Eat
There are so many good, local specialities! Arrosticini, olive ascolane, ceppi, wonderful pecorino cheeses, reliably good coffee, delicious local wines. See how many you can savour in the time you have!
Ride
The tours wind and twist through the Apennine mountains among changing and dramatic scenery. Pass castles, hilltop towns and expanses of wilderness still inhabited by wildlife, including bears, chamois and wolves!
Relax
After a long ride put your feet up in comfort and take in the golden light, a glass of wine and share the stories of the day with new friends.
Why Central Italy?
Hire a Bike and Let Me Show You Around
This less well travelled part of Italy has its own charm, with large national parks, lots of mountains with winding roads through the stunning and varied scenery.
The people are friendly and tourism hasn’t started to change the nature of the place, offering an authentic version of Italy. From Apennine peaks down to the turquoise of the Adriatic, you can find something very different to the normal images of Italy in the travel guides. Here is something particular, exclusive even.
Add to this the long riding season and you have a motorcycling paradise!
Blog & News
A collection of my thoughts, experiences and guides to life in and around Abruzzo.
What Organised Motorcycle Tours Add To The Experience
Why Going on an Organised Motorcycle Tour Has Advantages[…]
Food in Abruzzo
Discovering some of the Local Food Specialties of Abruzzo[…]
Autostrade Tolls in Italy
Italian Autostrade are different enough from UK motorways, but[…]
Frequently asked questions
n Italy there are some things you must have on you at all times. It is not uncommon to be stopped for spot checks by Carabinieri, whether you’re on a bike or in a car. These are the things you must carry:
- the motorcycle registration papers*
- a driving licence and photographic identity
- insurance certificate*
- a reflective vest to be used in the event of a break-down or accident*
- spare spectacles or contact lenses if the driver uses corrective eye-wear (an Italian driving licence states if the holder wears spectacles)
* If you are riding a rental bike these should be provided for you. Make sure you keep them safe, preferably with your driving license and ID.
The main place that I suggest is Hertz Ride. We will start the tour very close to their HQ just outside Rome.
Hertz Ride: https://www.hertzride.com/en/motorcycle-rental
The other two I would suggest are:
HP Motorrad Rentals: https://www.hpmotorrad.rentals/en/rentalbmw/17-bmw-r1250gs.html (another easy location to ride out from).
Tourrent: https://tourent.it/en/ (Rome city centre, not for the feint hearted!)
I’m not going to lie, it’s surviveable of course, but not great! Vegetarians are more easily catered to thanks to bread, cheese and tomatoes but vegetarianism doesn’t have the foothold here yet you may be used to and vegan choice can be extremely limited. There is perhaps a better understanding of veganism though, and often there are vegan friendly croissants (cornetti) available for breakfast. Non dairy milk for coffee is fairly widespread. Check out the blog post on coffee for more on that. ‘Vegetarian’ can be interpreted by locals as just avoiding flesh of mammals and so fish, gelatine etc etc all potentially slip under their radar!
Keeping comfortable is an important part of riding safety, your likelihood of having some kind of mishap increases if you’re shivering with cold or sweating like crazy! It’s recommended to check the weather on a local site (like meteo.it – download their app for your visit) prior to setting off. With the region going from 0 to over 2000 meters in altitude you can expect a wide range of temperatures, but when the sun is out, it’s usually quite warm to very hot. Dressing in layers is strongly advised.
Credit cards are widely accepted, especially in post-Covid Italy. Cash is accepted too of course.
Every day is a treat of twisting roads, through ever changing scenery in a country where motorcycling is an accepted norm. The region’s food is delicious, with good, fresh ingredients making wonderful, traditional dishes.
We’ll ride at a fairly relaxed pace so you can soak up the sights as well as the curves. Stops for coffee and lunch will punctuate the day before coming to a halt in the evening to relax and eat in comfortable hotels.
So Who Am I?
Hi! I’m Adam
Welcome to Ride Italia this is my project to spread the love of the region of Italy that I live in to a wider audience. I am a guy who loves Italy and Abruzzo in particular. I love riding motorcycles (pretty much paradise here!) and I love coffee, wine and food. My career up to this point has been (and continues to be in part) inside the motorcycle industry.
Originally an enthusiast, then mechanic and college lecturer in motorcycle mechanics. In my 35 years in the motorcycle industry I’ve been a service manager, technical trainer, training manager, college tutor and a regional aftersales manager. I’ve been self employed (in several trainer/mechanic roles), worked for large dealerships and worked for Piaggio UK to name a few.
Now I explore the region I moved to in 2020 and would love to share its many joys with you and show you some of the many gems the area has to offer and spread the love of this region – Ride Italia is not a huge company of people trying to get rich.
