Dreams Come True Moment by Moment on a Ciclismo Classico Tour

Reuniting with Roots. Personal change. Simplicity reached. Friendship found. Health and fitness improved. Traditions discovered. Balance achieved. Adventure captured. Deeper cultural connections. Passion released. Families united at the core. These are just some of the soul-satisfying experiences that regularly occur on a Ciclismo Classico bicycle tour.

Often our big dreams feel out of reach, but what if our travel experiences were so wonderful and life-changing that we discover that our dreams coming true, moment by moment? What if by doing what we love and what makes us happy, whether that is biking along a stunning seascape or pedaling to a hill town with our soul-mate, we realize we are living a dream and the search is over.

Having just spent a dreamy summer with my family cycling and touring Norway, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, I look back and am thankful for the many “dreams” big and small that we fulfilled. We experienced a Ciclismo Family tour (Lofoten, Norway, we connected our kids to another branch of their heritage and saw a new part of the world (Connemara, Ireland), we reconnected with family and our guides in our favorite Italian places (Tuscany and Calabria) and we checked off seeing another great European biking cities and visited with dear our friends (Barcelona).

Most personally satisfying was experiencing my children’s much improved fitness, bicycle skills and appreciation of bike travel (yahoo!).  This dream has been a process which has taken many years of baby steps - trying hard to integrate bicycling in our lives, getting the right bikes, knowing when to push and when to eat gelato and knowing how to turn mom’s boring group photo ops into a “jumping shot” and opportunity for them to have fun and be engaged in the landscape. Finally this process and merging of a parental challenge to a personal zen outcome is knowing in my heart that when they say they hate bicycling (and they do many times) that it’s more about the headwinds, their hunger, their saddle discomfort, the challenges they feel in their young bodies and that this moment, like so many in raising children, will pass.

In my 35+ years of bicycle travel, this has been my experience: I spin through a beautiful landscape. My mind expands. My senses soar. I create memories. My heart and battery is charged. Life is good and I can’t wait for more.

Ciclismo Classico strives to jumpstart your dreams by creating this magical connection between you, the landscape and the local culture. We don’t just hand you an itinerary and a bike, we set the stage, engage you and work hard to provide an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime experience. We take this Ciclismo DIFFERENCE born and perfected in Italy, the Land of Cycling, wherever we ride.

In 2011 we are proud to introduce three NEW Beyond Italy tours that reflect our commitment to creating the WORLD’s BEST RIDES: Bike Across Scotland, European Odyssey, and The Best of Western Ireland. We are expanding our hugely popular More Miles for Less Tours with new rides in Sardinia, Puglia, and the Western Alps . Like all our tours, each tour new promises to combine gorgeous roads, learning opportunities and cross cultural exchange.

I founded Ciclismo Classico in 1989 as the FIRST company to specialize in Italian bicycle tours.  My simple yet bigger vision: to inspire people to embrace cycling as a soulful form of travel that connects each one of us with the. Twenty one years, thousands of miles, ecstatic guests, delicious meals and wonderful memories later, our passion for bicycle travel grows stronger. Best of all, regularly riding a bicycle any distance is one simple and joyful way we can all make the planet more sustainable and better place.

A bike ride with Ciclismo Classico always reminds me of how life should be:  Active, fun, delicious, educational, flowing, energizing and always connecting with beautiful places, its peoples and other curious travelers. After a week on a Ciclismo tour, your will not only feel more connected and part of one big cycling family, your realize that life itself is a dream waiting to happen. Let us get your dreams rolling in 2011!

Happy pedaling!