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Sicily on Two WheelsMuch of the beauty of Sicily is missed when driving through it in cars and coaches. One of the best ways to see the island is on two wheels on a bike. There is an ongoing campaign to make cycle tourism more accessible, with local towns opening up old railways and tracks as cycle routes and publishing cycling tour guides to detail the routes and to give information about the areas that are passed through.  There is an excellent series of cycling itineraries “Landscapes in Movement” published by the Palermo tourism office which in conjunction with the local town councils give excellent routes in the Palermo area which are both interesting and give different degrees of difficulty for all levels of fitness. Obviously the hilly nature of some areas of Sicily makes cycling not for the faint hearted and a good level of fitness is required. However there are many excellent routes in the Trapani and the north west area which are much flatter and easier on the legs. An example of a tour map produced as part of “Landscapes in Movement” is shown on the right. These are accompanied by narratives which describe the routes, climbs involved and points of interest. Accommodation of cycle touring can be located either in one central point with a bus service out to each tour each day or tours with daily accommodation can be arranged if that is preferred. Cefalu makes a great base for the tours in the Madonie and is conveniently placed for the Palermo tours only being a 30 min drive away from most of the start points.  Other popular tours include the circular route around Etna, the more rural routes through the central areas and alternatively the southeast corner around Syracuse. These tours can be arranged on request and are very popular.Bikes can either be brought with the guest from home or hired from the specialist bike hire companies in Sicily, contact your airline for prices and details of bringing bikes from home and packages for bike hire in Sicily can be arranged, just put a note on your booking enquiry regarding cycle hire and we can do the rest. It is of course possible to cycle all the year round in Sicily, but the peak of the Summer’s sun and the winter rain are probably best avoided for all but the most die hard enthusiast. The Sicilian Spring and Autumn are ideal months as you benefit from the sun but lower temperatures allow for more comfortable riding conditions. The height of the summer also has the issue of the islands roads being much busier which can make cycling more interesting in the busy periods. Care should always be taken cycling in Sicily as the Sicilian drivers in their cars, mopeds and coaches are always a little unpredictable and think nothing of overtaking on blind corners and the give little quarter to the cyclist sharing the roads with them. The centre of Sicily’s more major cities are probably best avoided in rush hours to avoid these problems and just to take care and use common sense on other roads. |
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