Dear all,
A few of us have already booked flights and hotel for the Gimondi. This year will be special, because Maurice has befriended the people of the Cinelli Bike Factory, so on Saturday we will get a tour of the factory and I understand that they will also wine and dine us. Definitely something to look forward to.
Here are the details if you want to join.
Flight: (www.ryanair.com)
GOING OUT
From London Luton (LTN) to Milan (Bergamo) (BGY)
Fri, 15May09 Flight FR4154 Depart LTN at 19:25 and arrive BGY at 22:20
COMING BACK
From Milan (Bergamo) (BGY) to London Luton (LTN)
Sun, 17May09 Flight FR4153 Depart BGY at 22:45 and arrive LTN at 23:45
The cost when I booked was 144 Pounds. (25.98 Pounds for the flight, 42.02 Taxes, 57 for the bike, 9.50 airport check-in fee and another 9.50 credit card fee).
If you have an Electron card, it is a little cheaper. This is with the bike box and carry on (no other checked baggage).
The hotel we went to last year has raised their prices by about 50%. Add the appreciation of the Euro, and it ends up a little too expensive. So I looked for alternatives and found a place for about half the price:
The website of the new hotel is: http://www.hotelpiemontese.com and it is right next to the bus stop by the train station. It got good reviews on Trip advisor and when I called them, they said that they can store our bikes safely. I found the hotel using google maps, and there is not much else that I know about it.
It costs 100 Euros per night per room, which includes breakfast. This translates into somewhere under 100 quid per person for the total of the two nights if two people are sharing a room (depending on exchange rate).
Please contact me if you have any questions
Philippe