My team (Ayalot IWCC) and myself, left Tel-Aviv, flew through Frankfurt, arrived at Bologna and continued by van to Riccione.  Riccione is a cute little town on the beach in the provence of Rimini.  We arrived at a hotel that looked quite standard – Nice lobby, small pool and a couple of Jacuzzi’s, a bar with a television and reception.  In the next few days I realized that after relaxing my muscles  in a  much needed Jacuzzi,  I would be partying in the lobby most of the time with friendly Europeans,  drinking beers and watching the Giro D’Italia.

The hotel is truly unique.  Hotels are never quite as social as they should be.  You usually stick to the people that you have arrived with and people you do meet are usually no more than casual acquaintances.  Hotel Dory is different.  Each week, a new batch of people arrive and rent bikes from the hotel.  After riding with these people day after day, you form relationships too.  They have a full line of Scott bikes that are adjusted to your measurements which you send by email ahead of time.  Once you are set up with your bike, you need to check the rides for the next day.  Rides are split into different levels; Limoncino is the fastest bike with the strongest riders, Cappuccino Super is one step down , Cappuccino is easier still and another group (I forgot it’s name) which is very leisurely riding.  Every morning at 9:30AM, all of the riders go downstairs, grab some sandwiches and a banana, get their bike, and wait on the street for the groups to gather.  The groups leave one by one and come back about four hours later to have a nice lunch buffet and relax, take a nap, watch the Giro and get ready for the next day or riding.  This goes on each and every day with a couple of “rest” days scattered throughout.

I won’t detail the routes that we took; everything is available on the Hotel Dory website. What I do want to mention is how evident it is to me that this or similar types of vacations are my “style”.  I can see myself doing a “bicycle touring” trip in Europe or another country where you carry all of your worldly possessions on your bike and ride from town to town.  I also see myself doing another trip similar to this one where you have one “base” from which you can go on daily excursions with your bike.  One thing is for certain – I’m not leaving home without my Diva.  I definitely need a bike anywhere that I am going to spend at least two weeks.

Aside from the minor weight gain, and a few group dynamics issues, I did have an amazing time.  In retrospect, I should have settled for the slower group because I’m used to flats and not mountains right now.  Either way, a vacation like this allows you to return stronger and maybe just a tiny bit overweight… Totally worth it.

Nina’s famous apple slicing hands

Random ride video

For the rest of the photos, go to Picasa Web Album