Cycling Emilia Romagna: pure joy for bike lovers

Emilia-Romagna is the crossing land of four big national tourist cycling routes that interconnect with the great European tracks (Eurovelo), confirming the cultural, and the touristic value of cycle tourism. Two of these 4 cycling routes also cross the entire Emilia Romagna: the Vento Route and the Ciclovia del Sole.
Of the latter, which represents a great European cycle path that goes from the North Cape to Malta, the first section has already been built that goes from the Brenner Pass to Verona, while now we are working on the section that from Verona should arrive in Florence. it largely concerns the territory of Emilia Romagna (360 Km out of 670 total).

The bikeway Vento is instead the longest cycling tour of Italy (680 Km) and follows a cycle tour that connects Venice to Turin, along with the Po river valley, crossing important art cities, typical villages and meeting in its path gastronomic and artistic traditions.

The city of Ferrara can boast an unparalleled record, also highlighted by the international travel portal Skyscanner. This Renaissance city has the largest number of bicycles per inhabitant in Italy (100,000 bikes for 135,000 inhabitants), and it is definitely one of the European cities to be seen by bike.

According to a recent estimate, 30.9 % of Ferraresi routinely use the bike for their journeys, while 89.5% of the inhabitants of Ferrara own a bicycle, used at least once in the city in the space of a year. That is why Ferrara can rightly bear the title of “city of bicycles”.
But the Ferrara bikeways does not stop at the paths of the historic center; in fact, there are many routes that cross the Ferrara territory according to the most varying degrees of difficulty, all of which can be consulted and downloaded freely online with detailed maps.

Ferrara, Lidi Comacchio – Ph Comune Comacchio

Bologna besides the many city itineraries is the first Italian city that can boast a dedicated Bike Station.
Close to the bus station, and only 300 meters from the railway station, it is in an excellent position is the needs of many commuters who come here every morning by bike, both for the many tourists who want to explore the city on two wheels.

Nowadays, the Bologna Bike Station includes a guarded parking lot, an equipped workshop and qualified personnel for all types of bike repair, a tourist information point, free access to wi-fi and is equipped with an urban café, a gallery of street art and a corner dedicated to readings. Interested tourists will find useful information on itineraries and the possibility to book city tours on half-day or multi-day trips. The Bike Station is open every day, with parking regulated by daily rates, season tickets, and carnets.

But Bologna can also boast a special Bicycle Ring Road, a work created to easily enter and exit the historic center, which can also be consulted by mobile on Google Maps. This special ring road includes a cycle track 8.4 km long, 5 of which are shaded by trees, with over 30 cycle crossings with dedicated traffic lights. Bologna is also equipped with two bike inflation stations: one between via Sabotino and Viale Vicini on the bike bypass, the other at Porta San Vitale in the pedestrian area of via Giulio Cesare Croce.

Starting from the Bolognese experience, a new Bike Station in Rimini will be officially opened in Rimini next year. The location, also in this case adjacent to the railway station of the city to encourage bike-train intermodality, will be used for storage, rental and provision of services for bicycles and cyclists, but will also be a place to experiment with new ways of doing culture and communicate with the city and tourists on environmental issues and urban regeneration.

Since 2014, moreover, 43 hotels specialized in cycling products and gathered in a regional Terrabici Consortium dedicated to the bike tourism offer, have started to promote Emilia Romagna as a bike destination, presenting a unique offer for two-wheel lovers.

On the Riviera there are already around twenty product clubs specialized in cycle tourism, to which are connected one hundred Bike Hotels, special hotels with services for cyclists, and to which are added, throughout the Region, another 200 hotels equipped for this tourist segment. The services of Terrabici range from bike storage to technical assistance, from massages to personalized menus for sportsmen.

Among the localities of the Riviera that first built structures of this type there is Cesenatico that in addition to the hotels Bike & Beach has a new association of specialized hotels, the GiroHotels, which focus mainly on the international tourist’s needs; among the services offered it is the possibility to rent high-quality bikes.

Even the city of Riccione offers Bike Hotels focused in cyclists, in fact, with the GPS mapping of 20 routes and the ability to download for free from the portal of Riccione Bike Hotels traces of itineraries on your browser, smartphone or on a GPS provided by the associated hotels.

The city of Rimini has it Bike Hotels product club, which includes three and four-star hotels. It is aimed at both experienced cyclists and newcomers, focusing not only on the most known road routes but also on those off road for mountain biking. The Rimini Bike Hotels offer, among other things, a rental service with a special toll-free number to provide assistance to cyclists in case of breakdown or bad weather.

The Bike Hotels in Cattolica instead involve for a total of 700 rooms. The association offers special holiday packages and itineraries (35 in total, of which 15 for MTB) able to enhance the beauty of the territory and the Romagna hills together with the excellence of its food and wine. Following the advice of expert guides, you can choose from various options: from the wide and flat coastal strip (40 km) to the rural landscapes of the hilly territories.

Emilia Romagna Cycling – Ph. Ben Read Photography Cyclist Magazine

The Emilia-Romagna Mountains welcome bicycle lovers. Every summer many bikers climb up and down the paths of Cimone Bike Park with their MTBs, using the ski lifts of the ski slopes, equipped with a bike trolley. The area of the Cimone is a well-known ski resort during the Winter, but in Spring and Summer it is dedicated to mountain biking and offers several downhill paths, built for lovers of this sport with wooden footbridges, bridges, and jumps.

In Maiolo, on the Rimini Apennines, there is also the Valmarecchia Bike Park, a unique 15,000 square meter facility dedicated to downhill enthusiasts (1500 meters). An enduro track and “smart” night lighting also allow you to use the Park even at night. The structure offers all the amenities for enthusiasts: from an area equipped for campers and tents, to the shelter and mountain bike washing area with the possibility of also taking advantage of heated changing rooms.

MTB Appennino – Ph. Cimone Bike Park