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GBI Sicilia 2019

Do you like some warming sun, while autumnal cold prevails at home? And you can combine it with enjoying typical sicilian hospitality, exploring picturesque villages and refreshing in the Mediterranean Sea. The Etna is always in sight and finally you will climb the vulcano and cycle through its moon-like lava areas. This (and much more) is on your schedule at this GBI cycling tour through eastern Sicily.

Benvenuti in Sicilia!

October 3rd - 7th, 2019

Check out our tour pics
cannolo klein
cefalu klein
Etna klein
Piazza Armerina klein
[Group 42]-P9120376 P9120378-3 images
12b - seaside in Cecina beach
20160909 151837 klein
Hafenbucht FB
IMG 3293
P9110343
General information

Do you like some warming sun, while autumnal cold prevails at home? And you can combine it with enjoying typical sicilian hospitality, exploring picturesque villages and refreshing in the Mediterranean Sea. The Etna is always in sight and finally you will climb the vulcano and cycle through its moon-like lava areas. This (and much more) is on your schedule at this GBI cycling tour through eastern Sicily.

Tour highlights:
  - Enjoy Sicilian hospitality & cuisine
  - Refresh yourself with a plunge into the Mediterranean Sea
  - Explore the picturesque Piazza Armerina
  - Sleep at the base of a volcano
  - Get enchanted by the unique lava area
  - Pedal through extensive orange & lemon plantations
  - Enjoy the sunset at Cefalù
- Climb the Etna on two wheels

 

As most of Sicily is very hilly, you should be aware of frequent ups and down. We have designed the route in order to touch as many 'must sees' as possible, but also to give you an impression of the beauty of the islands countryside. We will enjoy good food and wine and sleep in exciting locations.

All kinds of bikes are welcome, whether you have a road bike, mountainbike, city bike or even pedelecs. Depending on the number of participants we will cycle in several (at least two) teams with different speed levels.

The Global Biking Initiative (GBI) wants to show you the most interesting places in Europe the sportive way. We are proud of our international participants, that makes it easy for everybody to make new friends from other countries. Our main goal is the continuous support of charity projects worldwide. We achieve this by engaging the participants to raise funds that support charity projects in their home countries.

More information needed?

There might some things missing on our event page or you have some specific questions?

Feel free to contact us.

Oliver Harzen
Tour organisation

Send a mail

Charity

As the GBI is a charity ride, you have to register for a GBI country (typically your home country) and raise funds in addition to the participation fee for the local supported charity in this country. The minimum donation for this event is 50 €. Each participant is kindly requested to raise more than the minimum donations to support our charity projects.

No clue how to raise funds?
Uncertain how and who to ask for donations?
Check out our tipps for your fund raising activities!

More information
Services & prices

Participation

The departure of this tour is guaranteed, as the minimum number of participants is already reached!

 

Participation
from 439 €
Participation at GBI Sicilia 2019

This is the fee for all services of the tour (from October 3rd - 7th), described under 'What is included'.

Depending on the registration date there are different prices:

Early Bird registration (Dec. 1, 2018 - June 3rd, 2019)
- Ensuite double bedroom: 439,- €/person
- Ensuite single bedroom: 539,- €/person

Regular registration (June 4th - Sept. 5th, 2019)
- Ensuite double bedroom: 489,- €/person
- Ensuite single bedroom: 589,- €/person

Additional night (October 2nd) can be booked separately.

Late registrations are only possible by exception. In this case please send a mail to support@gbi-event.org beforehand to check the availability.

Extra night
from 79 €
Pre-night in Nicolosi

Accommodation for the night prior to the tour (October 2nd) in a hand-picked B&B with breakfast at the base of the Etna.

Depending on the registration date there are different prices:

Early Bird registration (Dec. 1, 2018 - June 3rd, 2019)
- Double/triple bedroom: 79,- €/person
- Single bedroom: 99,- €/person

Regular registration (June 4th - Sept. 5th, 2019)
- Double/triple bedroom: 89,- €/person
- single bedroom: 109,- €/person

Late registrations are only possible by exception. In this case please send a mail to support@gbi-event.org beforehand to check the availability.

Transport
n/a
Bike & luggage transport

We do not offer bike & luggage transportation service for this event.

But we are happy to connect you with a local bike rental in case you do not want to bring your own bike to the tour.

Bicycle
n/a
GBI Rental Bike

We do not offer GBI rental bikes for this event.

We cooperate with bike rental Cyclofree (www.ciclofree.it) in Sicily, who rent roadbikes and other bicycles.
The bikes will be delivered to and collected from the tour start location. Please contact the rental company for further details and your direct booking.

What's included

4 x accommodation (October 3rd - 7th) in single or double ensuite bedrooms in hand-picked hotels or B&Bs. In some locations not all double bedrooms are equipped with twinbeds. In Nicolosi it may happen that we have some triple occupancies. For more hotel details please see 'Venues'.
Breakfast
Included dinner in at least one location
Quick and easy event registration
Detailed and up-to-date event information on the website
GPX tracks of all days and tracks for download
GBI mobile app with useful tour information
Route information and daily news
Different cycling teams to suit different abilities and aspiration levels (number of teams depending on number of participants, min. 2 teams)
Teamleaders equipped with GPS routing devices
Service car along the route for pick-up service and with bike repair box
Daily luggage transport to each stage venue
Nutrition points with drinks and energy bars each day
GBI drink bottle
Photo service
Convenient pre-check-in service
International participants
Support of charities worldwide
A lot of fun, unforgettable moments, great international and cross-cultural companionship, challenging moments and radiant eyes

Excluded Services

Everything not explicitely listed above incl. entrance fees, public transportation, transfer to individually booked hotels, rental bikes, lunch & dinner, accident and health insurance, etc.

Tour description

Itinerary

Day 1: Nicolosi - Enna
From our hotel at the base of the Etna we are starting the tour. After some meters we pass a monticule that shows us the recent activities of the volcano. We roll some hundred height meters down to the flatland of Catania. Later that day the route ascends with many hills while we pass Raddusa and Valguarnera Caropepe. Our destination, the hilltop village of Enna, is requesting a challenging climb at the end of the day, but we will be rewarded by a phantastic lookout.
Track 2 leaves the regular route at Raddusa and visits the village Aidone on top of a hill, before heading to Enna.

Day 2: Enna - Cefalù
From the island's interior today we are heading to the north coast of Sicily. Before we reach the sea at the end of the day we can expect a day ahead that has it all. Constant ups and downs from the beginning, and after leaving the village of Alimena both tracks split. Through the beautiful mountain scenery of Sicily we reach Castelbuono and after a long descent there is the ocean in front of us. On a panoramic coastal route we will bypass the rock of Cefalu and visit the nice city at the foot of the rock.
Track 2 will detour in the challenging mountain area before reaching Castelbuono and descending to Cefalu.

Day 3: Cefalù - Santa Domenica Vittoria
Most of the day we will pedal relaxed and without many climbs along the north coast from Cefalù to Rocca di Capri Leone. As we cycle usually close to the beaches, there are always opportunities for a swim stop. After leaving the coast we immediately start to climb to the mountainous hinterland. For 40 km the road now meanders up to more than 1200 meter height. A beautiful descent overlooking the volcanic cone of Etna follows until we reach our idyllic location for the night.

Day 4: Santa Domenica Vittoria - Nicolosi
This day is all about the volcano. In the morning we will easily descent to Randazzo and follow the river Alcantara. The gorgeous Gole Alcantara with its canyons and bizarre rocks at the river invite us for a stop before we reach the coast. For almost 20 km we will cycle close to beautiful beaches. At Riposto we will leave the coast and start for the last climb of the tour. At the mountain side of the Etna we will climb 1100 m within the unique lava area and later descend to Nicolosi.
Track 2 will climb much more and after 1900 (!) m ascend we are on the highest point accessible by road at the volcano.

Day 5: Nicolosi
We wake up with a glance to the volcano before we go back home after some beautiful sicilian cycling days.

Stage overview

Day Route Track Distance Climb
Day 1 - October 3rd, 2019 Nicolosi - Enna 1
2
103 km
117 km
1900 m
2200 m
Day 2 - October 4th, 2019 Enna - Cefalù 1
2
113 km
126 km
1790 m
2230 m
Day 3 - October 5th, 2019 Cefalù - Santa Domenica Vittoria 1
2
128 km 2310 m
Day 4 - October 6th, 2019 Santa Domenica Vittoria - Nicolosi 1
2
87 km
103 km
1490 m
2190 m

The tracks of the different stages differ in general regarding their length and the climb as well as the surface.
A detailed description can be found here:

Track 1

Recommended for all kinds of bikes including road bikes. Only paved roads on the track. Shorter and less challenging than track 2.

Track 2

Recommended in particular for road bikes, the distance is longer and more climb than on track 1.

Venues

Day 1 - Tour start

Nicolosi
B&B Sotto il vulcano & B&B Etna House & Villa nel Monte

The tour will start from the cozy B&B Sotto il Vulcano in Nicolosi at the base of Mount Etna.

The two other accommodations are in direct neighborhood.

Day 1

Enna
Hotel Bristol ***

We are accommodated in a familiy run hotel in the city.

Day 2

Cefalù
Hotel Baia del Capitano ****

We stay in a convenient hotel close to the beach.

Day 3

Santa Domenica Vittoria
Agri Hotel Da Marianna***

We stay in a family run rural hotel with included dinner.

Day 4 (Tour finish)

Nicolosi
B&B Sotto il vulcano & B&B Etna House & Villa nel Monte

The tour ends at the cozy B&B in Nicolosi at the base of Mount Etna.

Teams

Each GBI participant cycles in a team, guided by an experienced teamleader. Teamsize is limited to ten riders maximum because of legal requirements.

You can choose a team, which fits best to your experience, your objectives and your preferred track.

Find your team

TEAM Dolce Vita
Oliver Harzen
Teamnumber 1
1
22 km/h
Languages: German, English

The main focus is to have fun, see a lot of the lovely nature and cycle with an appropriate speed on each stage.
TEAM Mare e monti
David Calpin
Teamnumber 2
2
23 km/h
Languages: English

The main focus is to have fun, see a lot of the lovely nature and cycle with an appropriate speed on each stage.
TEAM Etna
Hardy Schmidt
Teamnumber 3
2
25 km/h
Languages: German, English

The main focus is to have fun, see a lot of the lovely nature and cycle with an appropriate speed on each stage.
TEAM GBI-Support
Teamnumber 10
0 km/h
Registration for GBI Staff only!

There is no appropriate team for you?

You can set up your own team and define, which track you want to cycle, the average speed as well as an appropriate team name.

Write an e-mail to support@gbi-event.org.

Downloads

The GPX files are now available per day and track.

After uploading them to your GPS device the name convention is as follows: GBI SI19: [day, e.g. D1] [track, e.g. T1]

If you are not experienced in uploading GPX tracks on your device, please check your user manual. And make sure that you have the right maps on your device. Please avoid to ask the support team for technical issues regarding your device or app, as you might know, close to the tour we have very limited time and a lot to do.

GPX Tracks

  • GBISicilia2019Day1Track1a.gpx (252.0 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day1Track1b.gpx (242.9 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day1Track2a.gpx (298.9 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day1Track2b.gpx (266.7 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day2Track1a.gpx (247.0 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day2Track1b.gpx (372.8 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day2Track2a.gpx (284.0 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day2Track2b.gpx (328.1 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day3Track1_2.gpx (352.3 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day4Track1.gpx (230.4 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day4Track2a.gpx (290.9 KiB)
  • GBISicilia2019Day4Track2b.gpx (306.7 KiB)
Schedule

All dates and times are provisional! We will announce changes in due time.

Date Location Time Activity
October 2nd, 2019 Nicolosi during the day Individual arrival in Nicolosi (if you have booked the pre-night)
October 3rd, 2019 Nicolosi
Nicolosi
Nicolosi
from 8:00 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Handover of rental bikes
Short briefing
Tour start
October 4th, 2019 Enna 8:00-9:00 a.m. Individual start of the teams
October 5th, 2019 Cefalù 8:00-9:00 a.m. Individual start of the teams
October 6th, 2019 Santa Domenica Vittoria
Nicolosi
8:00-9:00 a.m.
afternoon
Individual start of the teams
Arrival of teams
October 7th, 2019 Nicolosi in the morning Individual departure from Nicolosi, tour end
Sponsors

A GBI would not be possible without the strong support of our sponsors! A great thank you to those, who make this event happen!

partner
files/gbi/sponsor/AppYourself_150px.png
files/gbi/sponsor/7p_150px.jpg

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DE-41564 Kaarst

info@gbi-event.org

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