Great cycling experience!
Outstanding value... how do they do it (Answer: Riccione is very quiet outside of July/August, and this is how to draw business).
best features:
-Laundry service daily for your cycling stuff (this was amazing)
Amazing buffet with simple meals, great flavours, and perfectly cooked pasta
-lots of cycling on offer with multiple levels of difficulty
-no nickle-and-diming: includes meals, water, wine, coffee (you pay for beers and cocktails)
-Very pleasant guides to take you on quality rides
-Excellent bikes: even the 'entry-level' Scott CR1 was outstanding, stiff, responsive and comfortable. Ultegra groupo was excellent (one minor mechanical fixed by team)
-Very nice suite with an outdoor room including soaking tub and couch
-Provide free city bike service so you can get around town
-Very friendly and helpful staff
- Very supportive refund policy and deep discount if you book ahead (we rescheduled with now issues with a 3 month lead time)
Nothing is perfect, here are some downsides:
-Riccione is very quiet, and does not offer high-end shopping if that's what you're looking for (go to Bologna for that, or Florence)... Riccione is a bit like a Jesery Shore in the off season if that means anything to you...
-Rental helmets were originally not great (I pointed this out on the first day and acceptable helmets were provided the next morning - Thanks!)
-Groups ride together, so sometimes you have to wait for slower people (also guests should show some insight and drop down to a slower group of they can't maintain the pace)
-The meals are plentiful and tasty, but simple. You might want to make reservations for one night out for a fancier fare
-Bring your own nutrition bars and electrolyte tabs, not easy to find locally; only at some bike stores like Technobike - a short 'city bike' ride away
-Finally the roads are not perfect: lots of broken pavements, even in turns. Roads in Spain were smoother and faster - don't expect to break descending speed records here - this may actually be a good thing. You get a lot of those long/linear fractures that can trap a front or rear wheel if inattentive.
Honestly these downsides are very minimal. Overall this was a truly great cycling vacation for my wife and me. We would certainly go back.
For reference we've ridden with Trek travel on ride camp and explorer rides. This was far, far cheaper, offered (overall) better cycling challenge (to me anyway) than Tuscany explorer for example, and nutrition was better geared to a cyclist (more pasta, less 'rich' foods with creams and meat, and on a far friendlier schedule - big meal at 2-4 pm), hotel was a bit simpler but more geared towards cyclists (see laundry service). Oh and there are two hot tubs (actually warm), massage jets in the pool, sauna, and the hotel provides robes and slippers. Bikes were comparable in quality to Trek Domane (no isoflex uncoupler but the big tires smooth out the ride), and my wife was perfectly fit on a 47 cm Scott frame (she is xxsmall at 5 ft tall), while I was very happy with my 54 cm (I'm 5'9"). Bring your own pedals and shoes. read more
