My day on the bike while in Italy in June 2024. Join me for a ride from up high in the hills at Bossico down to Lago d’Iseo.
Take in the sights while cycling alongside the lake and then a ride up mountain roads to Vigolo and beyond. It’s a bit of cycling bliss on a hot day in Italy.
– Video by Rob Arnold
This is a cycling video with plenty of sightseeing, some personal anecdotes, a mini (impromptu) product review… see the full story on RIDE Media’s YouTube channel (or click the link above).
Take a bike to Italy. Throw a dart at the map. Get your cycling kit on. Go..! The rest writes itself. This was my approach to the riding elements of a trip to Italy during the European summer of 2024 and it allowed me to discover new places and experience what the cycling life is like in a country that welcomes bike riders.
With views around every corner, the ride from Bossico – up in the mountains on the northern side of Lago d’Iseo – down to the shoreline and onwards to wherever the road sent me.
Eventually I’d end up riding the climb to Vigolo and onwards up the mountain to the ‘Strada Verde’. After almost 100km with 1,700m of elevation gain, I’d return to base and prepare to do it all again (somewhere new) the next day.
The trip to Italy began with a bike launch in the Dolomites and then I was free to roam for a few weeks. While the weather warmed up and the Grand Départ of the 111th Tour de France got ever closer, I had the pleasure of a handful of rides and meeting some fantastic people in a country that I’ve only ever visited briefly before.
It turned out to be a wonderful experience and a reminder of how liberating it can be to travel, to ride, and to enjoy the opportunity to do something different in glorious locations.
Other video features from Italy
The riding I did in Italy included one relatively brief test session on the new Pinarello Dogma F up in the Dolomites. In stunning surrounds, it was an example of how rapidly conditions can change in the mountains. The first ride of my trip began with bright blue skies but that soon turned to clouds, then rain… then hail and snow.
It wasn’t possible to film a great deal because of the weather but it was a good taste of what the bike was like and serves as a prompter to plan another visit so I can spend more time in exploring on terrain that begs to be ridden.
There’s more content to come from the ‘Visiting Italy’ series, including a tour of the Selle Royal factory and a look at the customised 3D saddle printed saddle initiative from fi:zi’k. You can also find a couple of video interviews recorded while I was in Italy, including a long chat with Michael Rogers as well as a catch-up with Fausto Pinarello.
The bike I rode while nearby Lago d’Iseo was made possible thanks to the great bike rental arrangement offered by Livelo. An email request started the process and within a few hours a Cipollini bike had been prepared for collection.
Vince Ulgiati from Punto Tours welcomed me at a bike shop in Varese and after a brief introduction to the Cipollini I rode out the door and onwards to my next cycling adventure.
There’s been a lot of cycling action in the last couple of months and while I’ve traditionally invested considerable time reporting on bike racing over the past 30 years, lately I’ve been taking a different approach.
It was fantastic to return to the salle de presse at the Tour de France but also a pleasure to enjoy seeing Europe in a different way to what I’ve become accustomed to. This year I only attended a few stages of the TDF and then returned to Sydney after visiting Italy and discovering only a tiny portion of a country that embraces cycling.
I’m not going to stop reporting on racing. Things are different now and my passion for cycling is taking me in a new direction after many years of creating content about an activity that offers something for everyone. These days I’m riding my bike more than ever and experiencing the joy that comes from time in the saddle and a chance to explore.
I hope you enjoy the videos from the #StoryOfMyRide series and get a little dose of inspiration for your next cycling adventure. If you watch and like what you see, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. I appreciate the feedback and am happy to answer any questions you might have about my experiences.
– Rob
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