too hard if you're looking to ride to the East or South. I find aiming for a target at halfway distance with something of interest is a good strategy. With this in mind, I recommend heading towards either Arezzo or Siena.

In Italy as a general rule you need to be pretty confident. City drivers can be very impatient, although it is the scooters that you need to look out for. Out of town, cyclists get a lot of respect and space IME.

 

[mickeydrippin60]

i was thinking of heading northwest to barberino di mugello it a small lake that looks nice and looks like a couple of decent hills as well. but i like the sound of going to arezzo then siena the back to florence if i put the route in on google maps its about 140mile but i have all day and there is no rush so i think i mite do that what do you think
and cheers for the reply mike

 

[Alembicbassman]

Italy has some of the best orthopedic surgeons in the world. They have to with such poor drivers and slippery narrow cobbled streets.

Do not cycle in town unless you have very good holiday insurance !

Out of town things are much better.

Pisa is 100km from Florence, well worth a visit. If you don't fancy the round trip the trains are excellent and cheap.

 

[Cathryn]

I used to live in Florence and got about by bike every day with no issues whatsoever!!! Stick to the right, be cautious, dodge the motorini and you'll be fine!! Ignore the doom-mongers...

 

[mickeydrippin60]

cheers cathryn but what are the motorini? i think i will ride out to pisa and see the leaning tower and have lunch then potter home wat is the temperature in florence in september like?

 

[mickeydrippin60]

ahhhhh scooters i googled it lol

 

[Alembicbassman]

Go back to Florence via Livorno town. Nice little Italian port town with boats and stuff.

 

[Cathryn]

cheers cathryn but what are the motorini? i think i will ride out to pisa and see the leaning tower and have lunch then potter home wat is the temperature in florence in september like?

Yep, they're scooters. They're the big threat on the road, but just be careful and you'll be fine. The buses are toxic but I never had anything but respect for the drivers.

September should be pretty damn perfect, but still quite hot. 25, 26? Maybe a bit either side. There are some great climbs around - unfortunately I wasn't 'into' cycling when I lived there, I just used it every day to get around (which is ironic, as I did more cycling in reality) so I didn't really check out the wider Florence area and the hills.

You'll love it though.Amazing place. Eat at Aqua al Due which is gorgeous and not very pricey.