The Edelweiss Bike Travel “Southern Italy Delights and Twisties” tour took us through Gran Sasso (Big Rock) with Corno Grande, the Appenines? tallest mountain, stealing the show.

Lying in bed in our darkened hotel room in Morano Calabro, I could hear the loud laughter and music outside. Beneath my open window on the ancient cobblestone walkway of Villa San Domenico, Robin, Shiva, and my wife, Amy, were laughing, singing, and dancing together. Total strangers just a few days earlier, they were now living it up well into the night, despite spending a long day on motorcycles. I had retreated to the room earlier in the evening to jot down my day?s notes and sneak in some much?­needed rest. But instead, I was laying there smiling, soaking in the joy these people had found in each other?s company. I suppose the multiple rounds of Aperol spritz helped a bit too. 
We were approaching the final days of the Edelweiss Bike Travel “Unknown Italy: Secrets of the Appenines” tour, a new 10?­day expedition added to the company?s portfolio (starting in 2024, the name of the tour has been changed to “Southern Italy Delights & Twisties”). Starting in Florence in the exquisite Tuscany region, the route traced the Appenines (Appa?­NEENS), the mountainous spine of Italy stretching more than 800 miles down the center of the country. The tour introduced us to the largely unfamiliar mountainous areas situated between the country?s better known e...