Lynette Chiang Cruises BAI on her Bike Friday....

We were recently honored to have Bike Friday cycling phenomenon, Lynette Chiang on our Bike Across Italy tour. Lynette packs infinite cycling wisdom and genuine pedaling passion into her web site and blogs. She is a cycling touring treasure who effortlessly shares her love of bicycle travel with everyone she meets. Savor and share her web site with friends http://www.galfromdownunder.com and check out her wonderful story on her recent Bike Across Italy tour http://www.bikefriday.com/italy/bai We love you Lynette. thanks! Lauren Here is an excerpt: Imagine pedaling your Friday through the lush, rolling countryside of Italia, nosing your front wheel along cobbled streets of tiny villages bursting with with cheese, wine and designer shoe stores, sitting down to a gourmet multi-course wine dinner at the end of each day, laying your weary helmet in grand, four star historic hotels and charming old world albergos ... Cicilismo Classico (CC, pronounced 'Cheek-LEEZ-mo') is a Boston-based company specializing in this heightened level of cycle touring. There are a number of operators in this niche but as I found, CC strikes a good balance between sufficiently challenging miles and so guilt-free pampered luxury at day's end. Because CC has been recommended by several Bike Friday customers, and principal Lauren Hefferon recently joined the fold herself by acquiring a Pocket Rocket Pro, the company has earned its coveted place as a Friday Friendly Tour Company. In 2007, an Outside Magazine article "Best Trips. Ever." named CC's 'Giro del Gelato' tour as their Trip of the Year - a very prestigious accolade. The Galfromdownunder was privileged to review one of the company's most popular tours: Bike Across Italy. Spanning 'the mid-calf to the mid-shin' of the boot of Italy over ten days, this moderately challenging tour takes in the regions of La Marche, Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio, starting in Fano on Adriatic sea and ending in Porto Ecole on the Mediterranean. The average mileage is about 50 gradually hilly miles per day. What, never heard of those places? If you travel with CC you'll discover there's more to Italy than Rome, Florence and the Vatican. I chose the May 10-20 departure of Bike Across Italy (BAI) because I was told May is warm but pre-sweltering .. perhaps due to global warming, it was hotter than normal, said the guides, Dana and Andrea, following a low-snow season across Europe. he CC website is self-explanatory, with a handy selection feature where you can look at tours by season, region, and the tantalizing 'Tours No One Else Has'. Following is a day by day account of the tour as seen by a cyclist of moderate fitness. The tour is rated intermediate, averaging around 30-50 miles per day. See the above day-by-day accounts for more detail.