Just over a week ago, WRN assistant editor Tricia Szulewski and I returned from the first WRN Motorcycle Tour of Italy. Hear the Road Motorcycle Tours Italy organized this special tour for me, and nine people signed up—most of them WomenRidersNow.com readers—for an exciting 10-day motorcycle excursion in this beautiful country.
Tricia and I are currently sifting though tons of photos and videos that we each took for stories we will write. Her story will appear in the September / October issue of Motorcycle magazine, the publication where she works full-time as art director and staff writer. My coverage will appear here, on WomenRidersNow.com, and focus on why Italy should be on your bucket list of places to ride your motorcycle. (Update: The story is now=posted here.)
We wanted share just a few of the photos we took to give you a flavor of what we experienced and tease you to come back and read our stories when they publish. If youre interested, heres the story we posted on WRN promoting the tour last November to see specifically where we went.
Click the first photo to view them in a slideshow.
Our 13 motorcycles, a mix of Harley-Davidsons, BMWs, a Ducati and a Moto Guzzi, made quite a spectacle when we rolled into Italys small towns. A local even made it into our picture. Can you find him?Many of the small towns we rode through have narrow cobblestone streets like this one. Cindy, Maria and Janet were strangers three days before this photo was taken. Cindy and Maria came on the tour by themselves; Janet came with her significant other, John. L-r: Monica, Michele, Joy, Maria and Angie enjoying some spaghetti. Pasta was the first course at every meal we ate.Group photo overlooking the Tuscan countryside. L-r: Enrico Grassi Hear the Road Motorcycle Tours Italy owner and tour guide, Monica Flores, John McManus, Janet Crook, Michele Carter, Bill Kneigge, Angie Fyke, Cindy Dehner, Maria Szabo, me Genevieve Schmitt, Shellie Feldman, Tricia Szulewski, and Joy Mormur superimposed in because she wasnt riding that day. Both resorts we stayed at had pools. How inviting after a day of riding. I marveled that at every corner there is something old and ancient in Italy. Heres another of what I joked, your “run-of-the-mill medieval castle” overlooking our group when we pulled off to regroup. Tricia and I dubbed this one the rook, because it looked like the rook chess piece. Our trip pretty much consisted of riding, sightseeing and eating, and this was one of my favorite lunch spots, an outdoor cafe set in an alley way of another “run-of-the-mill medieval towns” we rode through. The history surrounding me was sometimes too much to take!
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Our VIP on this tour was Michele Carter, owner of Adventuress Skin Care and longtime supporter of Women Riders Now. Michele, on a rented Fat Boy, gave samples of her incredible skin care products to the riders. Each day, about 90 minutes into our ride, wed stop for an Italian espresso. Cindy shows us how to sip from these tiny cups. No venti size here!No one knew theyd get riding lessons on this trip, but Tricia, an MSF instructor and expert rider, rode Janet on the back for a brief stint, so Janet could see the “lines” Tricia takes through the corners. Thanks Tricia!I love history, so being in the presence of these ancient structures was almost overwhelming to me. We hopped off our motorcycles and fortunately, my Dainese Gore-Tex outfit was comfortable enough to wear while touring this 11th century abbey that had me breathless!
To learn more about the special customized tour we took, visit Hear The Road Motorcycle Tours Italy.
Be sure to sign up to receive the WRN Newsletter so youre the first to know when I post my complete story on why you should add Italy to your motorcycle bucket list.
2 thoughts on Postcards from the WRN Italy Motorcycle Tour
I’m so glad to see more pictures. Everyone looks they had a great time. I hope they do this trip again. I really wanted to go. Italy is my favorite country I’ve visited.
I’m so glad to see more pictures. Everyone looks they had a great time. I hope they do this trip again. I really wanted to go. Italy is my favorite country I’ve visited.
Love the pictures! One thing for sure, the Ducati pops out in every picture, that would be the one I would want to ride.