If you’re considering a cycling vacation in Italy, Hotel Dory should be at the top of your list. PEZ Capo Richard has previously reviewed Hotel Dory and there really isn’t much more I can say that he hasn’t already. So this isn’t intended as a review of Hotel Dory per se, but rather more of a travelogue of my 9 days of riding during my 10 day stay. I’m hoping by giving y’all some idea of the riding that it will whet your appetite to indulge in a visit to Hotel Dory. But don’t expect a brochure-style overview — this is what a real cycling vacation in Italy actually feels like day by day.
The BLUF – Why Hotel Dory Is a Top Cycling Destination in Italy
That said, here’s my BLUF (bottom line up front) about Hotel Dory for those of you who don’t want to be bored with my pithy prose:
- Molte bene! Eccellente! Fantastico! Il migliore!
Meet Stefano, the owner of Hotel Dory and il maestro of your cycling vacation experience
- Bobke and I had a 2-bedroom/2-bathroom apartment (a separate building from the main hotel) with kitchen/dining/living area plus a balcony that was more than comfortable
The view from our apartment balcony (only a block and half from the beach and the Adriatic)
- All the hotel staff were friendly, gracious, helpful, and accommodating
- The food (buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) was delicious
- The wine selection was excellent and very reasonably priced (and if you don’t finish a bottle of wine, they re-cork it and hold it for you for next time)
My white wine of choice was a Trebbiano and my red was a Nero d’Avola
- The bar (in the hotel lobby) is small but what mattered most is that I could get a Negroni … priorities … without having to venture out (although I highly recommend a stroll on the Viale Dante in the evening for a gelato or after-dinner cocktail). Plus there’s something about a Negroni in Italy just being better.
My cocktail of choice is a Negroni and Bobke’s is an Aperol Spritz
- Laundry service for your kit (in by 6pm and ready by 9pm)
One of us brought more than enough kit to not have to do laundry, but I still availed myself to the service since it’s included
- Speaking of kit … the hotel has it’s own branded kit (they do a new kit every year) that you can buy (it’s made by Pissei who supply UAE Team Emirates XRG so quality stuff)
Next year’s kit will be different
My wife will tell you (rightfully) that I don’t need more kit. But that didn’t stop me from buying the hotel kit (she was neither impressed nor amused).
Me sporting the current Hotel Dory kit and their original maglia da ciclista
- There’s riding for everyone
- Easier, more flat-ish riding for those who want more of a
“tourist” pace - E-bike rides
- Three levels of road bike rides (Cappuccino Light, Cappuccino, and Limoncello) that vary in pace, distance, and terrain
- Easier, more flat-ish riding for those who want more of a
You have up until one hour before the ride start (9am) to decide which route you want to ride
- The ride guides are great to make sure the group stays together, provide directions, give you motivation, and to take care of any mishaps (on our rides, we had one flat, a cracked seatpost, and one minor fall during our stay)
Standing: Paolo. Seated left to right: Alessandro (the bike manager), Claudio, Elita, Drelli, Andrea (Drelli is Andrea’s grandfather), Raul, Gianni.
Drelli is a legend. 89 years old and still leading Hotel Dory bike rides! When I grow up I want to be like him!
ATTENZIONE! This is a longer than usual PEZ piece with lots of pics and videos. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it. Buon divertimento!
A bit of background
This is a trip I planned with one of my oldest and bestest riding buddies … Bob Goulder aka The Real Bobke. We were teammates on the Kodak Ektar team and then the team I founded: Unione Sportiva Coppi’s that became Squadra Coppi (our racing days are long since behind us). I’ve logged more miles with Bobke than anyone else. He was instrumental in getting me back on the bike after a 15 year hiatus after I burned out on racing (and the chore of herding cats of a race team/club). We were both looking forward to riding in Italy, but we also both had some uncertainties:
- Bobke had some medical issues over the winter and wasn’t able to get on a bike to train until almost mid-April. Not a whole lot of time for a mid/late-May bike vacation.
- While I had been pretty diligent with training over the winter and into the spring (Zwifting/ROUVYing, lifting, and the usual suspects fast Sunday ride whenever the weather cooperated enough), I hadn’t done any real climbing since moving down to the SC Lowcountry more than 2 years ago.
Me and Bobke through the ages: From wannabe racer boys to just a couple of OGs
Arrival (Saturday)
I got on a plane late morning (local time) on Friday and after transfers at JFK in New York and Schiphol in Amsterdam, arrived in Bologna Saturday morning (local time). For a moment at Schiphol, I thought I might miss my connecting flight to Bologna because passport control was a cluster. Fortunately, a group of us on the same flight convinced the people managing the line to move us to the front so we could get through and to the gate before boarding closed. We barely made it and, as it turns out, at least 10 people missed the flight (their luggage had to be taken off the plane for security reasons). Needless to say … whew!
Hotel Dory had a driver waiting outside baggage claim/customs. Bobke (who had arrived in Bologna a day earlier to ward off jet lag) was also at the airport. The two of us had cappuccinos at the Bottego Prosecco Bar while waiting for another Hotel Dory guest (Howard from Australia) to arrive.
Once Howard was gathered up it took about 90 minutes for us to arrive at Hotel Dory. We were able to check in but it was too early to get into our apartment so we did some wandering around Riccione.
After getting settled into our apartment, we did some more wandering around and discovered that a few of the teams decided to stay in Riccione after Stage 8 Chieti to Fermo (won by Jhonathan Narvaez of UAE Team Emirates XRG).
Alpecin-Premier Tech was in the hotel across from Hotel Dory
EF Education Easy Post was a block away
Bahrain Victorious was two blocks away
The Pinarello Q36.5 support van was parked across the street from Hotel Dory but we didn’t see any other of their team vehicles in Riccione
Bike Rental and Setup
Lots of room for all the rental bikes … or you can bring your own
Plus a fleet of e-bikes, including e-road bikes
The last bit of business was getting our rental bikes before dinner. We both got Scott Addicts but I opted for 12-speed Di2 while Bobke went with 11-speed mechanical. A few niggles (none of them dealbreakers):
- We had to do all the paperwork and pay for the rental before getting our bikes at our assigned time. It would’ve saved some time (both for us and the hotel) if we had done that when we checked in (especially since it wasn’t busy when we checked in).
- Thanks to the bike industry going full internal handlebar/stem routing, it wasn’t possible to make any stack or reach adjustments. IMHO bike companies should re-think this for rental fleets. (Being the prima donna I am and a member of the Phi Slamma Jamma stem fraternity, I whined to Bobke about being more upright with shorter reach and his response was: “Welcome to how the rest of us ride.”)
- I brought my Cadex AMP saddle that has carbon rails to ride. The Syncros seatpost on the Scott Addict requires adaptors for carbon rails (carbon rails are oval, not round) and the shop didn’t have the adaptors. I suggested to Alessandro (the bike manager) that it might be a good idea to have at least a handful of adaptors on hand (which would not be a huge investment) for prima donnas like me who want to ride a carbon rail saddle. Fortunately, the stock saddle on the Scott Addict was compatible with my butt.
Andrea setting up Bobke’s rental bike
Bobke and Andrea
Claudio was my bike mechanic and he attached my Wahoo POWRLINK Zero pedals to the cranks and helped me set the saddle height (NOTE: I got a size XS Scott Addict that comes with 165mm cranks so I had to raise the seat height 5mm from my normal saddle to center-of-crank arm distance), setback (that was easy … as far back on the rails as possible), and tilt (2 degrees down from the saddle being level back-to-front).
Grazie Claudio!
Also, Claudio commented that my Lake CX403 shoes were “very pro.” I thanked him for the compliment but assured him I was “very not.” It was the beginning of developing a fun rapport with Claudio.
Day 1 (Sunday) – Giro d’Italia Experience in Cervia
Instead of doing one of the regular hotel rides, for those who wanted to go, Hotel Dory arranged an excursion to Cervia to see the start of Stage 9 of the Giro. Of course, Bobke and I went. After about a 50 minute train ride, we spent the morning wandering around the Giro start village and checking out all the team buses/cars.
About an hour before the race start, Bobke and I totally lucked out. We found a curbside table at a cafe on Viale Nazario Sauro where the race would roll out on under the neutralized start. So we had an unobstructed view of the Maglia Rosa and peloton!
Bobke and I had curbside, front row seats with Negronis and Aperol Spritzes to watch the start of Stage 9 in Cervia
After the race rolled out of Cervia, we reconvened at the designated meet-up point, got on our bikes that the hotel shuttled up, and rode to the beach for a lunch catered by the hotel.
Catered lunch at the beach (we were in a park just behind the dunes)
After lunch, with Claudio as our guide we rode back to the hotel, which gave us a taste for what roads and the riding would be like during our stay:
- Some bike path riding (and in total contrast, we also rode on the autostrada!)
- Some sightseeing (we visited Marco Pantani’s grave and where Caesar crossed the Rubicon)
- A few climbs with some steep ramps (my official wake up call that I hadn’t done any real climbing for 2+ years)
And we got a taste of Claudio’s sense of “humor” when — just for grins and giggles — he detoured us up a 10 percent climb that he claimed was “only” 400 meters. Many of us disputed that. (NOTE: Many of my friends who endured my Wednesday Night Hill Rides up in Babylon on the Potomac throughout the years would say I was receiving my just rewards.)
RIP Marco Pantani
Porto Canale Leonardesco in Cesenatico — designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1502
We too crossed the Rubicon
If you want to see all my sordid ride details, just request to follow me on Strava and I’ll gladly approve (just promise not to laugh at me!) and will happily follow you back
Day 2 (Monday) – Climbing in San Marino
Claudio said Bobke and I would be able to ride the Cappuccino ride so that’s what we signed up for. Our ride leader was Andrea. Don’t let the fact that he only has one leg fool you. By all accounts, he’s the strongest of Hotel Dory’s ride guides.
Me and Andrea (inset is his bike)
The climb up to San Marino (an independent republic and not actually part of Italy) is one of Italy’s iconic climbs. I’m not sure where the official climb starts, but (according to Strava) from Rimini (basically sea level) to San Marino is 18.5 miles and 2,083 feet of elevation gain. It isn’t one big climb, but more like a series of climbs. There’s an initial ascent from sea level to the foothills where the gradient doesn’t get above 5 percent, which can be deceiving and lull you into a false sense of “easy” climbing.
It’s not a real bike ride without a coffee stop
I think Croce is a good place to say where the “real” climbing starts, about nine miles into our ride. The initial climbing from Croce is relatively mild (here’s the Strava segment), but the “final” ascent up to Montescudo is 1.4 miles at 5.8 percent that kicks up to a double-digit wall for almost 1/4-mile at the end. Let’s just say that I went into debt to get up the wall. (Or to borrow a phrase from Top Gun: My ego was writing checks my body couldn’t cash.) There’s some rolling along for a couple of miles and a short/steep-ish descent followed by Salita del Gesso (according to Strava, a 3.2 mile, 4.1 percent climb with sections in the high single digits). Some mild-ish descending for about three miles and then mostly uphill the last couple of miles into San Marino — the Strava segment (Côte de S.Marino-last bit) is the last 1.7 miles at 4.7 percent. All in all, about 12-ish miles and about 1,400 feet of elevation gain. That may not sound like much, but it’s probably more than you think — especially if you were me and hadn’t done any real climbing in 2+ years.
P.S. Take a look at the leaderboards on these Strava segments. You’ll see lots of familiar names from the pro peleton — both past and present. It’s pretty cool to be able to say that you’ve ridden some of the same roads as the pros. And a testament to the quality of the riding in the area.
The reward for climbing up to San Marino was a coffee stop, some fast descending, and lunch at Stefano’s country house in Vecciano — where all the rides (as well as non-riding hotel guests) convened for a barbeque feast (as well as an opportunity to sample aged balsamic vinegar that Stefano has been producing since 1993).
Lunch at Stefano’s country house
Day 3 (Tuesday) – Monte Cerignone Ride
Tuesday was sort of the queen stage of the week if you were riding Cappuccino (66.8 miles, 4,863 feet) or Limoncino (68.5 miles, 6,215 feet). Bobke and I elected to go Cappuccino Light (with Claudio as our guide), which was the right decision for us. Although the hotel labels the ride as “easy,” that’s just a relative term compared to Cappuccino and Limoncino. It was still a challenging enough ride. Just not what I would call “major” climbing — most of the uphill riding is mid-single digit gradient over extended sections.
At one point, Claudio let me ride solo from before Mercatino Conca to our rest stop in Monte Cerignone — a gradual uphill stretch for about six miles with 800 feet of elevation gain (essentially this Strava segment). I found a rhythm riding just below threshold that felt like I could ride all day. It was exactly what I needed for my legs (and heart and lungs) to remember what climbing was all about. Molte grazie Claudio!
With his penchant for taking us up steep little climbs, I dubbed Claudio “my separated at birth cycling brother from another mother”
And, in what would become a ride ritual (at least with Claudio), we had to go up a steep (10 percent) cobbled climb to go into Rocca di Monte Cerignone (plus we had to walk up a relatively long stone stairway — not exactly easy/comfortable in cycling shoes). The reward being views that were right out of a movie (although that pretty much describes all the views we saw while riding).
Almost everywhere we stopped there was a public water fountain to refill waterbottles
Everyone else rode right by, but Bobke and I had to stop
Instead of taking time to stop and smell the roses, Claudio had us stop to pick fresh cherries that were absolutely delizioso!
Day 4 (Wednesday) – Rest Day: Active Recovery and Coastal Exploration
Wednesday was a rest day (no scheduled hotel rides). A good day for guests to take advantage of some of Hotel Dory’s other activities, e.g., a tour of San Marino or a tour of Le Marche including wine tasting. Bobke and I decided to make it an active recovery day. Howard (from the airport transfer) decided to join us and we used one of the hotel’s easier/shorter routes — an easy sightseeing spin to San Giovanni where we stopped for coffee.
We stumbled across a Flanders-like poppy field
Wednesday was also a chance for me to get the kinks sorted out with my AKASO 360 camera — virtually all of them a result of operator error.
After San Giovanni, we departed from the hotel’s script and ventured off route to Gradara. What was supposed to be a flat ride, now had some minor climbing up to Castello di Gradara. And because Bobke is Bobke, that meant we rode up the 15 percent cobbled climb to get to the tourist entrance to Castello di Gradara (literally a road to nowhere). But (as would be the case for all the “gratuitous” climbs) the reward for going up was finding another great view — this time of the Adriatic.
Castello di Gradara
When your “rest” day includes a 15 percent cobbled climb!
Howard elected to do some sightseeing and have lunch in Gradara. Bobke and I rode into Cattolica where we had lunch at one of the many beachside cafes before cruising back to the hotel. It was still pretty quiet and not very crowded so we practically had the place to ourselves. But — as our waitress told us — in a few weeks it would be a zoo and crazy with tourists flocking to the beaches of the Adriatic for their summer vacations.
In the summer, it will be wall-to-wall people
Day 5 (Thursday) – Verucchio and San Francesco Ride
I’m riding a bike in Italy. What’s not to smile about?
Another Cappuccino Light ride for me and Bobke. And another ride with “my separated at birth cycling brother from another mother” aka Claudio. Like our Tuesday ride, no “major” climbing (although from about mile 12 to mile 23 was basically uphill with almost 1,000 feet of elevation gain). And, of course, a cobbled climb … but only 20 percent(!) … for yet another spectacular view.
Claudio’s and Andrea’s motley crews atop Rocca Malatestiana
Meet Paul and Jennifer (Marchese Racing). They win the prize for the coolest bike: a custom titanium tandem with frame couplers for travel. Plus … they chose a Hotel Dory vacation because they read about it on PEZ! Che figo!
One side benefit of doing the Cappuccino Light ride instead of the regular Cappuccino ride is that we got to partake in a local food and wine tasting with the Dolce Vita riders at Agriturismo Germolio. Buonissimo!
Lunch at Agriturismo Germolia
The wine cave at Agriturismo Germolia
One of the riders from the Heathfield Cycle Club flatted about a mile from the hotel. Bobke stayed with them while I rode ahead to alert Claudio who came back to assist after getting everyone back to the hotel. This earned me “honorary ride guide” status and cemented “my separated at birth cycling brother from another mother” status with Claudio.
A bit of perspective: After 5 days of riding, I had done as much climbing as I did the entire previous year!
One thing that Bobke and I didn’t take full advantage of was Hotel Dory’s wellness center. But as an early birthday present, Bobke got me a massage that I indulged in after Thursday’s ride. I asked for a deep tissue massage and my masseuse — Tatiana — didn’t disappoint. My barometer for a good, high quality massage is that I’ll fall asleep, which I did.
The wellness center features sauna, steam room, hot tubs, cold plunges, massage, and more
Day 6 (Friday) – Gradara to Pesaro Coastal Ride
With Paolo was our guide, Bobke and I went full Cappuccino. In a bit of a reprise of our Wednesday recovery ride, the ride started by going to Gradara — where Claudio tried to guilt us for not riding with his Cappuccino Light group.
Me and Paolo
Traffic jam in Castello di Gradara
From Gradara, it was mostly downhill/flat as we made our way to the coast and Pesaro for a coffee stop.
Before we got to the beach … Luciano Pavoratti statue in Piazza Lazzarini
After coffee, there was a couple mile long switchback climb (here’s the Strava segment) out of Pesaro up to the Strada Panoramica Adriatica — a high road that straddles the coastline with scenic viewing points. The riding itself is largely treelined so you only get glimpses of the Adriatic while riding, so not like riding or driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Here’s the Strava segment starting with the climb up to the Strada Panoramica Adriatica to the point where you descend from Gabbice Monte — 13 miles and not quite 1,500 feet of elevation gain with another mile or so for the descent into Gabbice Mare. Definitely rolling terrain along the top of the ridgeline.
It doesn’t get much more blue than the Adriatic
Some of the views from the Strada Panoramica Adriatica
All in all, it seemed like an “easy” day. Only two climbs (up to Gradara and out of Pesaro) that were “moderate.” I never felt any “stress” riding. Maybe that was a good indication that I had (finally) acclimated to riding on terrain that wasn’t the flat, flat, flat of the SC Lowcountry.
Bobke is smiling because we’re not climbing!
Friday night, the hotel has a farewell social to relive the week, share experiences, and say goodbye as friends, not just as guests. Here’s the hotel’s compilation (10-minute video) of memories for the week:
Day 7 (Saturday) – Rest Day: Rimini Recovery Ride
No rest for the weary. Bobke and I opted for another recovery ride day. We grabbed the hotel’s route to Rimini and were joined by Jim and Larry. It was basically an easy spin, sightseeing/getting lost/finding our way around kind of day.
Rimini is a city of contrasts. Along the coast, it’s a tourist-y beach/resort area with many of the same kind of shops and restaurants/bars/cafes you would find in Riccione or Cattolica. But traverse inland from the sea along the Fiume Marrechia and it becomes decidedly Roman.
Clockwise from top left: Porta Galliana (remnants of the medieval city gate from 13th century); statue of Julius Caesar who chose Rimini as his military base after crossing the Rubicon river in 49 B.C.; Piazza Tre Martiri named in memory of three young Partisans who were executed in the square in 1944 (Mario Cappelli, Luigi Nicolò, Adelio Pagliarani); the Arco di Augusto that was built in 27 B.C. and is oldest surviving triumphal arch in Italy and marks the gateway to the city center
Jim decided he wanted to chill and do some more sightseeing when we exited what amounted to an alleyway (actually Via Marecchia that was narrow with houses on both sides and reminded me a lot of being in Venice) that opened up to a large park-like area. Larry kept riding with us as we proceeded to get lost in “downtown” Rimini thanks to competing GPS units with different re-routing algorithms:
- Bobke’s bike computer kept wanting to take us back to the last point on the route before we went off course (so, in essence, wanting to take us backwards).
- Whereas my bike computer wanted to take us to the closest point on the route relative to where we were (which was more forwards).
- The result was that we found ourselves traveling in circles until we decided to rely on sense of direction rather than being slaves to GPS.
- Both frustration and hilarity ensued.
We followed the hotel route until we were on the outskirts of Riccione on roads that were familiar to us from all our previous rides. And then we went off script and navigated our way back to the beach area of Rimini to find a place for lunch. A little more crowded than our lunch in Cattolica, including some other cyclists, but still not yet the throngs of the summer crush.
Day 8 (Sunday) – Sant’Angelo in Lizzola Ride
Since we had gone to the Giro the previous Sunday, this was our chance to do the hotel’s regular Sunday ride. Another Cappuccino ride, but this time with Elita. The beginning was familiar to me and Bobke since it was the same as our Wednesday recovery ride to San Giovanni.
After San Giovanni, we rode up the first climb of the day which was relatively “gentle” — 3.3 miles at 3.8 percent (here’s the Strava segment). Our second climb was shorter (1.7 miles), a tad steeper (4.7 percent), and more of a switchback climb — so kind of flowed rather than being a grind. Over both climbs, the group was able to keep mostly together with no real stragglers, so any waiting for the caboose was minimal (but the usual short sightseeing/picture strops along the way). The result was relatively continuous riding all the way to our coffee stop in Sant’Angelo in Lizzola, about 30 miles in (here’s the Strava segment for the climb — 2.8 miles at 4.8 percent but the first 1.1 mile sub-segment is 8.8 percent with some double-digit gradient).
Me, Alessandro, Elita, and Raul
Coffee in Sant’Angelo in Lizzola
From Sant’Angelo in Lizzola it was mostly downhill/flat (but with one “small” climb at about mile 36). Our group had a minor mishap on the descent from Madonna del Monte (where we rode by the VR46 Store in Tavullia — the official flagship shop and museum dedicated to nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi and I was reminded of my knee-dragging sportbike motorcycling days).
I have to remind myself that I can’t do this riding a bicycle
Garry from Colorado took a small fall navigating a roundabout on the descent (fortunately, not at high speed). A scrape and some bleeding on his elbow that required a little patching up, but nothing major. And a rider from Claudio’s group had flatted back up the hill, so (since Claudio’s group had whizzed by us as we were providing medical attention to Garry) Elita had to ride back up the hill to attend to that rider and escort him safely down to join our group for the rest of the ride.
Once we were safely back at Hotel Dory, Garry’s wife (a nurse) patched him up properly and he didn’t look any worse for the wear.
Meet Garry. This is not the result of his fall.
Although I didn’t consider this a truly “hard” ride, a good indication of my effort was that I literally ate two lunches after the ride and still had a good appetite at dinner. Mangia!
Sunday night is pizza night at the hotel
Day 9 (Monday) – San Marino Revisited … di novo
Raul and me
A reprise of last Monday’s ride and a chance for Bobke and I to redeem ourselves a little bit. What a difference a week of solid riding makes. That and knowing the route and where all the climbs are and what they’re like. With Raul as our ride guide, we both rode smarter and stronger. Didn’t try to go so hard in the beginning. Just rode a steady tempo. It felt like I had finally found something resembling climbing legs. The second time around, the climb up to San Marino was … dare I say … almost easy. Another fantastic lunch at Stefano’s country house in Vecciano. A great capstone to our riding vacation in Italy. Claudio was in the bike room when we returned our bikes so I came full circle with “by separated at birth brother from another mother.”
A well-deserved post-ride reward
Nine different kits for nine days of riding. One of the perks of being a reviewer for PEZ!
Departure (Tuesday) – Arrivederci Italia!
One last cappuccino together at the airport before boarding our flights
As the saying goes: All good things must come to an end. After 9 days of riding, over 400 miles and over 22,000 feet of climbing (I haven’t done that kind of riding/training volume since I can’t remember when), Bobke and I were up at zero-dark thirty to take a taxi from the hotel to an airport shuttle in Rimini to the airport in Bologna. Because of my connecting flights, I was up for 24 hours before arriving safe and sound and welcomed home by my wife, daughter, and our dog. I was more tired from all the flying than all the riding!
And back to riding where my elevation is measured in speed bumps.
I’m definitely going to miss this part of riding in Italy
Final Verdict … Is Hotel Dory Worth It?
Should you — dear PEZ reader — do a bike vacation at Hotel Dory? I’d be hard pressed to say anything but YES! Si! Certo! Come by yourself, with a friend, with your significant other, or bring a bunch of your friends as a group (during our stay, there were groups from the UK, Canada, Colorado, and Chicago).
Thanks for the memories, Bobke!
- The riding is great (sometimes the roads aren’t always in the greatest of shape, but that’s the same everywhere in the world) and varied (flatter on the coast, more rolling/short hills as you come inland a short bit, and proper climbing as you come inland a little more). It may not be the Dolomites, but the climbing is legit. You’re basically in Pantani country and as il Pirata said, “Carpegna mi basta” (Carpegna is enough for me). Hard to argue with hills in the area that were enough to build the legs that dropped everyone on Alpe d’Huez.
- The food (and drink) is great (and you’ll never want for enough food at the Hotel Dory buffet).
- You’ll meet great people from all over the world (in addition to other parts of the U.S., we met people from the UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Luxembourg).
The crew from Heathfield Cycle Club in the UK, who we rode with on several occasions
A testament to the Hotel Dory cycling experience is that many of the people we met have been coming to Hotel Dory year after year after year.
Meet Craig. He’s been coming to Hotel Dory for more than 20 years!
But a few things to keep in mind:
- A “normal” week is Saturday arrival and Saturday departure. Bobke and I stayed longer and there were others who weren’t on a Saturday-to-Saturday schedule. One option to consider is a Wednesday-to-Wednesday visit given the hotel’s ride schedule. If you arrived on Wednesday, your first couple of rides would be “easier” and you would finish your week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) with progressively harder rides. Just a thought.
- Don’t expect it to be your usual weekend shop/club riding but in Italy. It’s not training per se because the riding isn’t continuous. It’s a combination of fast (for your group of choice) riding along some stretches with interruptions for some sightseeing and coffee. Expect to stop more than a few times during the course of a ride with detours ridden at sometimes a walking pace (it’s why the advertised average speeds for the rides seem low at first glance). NOTE: The hotel manager, Alex, said they could arrange a training camp if that’s what a group wanted.
- Although not the Dolomites, the climbing means there’s descending — including hairpin turns. If descending isn’t your forte, something you might want to work on.
- There will be a few times when you’ll ride on more trafficked roads (remember Claudio taking us on the autostrada on Day 1!)
- How you ride in Italy may be different than how you ride in your home country. I’m reminded of what I learned driving in Rome … the lines on the road are suggestions … and if you leave a gap (however small), a car will take it. As such, riding in Italy requires a certain amount of “when in Rome” assertiveness. Think of the group — from the ride leader at the front to the last rider at the back — as a single vehicle. Keep it together through roundabouts/traffic circles and crossing at lights (if the light turns red while the group is going through, keep going even if it means you’re going across on a red light). Unless a driver is having a very bad day, he/she won’t run you down (but they may honk, gesture, or yell). But if you hesitate and leave a gap … well, they’ll probably take that as a signal that you want them to go … and they most likely will. NOTE: The ride guides are not going to knowingly and intentionally put you in a dangerous situation.
- It’s Italy so things are somewhere between semi-organized at best and chaotic at worst. But that’s part of the charm and beauty of Italy. Go with the flow. Be flexible and adaptable. If you want precision and punctuality, go to Germany or Switzerland.
Veni, vidi, vici!
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