Ciclismo Classico

New York City Wine Tasting

Karen L of New York City, one of Ciclismo Classico’s biggest fans, is hosting a Club Ciclismo Wine Tasting at her home on the Upper West Side.
She and her husband Hugh will welcome you into their home where you can mingle with cycling friends and other Ciclismo Classico alumni.

Come to their event to:
-Find out how their last Ciclismo trip to Western Sicily changed their lives
-See their spectacular and artistic photos of some of the most historic sites in Sicily
-Talk cycling with other savvy travelers
-Learn about Ciclismo Classico’s current specials
-Network and make new friends in your city!

WHERE: The home of Karen and Hugh in the West 80s just off Broadway
WHEN: January 20, 2009
RSVP: Via email (joe@ciclismoclassico.com ) for details. Attendance is free and RSVPs are required.

Buona festa e buona pedalata – happy holidays and happy pedaling!

Join the 12th Annual Jingle Ride

WHAT

Go Donner, Go Blitzen…Go Bianchi and Go Schwinn! It’s time for the annual Jingle Ride in Boston!

Join Ciclismo Classico on the 12th annual Jingle Ride fundraiser CYCLE Kids on December 14! The ride, which starts in Arlington, Mass. and finishes at Quincy Market in Boston has been an annual holiday tradition for anyone who loves to ride, sing holiday songs, and is willing to help raise some money for a good cause. Many participants dress as their favorite holiday characters and decorate their bikes with lights and ornaments. There will even be prizes awarded for the most creative costumes and bicycle decorations!

The beneficiary, CYCLE Kids , is an independent non-profit organization designed to introduce children to the joys of cycling, healthy eating and fitness, environmental awareness and the world of physical science through after school cycling-focused programs.

To make your donation online, CLICK HERE .

WHEN

Sunday, December 14, 2008

10:30am – Registration (riders can also warm up with FREE coffee

11:00am – Ride starts

11:45am – Pedal along Charles River (Storrow Drive side)

12:45pm – Ride through Boston Common with stop at Frog Pond (1pm)

1:30pm – Arrive at Quincy Market, Boston

2:15pm – Return to Arlington via Charles River Bike Path (Memorial Drive side)

3:00pm – Arrive back in Arlington

* All arrival times are approximate

WHERE

Ride starts in front of Jam n' Java (formerly Carberry's), 594 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington Center and continues on bike path to Harvard Square, along Charles River, through Boston Common and finishes at Quincy Market. Ride will return to Arlington via Newbury Street and the Massachusetts Avenue bridge.

COST

Suggested donation is $20 per rider (cash and checks are accepted – payable to CYCLE Kids)

INFO

For more information about participating in the ride, please contact Ciclismo Classico at 781.646.3377 or email joe@ciclismoclassico.com.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Please contact Aigner/Prensky Marketing Group at 617.254.9500.

On the Right Path

By, Sean McFadden

Bicycle tour company charts a course toward continued growth

Lauren Hefferon says she’s always made key decisions in her life around her love for bicycling: It’s why she chose Cornell University in scenic Ithaca, N.Y., to go to college. It’s what’s drove her, ultimately, to start her own international bicycle vacation tour company. And it’s why Italy, which she considers great for biking, is the company’s primary destination point.

“I think cycling is a real American sport, and I think it’s going to continue to grow,” said Hefferon, 46.

Transferring that passion into a business on a sustainable growth track is the ongoing challenge for her Arlington-based company, Ciclismo Classico Inc.

In its 20th year of business, Ciclismo has enjoyed steady growth over the year—but there’s more work to be done, says Hefferon: “It’s about continually gaining market share.”

This year, due to variables such as the economy and the increased costs of doing business in Europe, Hefferon expects revenue to be fairly flat—hitting about $3.9 million, close to the $3.8 million in revenue for the company in 2007.

The company operates between 75 and 100 guided tours per year, and its number of individual tour participants has been in the 1,000 to 1,200 range for the past couple of years, says Hefferon.

“We plateaued.” Hefferon said. “To break the cycle has required a new way of thinking. The growth strategy is not just about bringing great ideas to the table; as you grow, execution of those ideas becomes more complex.”

With an eye toward hitting a target of $4.9 million in revenue and 1,275 tour participants in 2009, Hefferon is making some key moves.

Next month she will introduce a U.S. managing director, Andrew Conway, to her nine-member staff. He will head up sales and day-to-day operations. The company employs seven people in the United States and two, including a director, in Italy; the company also employs anywhere from 25 to 30 tour guides internationally who act as contractors. With Conway in place, Hefferon says, her role is “going to be more strategic.”

While trips to Italy have typically represented 60 percent to 70 percent of her business, Hefferon has diversified the company’s portfolio by adding several new, non-European destinations: Vietnam, Chile and Argentina, and New Zealand. Hefferon is expecting the company will add about $400,000 in sales this year from those trips.

Ciclismo is also looking to strike up operational partnerships with outside organizations. For instance, this summer, the company operated a fundraising ride in Italy for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. Now it’s holding talks with other fundraising groups. It’s also looking to serve as a marketing/operational partner for university outdoor biking programs; it’s already partnered with Stanford University.

Hefferon says Ciclismo hopes to complement its internal sales office by utilizing a network of customers in select markets nationally who will serve as “ambassadors” of the company and generate referrals; in return, they’ll receive trip credits with Ciclismo.

Over the last two years, Hefferon says, the company has received an additional 1,000 referrals through this tactic.

Hefferon said it cost about $3,000 to get the company started in 1988, which she spent mostly on marketing materials. She says she began to generate a profit by year five, at which point the company was operating about 20 tours a year. The company bought its first fleet of bicycles in 2000; it had previously leased them. That same year, the company opened an office in Italy.

Hefferon says Ciclismo has grown organically through word of mouth and by maintaining a strong presence as a biking advocate. With a desire to make a social impact, Hefferon is also a member of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston.

“Serving as an advocate has given me a higher purpose,” Hefferon says.

She admits her business has gotten harder over the years: There’s far more competition (about six large companies and 10 smaller ones, she says), and her expenses, which include periodically replacing her fleet of bicycles, have risen.

“This business is very operationally intense,” Hefferon says. “Every trip has 1,000 details—between the hotels and the meals and people’s bike sizes. You’re in the logistics and detail management business, really.”

Eli Curran, a Marblehead resident who has been on four trips, says “I’ve never had anything but a stellar experience,… They’re really well organized. The people (Lauren) has working for her are really terrific.”

Chris Doyle, vice president for the Adventure Travel Trade Association, based in Seattle, says companies such as Ciclismo are tapping into a growing consumer interest for “experiential travel and also cultural immersion.”

Of Ciclismo, in particular, he adds, “These folks put a heavy emphasis on the guiding experience. They know their product; they have deep knowledge.”

CC on Newsstands!

Ciclismo Classico's award-winning itineraries have been popping up just about everywhere! You can read all about one of our most popular 6-day trips, Assaggio Toscana, in the October 2008 issue of Shape magazine on newsstands now. Also, be sure to check us out in the Travel Examiner at examiner.com.

Ciclismo Classico was also spotted in several other travel pieces throughout the past couple months. Founder Lauren Hefferon was mentioned along with CC in the September issue of Women's Business Journal and on Gadling.com. Lauren also spoke about the company on a July interview that aired on Around the World Travel Rado.

Media outlets loved to hear about our trips, too! In August, Yahoo.com profiled our three incredible Beyond Europe trips to Chile & Argentina, Vietnam, and New Zealand. TraderDaily.com also ran a profile of our spectacular brand new Vietnam trip. Our inaugural PMC Bike Across Italy trip was mentioned in the Arlington Advocate. You'll also find an article on cycling travel featuring CC in the August issue of New England Sports Magazine and a mention of one of our generous discounts was posted on about.com's "Go Italy" blog in June.

Coming soon, be sure to keep your eye out for us in a Taste of the Seacoast Magazine feature on "Celebration Destinations" in October and a Cornell Alumni Magazine profile of Lauren in an upcoming issue.

American Cyclists in Fano to Fight Against Cancer

Cycling is a sport that involves many fans in all the angles of the earth, and many are the ways in order to manifest this love.

For example, every year around Boston (USA) thousands of cyclists participate in a fundraising event called PMC, or Pan Mass Challenge. The riders commit themselves not only to finishing the ride but also to raise money for cancer research. The idea to associate athletic events to a charitable purpose is not new. This event is not only for cyclists; the ones that do that participate at this event want to convey the interest of anyone who wants to contribute to the cause. Just last year $14,200,000 were raised and over 5000 people participate at this event.

This year the event will become international, engaging Italy. Fano, will be the splendid backdrop for this event, thanks to an untiring and very active American entrepreneur who has some roots in Fano. In fact, Lauren Hefferon, has local origins and her maternal grandfather’s last name (Generoso Orazietti) confirms that.

Since 1988 she is the leader of a dynamic company that organizes bicycle vacations.Indeed, many are the overseas citizens interested in riding the roads of the “Bel Paese” on top of a flaming road bike. Thanks to Mrs. Hefferon (but also because of the beauty of the country sites), Fano has for a long time been the starting point of the Bike Across Italy Tour. This exciting tour crosses the peninsula, from the Adriatic Sea to the Tyrrhenian, bringing hundreds of overseas tourists to know our territory.

I hope - the founder explains - that the idea succeeds involving the “Fanesi,” maybe to the point that the people will join the group of American cyclists and cover some kilometers together. The date is Monday morning at 9:30 AM at Amendola Square in the area of the “Lido”. Therefore, next Monday Fano will witness the first International fundraising event. Just to give you some numbers, the group of people that will participate at the first Italian PMC will bike for over 640 Kilometers in nine days and will arrive to Porto Ercole. The town councilor Cavalieri will welcome the American company (who will stay in our city for two days) hoping that such an event will repeat next year with even more participants.

For additional information
lauren@ciclismoclassico.com

Three NEW Trips Beyond Europe

In an effort to expand beyond Europe and to uphold its mission to discover the best bicycling routes in the world, Ciclismo Classico, one of the country’s premier bicycle tour companies, has added three new regions to explore, giving travelers the opportunity to cycle during the fall and winter from October – March. For its 2008-2009 season, Ciclismo Classico has added Chile & Argentina, New Zealand and Vietnam.

“When we started 20 years ago, our focus was on Italy,” says Ciclismo founder and cycling enthusiast Lauren Hefferon. “Over the years we added France, Spain, New England and many others continuing our goal of offering an array of safe, healthy, fun vacations that span Europe and immerse our riders in the culture and cuisine of the country they’re visiting. Now, with the addition of three new continents to our trip menu, new and returning cyclists will experience touring the Ciclismo Classico way in places where the lands are ripe with discovery and the dollar goes a bit farther.”

The company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, has put together these three new tours, all of which include local guides, a fully-outfitted bicycle rental, accommodations and meals, cultural excursions, travel planning and more:

Chile and Argentina - debuts October 25, 2008

Ciclismo’s South American tour is the only one of its kind and offers the option of an 8-day base trip or a 10-day extended trip. Riders will cycle nearly 200 miles of scenic mountain routes with the snow-capped Andes nearby. Along the way, you’ll get the chance to ride by the Seven Lakes, visit five national parks, take a hike to Petrohue Falls, stop at the Curarrehue Museum and soak in the Huife hot springs. The additional two days will feature a trip to Santiago and the Colchagua Valley, an exclusive discussion about Chilean wines with a local sommelier, three private winery visits, and a horse-drawn carriage ride through the Vina Viu Manent’s vineyard. The 8-day trip starts at $3.795/person. The two night post-trip extension is an additional $1,195.

New Zealand - debuts November 16, 2008

This itinerary offers the choice between the base 10-day trip and an extended 14-day stay. The nearly 300-mile journey on the South Island starts in Christchurch and continues along New Zealand’s west coast and through the Southern Alps. During the bike tour, guests will ride the TranzAlpine Train, one of the world’s greatest scenic railway journeys. In addition to great biking, guests will witness a jade carving demonstration, hike to the base of the Fox Glacier in Westland National Park, go sea kayaking, and even visit a sheep farm. The extended package includes an overnight cruise on Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound, the opportunity to ride an additional 100+ miles, a stay in Te Anau, a ride to the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and a steamship ride to Queenstown. The 10-day trip starts at $3,995/person. The optional four night post-trip extension is an additional $1,895.

Vietnam – debuts October 25, 2008

This 11-day ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) features more than 200 miles of scenic and cultural cycling including riverside riding, coastal explorations, mountain passes, rolling hills and small villages. Riders will get the chance to see a traditional water puppet performance in Hanoi, experience a garden and tea stop while cycling through Hue and boat to the Coral Islands off Nha Trang. The itinerary also features exclusive visits to the homes of four Vietnamese experts, a boat cruise on the Perfume River and a ride to the famous Cu Chi tunnels. Guests also have the option to extend this trip for four days for a visit to Angkor Wat, Cambodia, where they will explore the city of Angkor Thom, visit the famous temple complex and a local Cambodian orphanage. The 11-day trip starts at $3,995/person, and the three night post-trip extension is an additional $1,275.

These tours are designed for small groups of between 14 and 18 guests, so space is very limited. A $500 deposit is required to make a reservation. For more information on any of these trips or for other Ciclismo Classico excursions throughout Europe and New England, please visit www.ciclismoclassico.com.

Ciclismo Classico has been recognized by several publications for its outstanding trip itineraries. In 2004 and 2007, Outside Magazine awarded Ciclismo the “Trip of the Year” for Western Europe, and Men’s Journal named the Southern Italy: Sea to Sea trip as one of the “Top 100 Trips on the Planet.” Ciclismo has also been covered by the Denver Post, Bicycling, Business Week and Marin Magazine, among others.

Tour of a Lifetime

Ciclismo Classico has been named as having one of 2008’s “Tours of a Lifetime” by National Geographic Traveler, one of the USA’s premier active travel publications, with nearly 8 million readers annually. The publication’s editors selected our “Sardegna Multisport Adventure”, a family trip combining cycling, hiking and watersports, out of hundreds of submissions in the family category.

“We were thrilled to discover that many outfitters share our vision that travel should ultimately not be acquisitive and superficial but connect us more deeply to the planet and to the people in it,” notes Norie Quintos, senior editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine. “The other wonderful thing we discovered is that one doesn’t necessarily have to rough it to travel authentically and sustainably.

”Ciclismo has named Sardegna their 2008 Destination of the Year, for its dramatic and varied terrain, its distinct culture, cuisine and language, and for its simply dazzling cycling routes and welcoming and friendly locals.

Guests may experience this exotic island gem on three unique trips: Swept Away in Sardegna, Mediterranean Island Hopping combining Sardegna and Corsica, and the Sardegna Multisport Adventure, an 8-day family-oriented tour combining cycling, hiking, exploration and watersports.

For additional information, contact Ciclismo Classico at 1.800.866.7314 or via email.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler

Cycling with La Famiglia: Sicily, The Island You Can’t Refuse

Article in Adventure Cyclist March 2008

Story by Stephanie Ager Kirz
Photos by Howard L. Kirz

The King of Sicily towered over me, sweating liquid aggravation in the hot midday sun. His bare, bloody hand clutched a razor-sharp hacksaw blade. It was just like a scene from The Godfather. Well, sort of. He’d accidentally nicked himself while trimming the tube of my bicycle seat so my feet could reach the pedals.

“Is it short enough for you yet?,” he growled in a thick Sicilian accent.

“Perfect,” I replied standing on my tiptoes at five-feet two inches.

My Husband and I had come here to ride the countryside with a small tour group. Our friends thought we were crazy.

If they weren’t positive we’d be buried in ashes, thanks to a Mt. Etna eruption—Italy’s only active volcano, last known to spit fire in 2002--- they were sure we’d be buried by the mob.

They, too, were undoubtedly thinking of The Godfather.

“Hope you won’t be sleeping with the fishes,” they joked.

We had no such plans. For starters mob activity in Sicily is on the wane and has been for years.

Because we live on a small island in Washington state, we have often sought out other island adventures, such as cycling past the stone Hindu temples in Bali and beating the wind and weather on the Isle of Inishmore in Ireland. The very hilly island of Sicily, however, was not high on my list. It was, of course, my macho husband's first choice.

Our one-hour flight from Rome to Catania on Alitalia was a breeze. With 200,000 residents, Catania is Sicily’s second largest city. When we arrived in Sicily’s major airport, we were greeted by a big, official-looking bus to transport us to the terminal less than 20 feet away. Who had that contract we wondered?

A van soon whisked us off to a rustic country house on the outskirts of Noto, a center for art and culture. We met our small cycling group for the first time and got an overview of the next six days of sightseeing on new bikes.

The Ups and Downs
“Welcome to our shake-down ride,” said the affable Enrico, one of Ciclismo Classico’s more senior guides. “We want to make sure that your new bikes fit properly before we start on our longer rides tomorrow. Is everyone’s seat and handle bars at the right height? You may have already met my good friend and co leader Paolo, who’s working in the back of the shed. We call him the King of Sicily.” His fuzzy grey-black hair looked like a Brillo pad. He nodded up and down, and his hand, wrapped in a bloodstained towel, waved to the group.

“Why do you call him that?” one of the several well-outfitted attorneys on the trip inquired.

“Ah, Paolo, he’s related to practically everyone on the island that the locals call Sicilia,” explained Enrico. “He speaks their language, a special dialect that I, coming from northern Italy, can’t even fathom.”

Separated heart and mind from the mainland by barley a two-mile stretch of the Straits of Messina, Sicilians see themselves almost as a country apart from Italy. La Famiglia has a broader meaning here besides just being a reference to the Mafia.

The family network is a web of unbreakable genetic links that date back generations. But there was something about Paolo. Although he was somewhat smaller in stature, he dressed in all black and reminded us of the character Luca Brazzi, the hulking enforcer in The Godfather. I know it sounds silly, but we couldn’t help but wonder, “Exactly what kind of ties did Paolo have?”

That evening the van drove our merry band of cyclists, consisting of several lawyers, a sales manager, a translator, doctors, retirees, newlyweds and my husband and me, to a small family-owned restaurant. I was dreaming of the local Sicilian specialty called caponata: local olive oil drizzled over grilled zucchini, eggplant, capers, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Our first course was pasta with red sauce. Pasta with white sauce was the second course. By the third course, it was pasta again, and the dishes were all starting too look, smell, and taste the same. I imagine that Italians must have invented carbo-loading.

The next day things got better. We got a safe start in the morning on rural roads, bypassing the busy city routes and headed through a region called the altopiano ibleo – a highlands dominated by olive groves, cacti, and the occasional roaming shepherd. The weather could not have been better: cobalt blue skies, not a hint of a breeze.

Fields of Fennel
My Legs were burning as we pedaled up and down steep hills, but my nose was in heaven. We sped past green fields of fennel, their black licorice scent following us down the road. Orchards of eucalyptus trees with silver leaves injected a healthy dose of peppermint menthol in the air. Pink, scented geraniums lined the roads. Barnyards smelled like a bacon-and-eggs breakfast.

This country is like its bread, I thought, a tough exterior with a soft heart. The old towns we toured seemed untouched by modern times, fossilized in a time warp. In the homely squares, men stood around in their black and blued frayed jackets, smoking, swearing, and talking. Women were mostly hidden on the balconies. Tattered sheet and clothes snapped in the breeze several floors above the streets.

Narrow roads wiggled up and down switchbacks, slow and steady. The birds chased us. Were they warbling in Italian or maybe Sicilian? No matter, their melody was beautiful. Cycling like this made all the molecules in my body march in the same direction.

The King of Sicily
Paolo, the King of Sicily, drove our support vehicle, sometimes more like and advance van when he parked at the intersections to signal right and left turns for us we wouldn’t get lost. As we rode into each tiny town, Paolo’s friends would call out to him, halting traffic in both directions: “Paolo, Paolo, what’s happening?”

He filled them in on the local gossip, did a little business and they did the same. By the time we pedaled into the small town of Tagusa, with its narrow roads and killer hills, we’d covered more than 40 miles, and we were hungry.

Muscles aching but freshly showered, we strolled into the elegant Ristorante da Serfino for dinner. Settling into the cream-colored cellar surrounded by 700 bottles of wine, we selected a Sicilian sparkling wine and then tasted the very soul of Sicily—the soft, red Nero D’Avola, produced by Donnafugata’s “A Thousand and One Nights Vintage.” Mellow tannins merged with fruit-forward flavor. A separate tasting menu of nine different olive oils tempted us to experience the range – from mild to medium to intense, frutto medio to frutto intenso. Olive-oil tasting at Williams Sonoma was never this good.

Every appetizer and entrée appeared like a painting on a white palette; sauces became edible brush strokes applied with an artistic eye.

Carob ravioli overflowed like lava with a stuffing of pungent Ragusano cheese. Tuna roe and cherry tomatoes danced on the sidelines, supporting the grilled swordfish smother in almonds and olive oil. Thyme-infused honey hugged the melted cheese in puff pastry.

Our memories of the dreadful all-pasta dinner the night before faded. If there is a food and wine heaven, this was it.

No one stirred on Sunday except us cyclists as we wove in and out of one sleepy town after another. Church bells called from steeples, ringing our approach as we glided into town squares in our day-glow jerseys, dodging chubby ladies wrapped in black.

For the next several days, we seemed to have the island almost all to ourselves. Cycling in Sicily made me feel oddly weightless. My soul soared across this landscape that has been touched by so many inhabitants over 25 centuries: Greeks, Arab, Romans, Normans and now even the Mafia.

Our route took us through Caltagirone, then on to Morgantina, and excavated Greek city dating back to 600 BC. Paolo who gave us a tour of the national site, confessed looking down at the ground, “ I know these ruins well because I lived here once in another lifetime.” Maybe he was king then too?

Aeolian Island Life
Cycling on Sicily was one grand land adventure, but our trip wasn’t quite over. We caught a hydroplane out of Palermo and headed for Lipari, the nearby island that was our home for the next three nights. Then a private charter boat dropped us and our bikes off on the nearby island of Panarea. Cars are not allowed. As we panted up and over the top of the inactive volcano, our boat chugged its way around the island to meet us on the other side. Fortunately, Panarea is the smallest of the seven Aeolian Islands, known for their beautiful black obsidian. We climbed past cliffs of whitewashed houses and piles of silver pumice. From the top, we coasted down to the marina below, gripping the brakes until our hands ached. Our guides and boat crew greeted us with lunch and a relaxing tour in our own private water taxi back to Lipari. It was a great day indeed.

Goodbye, Godfather
On our day of departure, we arrived back at Catania airport where it had all started. As we walked through the gate and glanced back, there was Paolo with a big grin on his face, wishing us a safe flight. Was he part of the real Famiglia? Who knows? The important thing was he’d made us feel apart of his family and very much at home.

PMC and Ciclismo Classico Team Up to Host Bike Across Italy Fundraising Ride

It is with great pleasure that Ciclismo Classico announces their participation in the 2008 Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC) by offering, for the first time, a Bike Across Italy fundraising ride. The ride will run from July 27th – August 4th, 2008. Proceeds from rider-raised funds will be donated to the Jimmy Fund through the PMC for cancer research.

The 2008 PMC-Bike Across Italy trip is a nine-day coast-to-coast ride through some of the most beautiful regions in Italy: Le Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany. The trip includes a seven-day pre-PMC tour which highlights charming inns, delicious authentic Italian cuisine, tours of medieval destinations with local guides, daily Italian lessons and cycling clinics, and the expertise of knowledgeable native Italian guides, all in a family-fun atmosphere. Rounding out the trip will be a two-day 150 mile ride in conjunction with the PMC ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown. After raising a minimum of $4,000, the PMC price for this trip is $3,095. With this gracious PMC discount, cyclists will be getting nine days for the price of seven. The price for non-PMC riders is $4,595. Cyclists unable to participate in the Bike Across Italy trip are encouraged to join the local PMC Ciclismo Classico rider group Team Gelato.

This will be Ciclismo Classico owner Lauren Hefferon’s 18th year participating in the PMC, where she has raised over $82,000 in donations to benefit the Jimmy Fund. “I am extremely thrilled to be able to provide this trip as an alternative extension of the existing PMC routes. This ‘virtual PMC’ in Italy supports a cause that I care so deeply about seeing as how many lives, including my mother’s, have been cut short by this terrible disease. It makes me proud to know that cyclists everywhere can help raise money to aid in research efforts, getting us closer to a cure every day,” says Hefferon. Information on the PMC-Bike Across Italy trip can be found at www.ciclismoclassico.com. For information on how to donate, visit www.pmc.org.

Bike Across Italy Awarded...