Working as a Backroads Trip Leader in Tuscany certainly has its perks. Besides the great food and wine, there is a fabulous cycling culture supported by an excellent infrastructure of well-paved and well-marked roads. Over the years I've created a list of my favorite rides in the region, some featured on our Backroads trips and others a combination of local favorites. Here are my top five bike rides that showcase the best of the heart of Tuscany, the idyllic region between Florence, Arezzo and Siena.
About: Jane Mangione
Jane, a native of Northern Virginia, grew up destined to eat her way through Italy thanks to her last name, "Mangione," which literally means “hearty eater” in Italian. She currently leads cycling trips for Backroads in Italy, her adopted homeland, and she spends her down time there seeking out new local eateries. Jane collects recipes from her travels and is a self-confessed green smoothie junkie. She documents her epicurean adventures on Instagram (http://instagram.com/jemangione) and Twitter (@JEMangione). Prior to Backroads, Jane worked for an Italian aerospace company and once spent two weeks flying over the U.S. in a military cargo plane. In college she studied art, and she currently specializes in mosaics. Can't get enough of Jane? Check out her most recent personal blog project, which, she warns, is a bit sentimental: www.magicandpasta.com.
Recent Posts by Jane Mangione
Staying Warm in Italy’s Dolomites
Wait! Don’t put that winter active wear away just yet. If you’re planning a trip to the Dolomites during the summer, you might just need it. There is often this misconception about “sunny Italy” being, well, warm all the time. But it’s a long peninsula that experiences true seasons and isn’t always under the Tuscan sun.
Guest Profile: Collier & Kate
It was pure serendipity that allowed Collier Lumpkin and me to be here together, enjoying an enormous fish stew at Ristorante Belforte overlooking the tiny harbor of Vernazza in Italy's Cinque Terre. Our lives had been running parallel paths for some time, but it wasn't until a year before that our worlds finally collided on a Backroads trip in Puglia.
Leader Stasa Kraljic
"Tourism: Your everyday life is somebody else's adventure." Staša Kraljiĉ uses this quote from international free speech organization Loesje to rationalize her love for working in tourism, which she has done--to some extent--since she was in college. You could easily replace 'tourism' with 'Staša' in this quote, as this Backroads Leader is a fun-loving, globe-trotting polyglot who tirelessly lives life to the fullest.
Connect with Locals
One of the best parts of a Backroads trip is the connection with a place and its locals, and one of the best parts of being a Backroads leader is creating our own connections and facilitating them for our guests. At the beginning of my first season leading trips in Italy, I was unsure about my ability to provide this connection.
Recent Comments by Jane Mangione
- September 29, 2014 on Staying Warm in Italy’s Dolomites
- April 29, 2014 on Rhode Rash Team
- March 29, 2014 on Connect with Locals
- March 26, 2014 on Colpo d’Aria
- March 26, 2014 on Connect with Locals
