Cycle holiday in North East Italy
Discussion
Hi all,
I am based out in North East Italy, very close to a medeival town called Asolo. The cycling around here is absolutely phenomenal (both mountain bike and road bike). The area is very undiscovered by the UK crowd who tend to head straight to the main tourist attraction here, namely Venice. As a result this area hardly sees any Brits. I am thinking of buying a house with a partner with the idea of renting it to keen cyclists for holidays, self catering or maybe B&B. We could arrange guided tours (some of the most unreal trails I have ridden), top quality bike rentals (not the usual rubbish you get at so many places) etc. The area itself is stunning, being located in the foothills of the dolomites, close to lakes, golf courses, stunning towns etc. Great food and wine at great prices. We are only 30 minutes from Treviso airport and 50 from Venice airport - serviced by Ryanair and Easyjet (£15 per bike one way).
We don't want to restrict it to cyclists but one of my passions is mountain biking and it would be great for like minded people to share the experience of riding here. We could provide maps, tours etc basically everything you would need for an amazing week of riding. We could also do drops at the top of Monte Grappa - the local mountain for the downhillers. A lot of road riders cycle up - takes about 4 hours and can be done off road by mountain bike (6 hours) but it is for the very, very fit and determined riders!
The reason for the post is I want to guage whether or not this would be of interest to people such as yourselves in the UK. Are cyclists looking for holiday rentals such as these? Does anyone have experiences of this type of holiday and if so, what made it the perfect trip with regards the facilities available? Do you think people would rather rent bikes or bring their own? Would people be interested in guided rides or do they prefer to discover themselves with the help of maps?
This is in the very early stages as an idea but there is no one offering this type of service here in this area. The riding is breathtaking...guaranteed!
Any ideas welcome and appreciated.
Cheers and happy riding.
HH
I am based out in North East Italy, very close to a medeival town called Asolo. The cycling around here is absolutely phenomenal (both mountain bike and road bike). The area is very undiscovered by the UK crowd who tend to head straight to the main tourist attraction here, namely Venice. As a result this area hardly sees any Brits. I am thinking of buying a house with a partner with the idea of renting it to keen cyclists for holidays, self catering or maybe B&B. We could arrange guided tours (some of the most unreal trails I have ridden), top quality bike rentals (not the usual rubbish you get at so many places) etc. The area itself is stunning, being located in the foothills of the dolomites, close to lakes, golf courses, stunning towns etc. Great food and wine at great prices. We are only 30 minutes from Treviso airport and 50 from Venice airport - serviced by Ryanair and Easyjet (£15 per bike one way).
We don't want to restrict it to cyclists but one of my passions is mountain biking and it would be great for like minded people to share the experience of riding here. We could provide maps, tours etc basically everything you would need for an amazing week of riding. We could also do drops at the top of Monte Grappa - the local mountain for the downhillers. A lot of road riders cycle up - takes about 4 hours and can be done off road by mountain bike (6 hours) but it is for the very, very fit and determined riders!
The reason for the post is I want to guage whether or not this would be of interest to people such as yourselves in the UK. Are cyclists looking for holiday rentals such as these? Does anyone have experiences of this type of holiday and if so, what made it the perfect trip with regards the facilities available? Do you think people would rather rent bikes or bring their own? Would people be interested in guided rides or do they prefer to discover themselves with the help of maps?
This is in the very early stages as an idea but there is no one offering this type of service here in this area. The riding is breathtaking...guaranteed!
Any ideas welcome and appreciated.
Cheers and happy riding.
HH
Well it sounds like a brilliant place for a holiday. Whether there is enough money in it for you is harder to say. Apart from guiding, or bike rental, all you can really offer is another holiday appartment. Bike rental would mean a large outlay of cash for high spec bikes in multiple sizes, so unless you could guarantee a high "bike occupation" rate, then I can't see that being a good idea.
One possible angle that would make me interested, would be some tie-up where you arrange for hard, bike transport cases to be provided to guests to enable them to take their own bikes on the plane - a relationship with local UK bike shops perhaps ?
It's a nice idea, and I wish you well, but I not sure where the money is.
One possible angle that would make me interested, would be some tie-up where you arrange for hard, bike transport cases to be provided to guests to enable them to take their own bikes on the plane - a relationship with local UK bike shops perhaps ?
It's a nice idea, and I wish you well, but I not sure where the money is.
Hi Bor,
Thanks for the reply and I totally take onboard your point about the money. The main source of income would come from the rental of the house, the rest of the services we offer regarding the biking are not there to really make money but to offer a service that is unique to our customers. Both my business partner and I are very keen bikers and we are very happy to show our guests around and generally help them to have a great holiday. We want to create a bikers paradise for enthusiasts...besides this there are local lakes, amazing towns to visit, white water rafting/ kayaking etc. All in all, a quality location for the perfect outdoor holiday.
Wouldn't it be great if airports hired hard cases for bikes, sadly they don't (there's an idea!) but I'm sure your local bike shop would do that - I can probably arrange a deal with a UK shop for our guests to get a discount on one.
I have very good connections here with Lee Cougan, Scott and various other companies that are very good at loaning top end test bikes to us, so rentals wouldn't be an issue.
This would be a sideline to my main occupation and really just a hobby that would give us a small return - hopefully!
Rental occupancy is the key, hence guaging the level of potential interest for a holiday of this sort.
Cheers,
Henry
Thanks for the reply and I totally take onboard your point about the money. The main source of income would come from the rental of the house, the rest of the services we offer regarding the biking are not there to really make money but to offer a service that is unique to our customers. Both my business partner and I are very keen bikers and we are very happy to show our guests around and generally help them to have a great holiday. We want to create a bikers paradise for enthusiasts...besides this there are local lakes, amazing towns to visit, white water rafting/ kayaking etc. All in all, a quality location for the perfect outdoor holiday.
Wouldn't it be great if airports hired hard cases for bikes, sadly they don't (there's an idea!) but I'm sure your local bike shop would do that - I can probably arrange a deal with a UK shop for our guests to get a discount on one.
I have very good connections here with Lee Cougan, Scott and various other companies that are very good at loaning top end test bikes to us, so rentals wouldn't be an issue.
This would be a sideline to my main occupation and really just a hobby that would give us a small return - hopefully!
Rental occupancy is the key, hence guaging the level of potential interest for a holiday of this sort.
Cheers,
Henry
I spent a couple of weeks in the Lake Garda area mountain biking. I sort of feel that it's unfinished business as I really struggled to find good routes and maps, this made picking trails tough. So in answer to your question, I think there is life in the idea, if you have really good routes sorted that are easy to follow then happy days. If you can incorporate stops at nice local ameneties then that's a plus. I think having access to really good hire bikes is also a must, with cheap flights these days, the extended weekend is a big thing. If you could leave work on Friday eve, get a flight and then be biking Sat morning on good trails on a nice bike then I think you have a winner. Equally a late drop off at the airport on Sunday means that people can as much riding in as possible. Good luck.
rlk500 said:
I spent a couple of weeks in the Lake Garda area mountain biking. I sort of feel that it's unfinished business as I really struggled to find good routes and maps, this made picking trails tough. So in answer to your question, I think there is life in the idea, if you have really good routes sorted that are easy to follow then happy days. If you can incorporate stops at nice local ameneties then that's a plus. I think having access to really good hire bikes is also a must, with cheap flights these days, the extended weekend is a big thing. If you could leave work on Friday eve, get a flight and then be biking Sat morning on good trails on a nice bike then I think you have a winner. Equally a late drop off at the airport on Sunday means that people can as much riding in as possible. Good luck.
There are so many great routes here. Unless you know where to go they would not be easy to find but with our local knowledge and maps they are easy to locate. Nothing worse than not being able to access good routes and nothing pisses me off more not knowing the secret spots! The weekend flights are perfect to here from Stansted - night flights on the Friday and there's a late flight back on Sunday. I have mates coming over here all winter to ski using these flights and they work a treat.
Thanks for the feedback...as soon as we get it up and running, I'll post it here and you'll be the first to receive a discount!
There is also this place, 20 minutes from here (it is a cross between XC and a BMX track - 3km circuit):
www.bikeoffroad.it
It is a great circuit in the woods open til late at night (floodlit). We use it for training but it has the beauty of being right next to a lake so you can cool off after a ride. It is only costs €5 to ride...the beer afterwards is good to.
The best XC riding is right on the doorstep though in the Asolo, Monfumo and Cornuda hills...so many routes to take and discover with breathtaking views. There are some very quick, flowing technical trails mixed in with easier sections. It is not for the faint hearted!
www.bikeoffroad.it
It is a great circuit in the woods open til late at night (floodlit). We use it for training but it has the beauty of being right next to a lake so you can cool off after a ride. It is only costs €5 to ride...the beer afterwards is good to.
The best XC riding is right on the doorstep though in the Asolo, Monfumo and Cornuda hills...so many routes to take and discover with breathtaking views. There are some very quick, flowing technical trails mixed in with easier sections. It is not for the faint hearted!
Edited by HCMH on Friday 30th March 16:27
bigandclever said:
I would like:
airport transfers;
Could be arranged
decent quality rental bikes;
Definitely
guided rides;
Yes
you to drive me up mountains so I can zoom down them (and repeat);
Yes
pre-planned routes that work;
Yup, no brainer
mechanics;
Partner is ex CAS Honda chief mechanic so he knows a thing or two.
maintenance facilities;
Onsite
breakfast and lunch;
Maybe an option but good food is easily accesible here and great value.
long weekend rentals, not just weekly.
For sure.
Don't want much
airport transfers;
Could be arranged
decent quality rental bikes;
Definitely
guided rides;
Yes
you to drive me up mountains so I can zoom down them (and repeat);
Yes
pre-planned routes that work;
Yup, no brainer
mechanics;
Partner is ex CAS Honda chief mechanic so he knows a thing or two.
maintenance facilities;
Onsite
breakfast and lunch;
Maybe an option but good food is easily accesible here and great value.
long weekend rentals, not just weekly.
For sure.
Don't want much
Working on it! Cheers
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