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Cycling is seen as more of a sport
than a way of getting around in much of Italy, but as well as racing
clubs on the move you'll see mountain bikes, touring cycles laden
with panniers, and people of all ages on shopping bikes, often with
a toddler balanced on the cross-bar. Italians in small towns and
villages are welcoming to cyclists, and hotels and hostels will take
your bike in overnight for safekeeping. Although there's usually a
good cycle shop in most small towns, tires and wheels for touring
bikes (700mm x 28 or 30mm) are hard to come by. On the islands, in
the mountains, in major resorts and larger cities it's usually
possible to rent a bike, but generally facilities for this are few
and far between. In the UK, the Cyclists' Touring Club (Cotterell
House, 69 Meadrow, Godalming, Surrey GU7 3HS; phone 01483/417 217) can
provide members with advice and help on planning a tour.
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An alternative is to tour by
motorbike , though again there are relatively few places to rent
one. Mopeds and scooters , on the other hand, are relatively easy to
find: everyone in Italy, from kids to grannies, rides one of these,
and, although they're not really built for any kind of long-distance
travel, for shooting around towns and islands they're ideal. We've
detailed outlets in the text; roughly speaking you should expect to
pay up to £50,000/25.82 a day for a machine. Crash helmets are
compulsory, though in the south at least it's a law that seems to be
largely ignored.
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