One Month Tour of Italy on a Folding Bicycle

Rome; Corsica, France; Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Sienna, Venice, Puglia, Pompeii, Almafi Coast, Rome.

IN DEFENSE OF FOLDING BIKES: I remember when I was researching this trip, I came across the blog of a guy doing a tour on a folding bike. I saw the bike, knew he was a novice idiot, and promptly went to a different website. I was the novice idiot. People who are prejudice against folding bikes have never bicycled through Europe and/or should donate more of their money to people who need it. At the end of my trip I was talking to a couple on their honeymoon, both on folding bikes, and they said, "It's frustrating to see how many people don't consider these bikes real bikes. We need more people representing." Represent, I will. Read on...

Taking a bike on my flights would have cost over $800, so I bought a folding bike in Italy for $350 and brought it back in a bag for $80, the cost of extra luggage. I recommend folding bikes, but I recommend a more customizable bike, like BikeFriday. This Btwin bike (by the French store, Decathlon) had strange designs that limited modifications. Overall, it was fine, and this trip is a testament to the fact that you don't need a high-end bike to do a tour (I once saw a website of a couple doing a 1 year tour on bikes they got from garage sales for $25 each) but I wouldn't use this bike again. I would absolutely use a another folding bike though, as bicycles are not always allowed on trains, and as societies around the world continue to oppress cycling culture through regulations that inhibit bicycle use, i.e. pay outrageous prices to fly a bicycle on a plane even if it weighs less than the bag of your neighboring passenger. Prego.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Bicycle Tour
• Italy
• Bike
• Folding
• Corsica
• France
• Venice
• ride riding cycling biking

[Pluscount]

I'm thinking about trying to do a 7-day or so bike trip with the kids and am looking into getting a folding bike. I enjoyed your video.

[limepore]

Absolutely amazing. Hope you had a blast.

[smanjik]

great video- will be doing the trip next summer. rock on brother.

[insidethefall78]

This is interesting. I did a bike tour of Scotland/England and while I was able to get my bike from here to there mostly for free, it was a lot of hassle and time consuming. When my trip was over I left my bike in London because it would have been a nightmare to lug it to heathrow. I'm considering one of these whenever I do my London to Rome trip in the future, I just can't imagine how you got those panniers on the small bike, was riding awkward? Did they fall off?

[hodol88]

I want to do the same!

[fullofcolourart]

GREAT VIDEO!!

[ThreeWheelJourney]

very very very cool

[rexcorkil]

nice sam, great you are still touring. interesting choice of bike, the flight cost stuff makes sense. sorry scotland wasnt on the route, the kids still remember fondly. hope things are good with you. we miss you. xxx alex lauren ash and popps