GBI Sicilia 2017

The season opening 2017 will lead us to a four days roundtrip in western Sicily in south Italy. Cycling in the sun should banish your springtime lethargy.

Benvenuti in Sicilia!

April 14 - 17, 2017

General information

Tour highlights

Stroll through Palermo and feel the Dolce Vita

Appreciate a phantastic view at the mountain village of Erice

Relax in the sun at one of the numerous sandy beaches

Drink a sweet Marsala wine along with a superb tiramisu at Marsala

Cycle through the salines of Trapani

Discover ancient times at the excavation site of Selinunte

We will discover the western part of the largest Italian island. From Palermo we will cycle mainly near the coast and visit many interesting places, villages and some nice beaches. But we will also cycle through the inner land with some challenging hills on our way. The route will be mostly flat with some smaller hills, but on the last day challenging climbs can be expected. The final tour destination will be again in Palermo.

All different kinds of bikes are welcome, whether you have a road bike, mountainbike, city bike or even an eBike. 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 in a sportive way. We are proud of our international participants, that makes it easy for everybody to make new friends from other countries. One of our main goals is the continuous support of charity projects worldwide. We achieve this by engaging the participants to raise funds for a charity project in their home country.

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 tips for your fund raising activities!

More information

Route

Day 1
After a joint tour start each team will individually find its way to the daily destination. We will cycle at the northern coast and pass the international airport of Palermo, where we meet additional participant, who flew in just in time. We cycle all the way along the golf coast with lovely beaches. Castellammare del Golfo is our destination for that day.

Day 2
Soon after the start we will have to climb the first hills of the tour. But later on we will see the coast again and cycle to Trapani, the 'Città tra due mari'. This stage will end in a famous wine region of Sicily in Marsala. This city is well known for the Masala wine, a sweet liquor wine. Track 2 will make a detour to the ancient hill village of Erice.

Day 3
That day we cycle again along the western coast of Sicily. Close to the famous archeological site of Selinunte we head away from the coast. The day ends at a nice country hotel near Sambuca di Sicilia.

Day 4
This is the queen's stage of the tour. We have to cross the island from south to north. On our way there is the highest point of the tour of about 800 m high, but afterwards we have a wonderful descent to Palermo, the final destination of this tour.

Day	Route	Track	Distance	Climb
Day 1	Palermo - Castellammare di Golfo	1 2	90 km 126 km	840 m 1470 m
Day 2	Castellammare di Golfo - Marsala	1 2	93 km 155 km	1370 m 2740 m
Day 3	Marsala - Sambuca di Sicilia	1 2	100 km 142 km	1030 m 1590 m
Day 4	Sambuca di Sicilia - Palermo	1	94 km	1400 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 are on the track. In general the street cover is sometimes rough and the road surface is often flawed. Please keep this in mind for the choice of your tires (in case you bring your own bike).

Track 2

Recommended for road bikes, the distance is longer and more climb than on track 1. In general the street cover is sometimes rough and the road surface is often flawed. Please keep this in mind for the choice of your tires (in case you bring your own bike).

Venues

Day 0 (prior to tour start)

Eurostars Centrale Palace Hotel ****

Via Vittorio Emanuele 327, Monte di Pietà, Palermo, 90134, Italy

Hotel accommodation in single or double bed rooms with breakfast and private bathroom.

This accommodation is not part of the participation fee and can be booked separately.

Day 1

Tour start

Hotel Eurostars Centrale Palace, Via Vittorio Emanuele, 327, 90134 Palermo, Italy

The start of the tour is at the tour hotel.

Day 1

Hotel Cala Marina ***

Via Don L. Zangara 1, Castellammare Del Golfo, 91014, Italy

Hotel accommodation in single or double bed rooms with breakfast and private bathroom.

Day 2

Best Western Hotel Stelle d’Italia ****

Mario Rapisardi 7, Marsala, 91025, Italy

Hotel accommodation in single or double bed rooms with breakfast and private bathroom.

Day 3

Hotel Don Giovanni ****

Contrada Pandolfina, Sambuca Di Sicilia, 92017, Italy

Hotel accommodation in single or double bedrooms with breakfast and private bathroom. It may be necessary that some participants with double room booking will be accommodated in a triple bed room here.

Day 4

Final destination

Hotel Eurostars Centrale Palace, Via Vittorio Emanuele, 327, 90134 Palermo, Italy

The finish of the tour is at the tour hotel in Palermo.