This is how my Grand Escape Cycling Tuscany ride worked out, or more precisely, how it didn’t work out. Basically, I never managed to coordinate my onsite registration with the organizers or ever catch up with them on the designated route. Let’s begin at the beginning. I paid my fees, submitted my paperwork, and ultimately got an email with an attached itiniary PDF that gave the details of the onsite check-in process. The night before the start of the event I drove 3 hours to the designated check-in location. No one was there. Just a locked area with the Grand Escape Tent on the other side of the fence. I hung around until dark and then started the 3-hour return drive back to my place.

Total Cost Range of this Activity is: $

Rather than driving back the next morning I decided to take the local train with my bike. Since they were so sloppy with registration, I figured I could be an hour late for the morning registration. I showed up at 10 am (an hour after the official start time) and once again the area was deserted, and the Grand Escape tent sat empty (except for a lot of granola bars). What to do? I set off on my own, following the route through the Tuscan countryside. At no time did I see any indication of the organizers or any riders. By mid-afternoon, after 62 leisurely km, I decided to give up on this elusive Grand Escape group. They had definitely done a ‘grand escape’ from my bucket list. I stopped for the night and camped outside a cemetery near the town of Fellonica. My second day was more of the same. I rode at a lazy pace for 40 km until I reached the train station in Grosseto. Once again, I did not see any sign of the Grand Escape group so gave up on the organization and decided I would simply ride sections of the designated route on my own schedule.  I hopped on a local train home to avoid a day of bad weather. I then did some day rides, over the next few days, that covered other parts of the designated Grand Escape Tuscany route (see links below). Near Siena I did run into some scattered riders from the event (it appeared that they were well spread out over the course). I struck up a conversation with one rider at a burger spot and mentioned my registration experience. He said he got an email from the organization informing him that the evening registration was canceled. For some reason I didn’t get that email. He also stated that the organizers closed the registration area after the beginning of the event at 9 am so that they could drive ahead of the group to film and take photos. Clearly, I didn’t get that memo either. My bike and hammock. The Grand Escape Bike Adventure Series organization is a very small and informal affair. I don’t fault them for that, but I do fault them for lack of coordination. It just seems like the $100+ fee is a lot for a publicly available bike route, a cycling cap, a hand full of granola bars and a lack of designated daily targets that could keep the group cohesive. Conclusion. I will pass on future Grand Escape Bike Adventure Series events. Download the 6-day GPS Track of this ride. More about the Grand Escape – Bike Adventure Series organization – My Opinion My Siena to Florence Ride My Florence to Pisa Ride See all my Tracks The list of only Cycling & GPS Tracks. The Spirit Bike Packing blog site. Home