My partner and I recently took a bicycle trip to Sicily. I was totally ignorant of the island’s many virtues and nearly didn’t go, but I’m so glad I did.

Sicily had the rugged remoteness of Central Asia complete with a snowy volcano.

In the stone-built hilltop towns it was sleepy autumn with rich colors, but the by the cliff-faced beaches and low valleys it was lush and green and as hot as I can handle.

Because we were cycling right across the island, we could eat as much as we wanted of the sweet cornettos and delicious pizzas and pastas.

It felt really good to be outside all day, to get healthy and strong. To spend two weeks without stepping in a car. Just trains, bicycles, our own two feet.

I hope the following info helps others discover this ancient and surprising land for themselves.

timing & weather

Second half of November, 14 days. We had sunny 20°C days at first, then 15°C partially cloudy days. There was strong wind on a few days, light rain on a few days. There was a downpour one night. In total, we spent about an hour taking cover, the rest was good riding weather.

riding

Mainly asphalt secondary and tertiary roads, with many patches and potholes, travelled by few and courteous drivers. Many roads had no traffic whatsoever. We stopped often to marvel at the rugged hills and valleys stretching out in all directions, in quiet interrupted only by the low clangs of the bells of a nearby herd of cows. There were some steep climbs and gravel descents and ascents.

We encountered many unconfined sheep dogs with a mean bark. Fortunately, they backed off reliably when we got off the bike and put the bike between us. Many more were confined but still got their daily exercise sprinting wildly across their paddocks until we were thoroughly chased off.

accommodation

We stayed in bed and breakfast type places that ran from 60€ to 90€ per night for a double room. Breakfast of sweet pastries with cups of delicious coffee by the owner was the norm. Nearly all were in the centre of the village, where at least one panificio and pasticceria opened early in the morning, so it was easy to buy extra food.

daily routine

Sunset at about 16:30 meant that we had to start the day’s ride as early as possible. This was at 9 on most days. I think with self-prepared or deferred breakfast, it could be much earlier. First light was at 6:30.

On almost all days, the route went right through the main street of one or more villages. The off-season meant that some of the places were closed, but there was always something open to get lunch from, assuming we arrived during the hour when the village eats their lunch. That seemed to be around 13:00.

There was a pause from about 14:00 to 17:00 for all services in such villages. Weekends (which we quickly lost track of in the carefree and simple days of cycling) had a significant effect on which places were open and when.

We typically made it over halfway by lunch and got to the accommodation in the last of the light. Sometimes we had to cycle the final kilometers towards the last village of the day in the dark. The roads got busier after sunset and cycling in the dark got more stressful. On the other hand, it meant that we got to enjoy the glorious golden hour from the saddle on quieter winding roads. Sometimes we glimpsed our day’s destination just as the sun sank behind the hills on which it lay. I think it’s worth a bit of stress to time things this way. 

food

With dinners at restaurants and pizzerias, lunch at bars and rosticcerias, breakfast at bars and pasticcerias and panificios (or all three of them in a rapid succession), the average was about 40€ per day per person. This could probably be optimized to 25€ by skipping the multi-course meals at restaurants that we couldn't resist trying. Good food was everywhere.

rental / logistics / route planning

For this trip, we had almost no time to plan anything beforehand. We were going to have to make it up as we go along. In my experience, this can lead to great adventure, or it can lead to the pain of rerouting to a major highway for hours because that exciting and promising line on the map turned out to be a knee-deep mudpit. With nettles. With thorny bushes. I was a little worried that there would be a lot of this rerouting pain, because I have a tendency to be optimistic about squiggly lines on maps. 

Fortunately, when looking for bicycles to rent on our first day, we stumbled upon the people that had gone through all this, nettles and all, and mapped a route right across the island called the Sicily Divide. We stepped into their cozy vaulted Palermo studio knowing next to nothing. We emerged not an hour later with gravel touring bicycles and panniers, excited to set off along the coast towards the city of Trapani on a route of theirs called Best of the West. And best it was. The advice, the equipment, the friendly support throughout our trip exceeded all my expectations. 

The routes that we ended up following, Best of the West, Sicily Divide, were close to perfect for us. The days were well-balanced: there were demanding sections with rich rewards, quiet riding on roads least traveled and town square bustle, ample food exactly when needed, countless vistas of great variety. There was a sense of purpose, of welcome, of constant progress. I wouldn’t hesitate to try their other routes on future trips.