Tour code: itbg4168

Activity: Road bike

Duration: 1 week

Typology Spotlight tour

Version: Self-guided/ Guided group

Lenght: 7 days, 6 nights

Min. n. partecipants: 2/6

Start/End Point: Riolo Terme, Italy

Tour details: Description of the itinerary: Set aside distance, elevation gain and competitive spirit, the historic spa town of Riolo will be our base for cycling the hills between Imola and Faenza. Get ready for many other activities to share with your travel companions and a dip in the thermal waters!

Level: Easy / Medium
Average daily distance: 86 km
Total distance: 430 km
Average daily gain: +1318 m
Total gain: +6588 m 

Route information: Low-traffic asphalted roads with the least number of transfers on main roads, are the playground that will allow us to test our skills on the rolling roads of the hills around Riolo Terme.

Day 1
Individual arrival in Riolo Terme, the link between Emilia and Romagna. Surrounded by gentle hills, this land has discovered the thermal powers of its waters since 1870 and here you can savor the rhythms of nature. Presentation of the route and to follow dinner together at the hotel. ACCOMODATION: Grand Hotel Terme di Riolo or similar.

Day 2  RIDE CARNIVAL PASS | 80 km | +1012 m | Medium | Let's warm up the legs! the Passo del Carnevale, a medium-long climb, rather pedaled, is the only real roughness of the day, in a path where the valleys still have some ups and downs. In the afternoon visit to the Rocca di Riolo Terme and the landscape museum, then transfer to Tenuta Nasano for a lesson in typical Romagna cuisine (piadina and cappelletti) and tasting of typical products. Dinner OYO. ACCOMODATION: Grand Hotel Terme di Riolo or similar.

Day 3  RIDE VENA DEL GESSO | 77 km | +1600 m | Medium | A geological embrace that surrounds almost the entire Vena del Gesso, making a 360-degree tour that is also a journey back in time up to six million years ago, in which the ups and downs of the hills evoke that of the sea level, which has repeatedly submerged and brought to light Monte Mauro and the other peaks. Afternoon in the covered and heated swimming pool of the Terme di Riolo and dinner together in the center of Riolo at Cantine Antica Grotta, an ancient place in the structure but modern in the concept of food and well drinking. ACCOMODATION: Grand Hotel Terme di Riolo or similar.

Day 4  RIDE OLD SELICE | 104 km | +620 m | Easy | An almost totally flat cool-down day, it takes us to explore the plain north of the Via Emilia towards Bagnacavallo. The ascent to Mazzolano is the only real obstacle of the day, before returning to Riolo Terme via the Vernelli caudine forks. Before dinner we move by transfer to the Tenuta Masselina to taste their fine wines. A special wine is born from the vineyards of Albana. The grapes, selected by hand, are placed in terracotta amphorae, handcrafted with Faenza clays for alcoholic fermentation. Returning, we stop at the Agriturismo Il Gualdo di Sotto for dinner together. ACCOMODATION: Grand Hotel Terme di Riolo or similar.

Day 5  RIDE ANTICHI CALANCHI | 70 km | +1500 m | Medium | A path of medium length but made challenging by the continuous steep climbs carved between the gullies, which apart from a stretch that runs alongside the historic center of Faenza do not give respite for the whole day. In the afternoon visit to the historic center of Faenza, the northern Italian capital of ceramics. Dinner OYO. ACCOMODATION: Grand Hotel Terme di Riolo or similar.

Day 6  RIDE THE VIA DELLE TERME | 103 km | +1856 m | Difficult | We pedal towards Faenza and then reach another renowned Romagna spa town: Castrocaro Terme. Next to it rises Terra del Sole, which boasts a Renaissance historical center that takes its name from the sun: a fortified "ideal city". Before dinner, let's discover the secrets of women specific bike frames at the FRM bicycle company in Riolo Terme. We then celebrate with a typical Romagna dinner together at the Trattoria Da Giovanna in the center of Riolo Terme. ACCOMODATION: Grand Hotel Terme di Riolo or similar.

Day 7
After breakfast, end of services. For those who still want to climb it is possible to extend their stay and explore the numerous routes offered in the area independently.