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This year, from 19th – 26th March, 23 BTS Members took the annual pilgrimage to Riccione on the North East coast of Italy, for a week of early season sun drenched cycling, many of whom were out for the first time. For those of you who have never been, the week roughly goes like this, with a few anecdotal stories from the days thrown in for good measure.....

Most of the group all travelled out on the same flight from Gatwick, with some committed enough to bring their own steeds, or at least those who have bikes better or more suitable than the ones you can hire (worth £2,500). It is always a worrying moment to ensure your bike box makes it off the carousel at the other end in one piece.

After an hour or so on the road via courtesy coach, we arrived at Hotel Dory in Riccione. The hotel itself is clean and modern, and with staff that has been there for several years, it is immediately familiar for those who have been more than once. Riccione itself is pleasant enough, but in the off season, there is not an abundance of holiday activity going on, although the sea front is very nice and the shops are tempting enough for some to part with their cash.
The rest of Saturday was spent checking in, signing for and locating our bike in the extensive storage area, and then making sure it fits. Some brought their own pedals to match their shoes, or even their own saddle. This year, if you are Debbie Beadle, you bring pedals that don’t match the shoes/cleats you have, having decided to buy new ones the day before and test them by holding them close to each other!

After a quick shakedown ride, or trip to a bike shop in Debbie’s case, it was time for the first buffet meal of the week, and bring on the pasta! The hotel deal means 3 meals a day are included, and this usually meant large amounts of bread and cold salads, with always at least 2 hot dishes at lunch, and various meats and vegetables in the evening, washed down with draft beer or house wine.

Each day there were 5 rides available, from a Tourist ride, that use flat barred bikes and tend to do about 40km a day visiting various sights in the area, up to ‘Limoncino’ ride, which is normally only the domain of hardcore cyclists (Chris, Simon, Stephen), who will do their best to try and kill each other with high speed ‘chain-gangs’, racing up long hills, and generally not talking very much! This was something that two brave BTS members found on the first morning, when the Limoncino group charged out of town at 25mph and John Booker and Ian Lee-Emery decided they had had enough after 10 minutes and slowed down to join the Super Cappucino ride, who were following up behind, covering the same 105km distance at a few mph slower speed

‘Super Cap’ is about the pace of decent BTS Club A ride, and as a result over half the 16 strong group was made up of Saturday morning regulars such as Julia, Darran, Lynda, Holly, Ian, Paul, John etc. The big difference on this, and any other ride in Ricionne, is the fact that the distance will normally include at least 2-3 decent climbs, sometimes covering several kilometres. These are a bit of a shock to the system on Day 1.

Next ride down was Cappuccino, which normally covered about 10-15km less than the top 2 rides, and regular B riders like Gervase, and Italy newbies Debbie and Heather, spent the days comfortably at the front of this group, shared normally with several Belgians who love to chat to the ‘strong English girls’

Finally there was ‘Borghi e Castelli’ ride. Again covering perhaps 10-15km (average 75-80/day)less in the day than the ‘Cap’ ride above it, but still taking on some decent ascents, this is typically the pace of BTS ‘C’ ride and Beth Booker, Pippa and Jo O’leary rode this all week.
Regardless of the ride, every group stops for a coffee break on their respective routes, usually somewhere very picturesque before finally returning to the hotel after about 4 hours away. Once we had racked our bikes, and some had gone and stood in the outside pool to cold compress the legs, it was straight into lunch. It can be common to go home from Italy heavier than you arrived, and it is easy to see why!

Two exceptions to the above come on Wednesday and Friday. The weather had got warmer and sunnier all week, with clear blue skies and temperatures in the high teens. Wednesday, all the groups met at the country house of hotel director Stefano to enjoy a big BBQ, Taking in the sun and with a paper cup of wine in your hand, the ride back afterwards can seem like a long way away. Friday, whilst Limoncino and some Super Caps stayed on the normal programme, many others opted for Wine and Food tasting session at a vineyard about 10 miles out from Riccione. Very nice breads, hams and Olive Oils were sampled, followed by a wine filled blast back to town, with several deciding they fancied a race, that meant a strung out group all trying to find their way home without a guide, and a few people abandoned when they punctured at just the wrong moment........This is not the norm!!

All week, afternoons are ours to do with as we please. Some people went for a snooze, others shopping, some even went for a run or swim, as there is a 25m pool nearby. The evenings in Hotel Dory are pretty much the same every night, with pre-dinner drinks at 6, food normally served around 7.30, and then we are all back in the bar by 8.30, where people tended to stay until they decided they were too shattered, remembering they were doing it again tomorrow!

Tuesday was a rest day, and this year coincided with a professional bike race in town. Hotel Dory was even hosting two of the teams, so there was a lot of very expensive bikes outside our hotel for a couple of days and some very slim (and young looking) cyclists floating around. Some people decided to spend the day doing EVEN MORE riding, and a group headed off early to San Marino, about 30km away. Sounds nice until you realise it is basically straight up the whole way! Others opted to let the bus take the strain, and travelled up in the afternoon to take in the sights.

And so, that sums up a week at Hotel Dory. Lots of riding, eating, drinking and laughing. There was the odd minor stumble, a few aching limbs, the odd person falling asleep in the bar (Ralph!) and a chance to get to know your club mates a bit better. For the last few years, the week has been rounded off by drinks in Chris and Gervase’s room (they have a posh suite!) and some vaguely nonsense awards, usually granted to people for showing the best hill climbing skills, great drinking prowess, or just because they were fun to be with/ride behind!

 If you fancy being a part of this next year, and no doubt BTS will be going next year, then keep an eye out for emails that start coming out around October. And to see what you are in for, check out the 100s of photos at http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b411/berkstrisquad/Italy%202011/