Unpaved Italy

Eight days across central Italy from Bologna to Pescara, mostly on gravel. The headline attraction is the strade bianche, the white unsurfaced roads that run between Tuscan hill farms and are famous enough to have a cycle race named after them.

The opening is harder than the ending. Cesena comes first by way of Marzabotto and the northern Apennines, then Citta di Castello, and the forest and mountain sections on these days are demanding rather than scenic cruising. Lake Trasimeno follows on the strade bianche themselves, which are the easiest and most photogenic riding of the week, pale dust tracks lined with cypress.

Orvieto arrives by way of Carsulae, a Roman town abandoned after an earthquake and left largely unexcavated, which is the sort of stop that only turns up on a route that avoids main roads. Cascia follows, then the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, the largest protected area in the Apennines, before the finish near Pescara on the Adriatic.

Edelweiss include a choice of BMW GS or adventure model, seven nights of hotels, a guide and a tour book. This is a one-way tour between Bologna and Pescara airports, flights are separate, and the inclusions are not itemised in full on the operator’s page. Prices are per person for 2026. The mix here is unusual and well judged: the strade bianche are gentle enough to enjoy without off-road experience, but the Apennine sections are not, so this suits a rider with some dirt competence rather than a complete beginner.