Our family has been in the cycling the world since 1972. Our parents, Rick Price and Paola Malpezzi Price started operating trips with their company Bike Across Italy in 1972 and went on to operate Italian Specialty Tours, Inc. and ExperiencePlus! Specialty Tours, Inc.
Today Cycle Europe is a brand of BikesPlus SRL, an active travel tour operator and outfitter based in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany – owned and operated by Monica and Maria Elena Malpezzi Price and Michele Boglioni, Monica’s partner in life and business. Monica and Maria Elena are also co-owners of the guided bike tour company, ExperiencePlus!, based in the USA. As an Italian-American adventure family we spent our formative years living, working, cycling and walking across cultural and language boundaries between the US and Europe. We grew up planning, designing and guiding cycling and active tours throughout Europe and we are thrilled to continue that legacy with a strong foundation in Italy.
We realized a long time ago that this type of travel was the best way to slow down and see the world. We hope we can help you do the same.
Monica, Michele and Maria Elena
Monica is co-owner of BikesPlus. As our Director of International Operations, she oversees the development and smooth running of all ExperiencePlus! and Cycle Europe tours and operations.
Along with her sister, Maria Elena co-owns BikesPlus and manages the company’s stateside growth and development from its headquarters in Fort Collins, Colorado— although she does still manage to travel to Europe and join on tour whenever she can.
ITALY HUB TEAM
Our team of travel and bicycle tour experts works out of our Faenza, Italy office (which we like to call the HUB).
Click on the + sign under each name to get to know us!
Alain grew up and still lives in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy – home to Forli and the ExperiencePlus! European headquarters. He has studied tourism management in the area and worked in hospitality, starting out at a hotel reception – where he first encountered ExperiencePlus! when a group arrived and checked in. Alain left his hotel job for a year-long solo bicycle tour around Europe and discovered that cycling is his real passion.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2015
- Role in the team: Routes and Tour Development, Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian, English, French and Spanish
- Favorite bike item: Cycling jacket
- Favorite place to ride: The Dolomites
- Next dream vacation: Iceland, Asia, or South America
Andrea was born near the Cinque Terre in Savona, Italy, and raised in Bologna. He earned a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies with a focus on environmental issues and has studied in Italy, Spain, California, and Washington, D.C. Since 2007 Andrea has been exploring new European cycling routes with friends. In 2015 he cycled across Central America, from Cancùn to Panama, and in 2016 he cycled across Cuba. Andrea knows how to bake a mean loaf of authentic Italian bread and loves working in his vegetable garden.
- With Cyle Europe since: 2013
- Role in the team: Tour Leader Manager (ExperiencePlus!)
- Languages: Italian, English, and Spanish
- Favorite bike item: Wheels (silent, smooth, with no friction whatsoever!)
- Favorite place to ride: Sardinia
- Next dream vacation: Southeast Asia
Anna has long experience in the tourism industry since 1995 and is really passionate about promoting our home region Emilia Romagna. She loves the local hospitality, the culture and traditions. She spent a year in England and a year in Germany then she travelled a lot around the world, both on business and on holidays, happy to explore but always eager to get back to Romagna! Now she is really happy to work in active tourism.
Anna loves outdoor sports and activities like mountain biking, running, snow sports, trekking with her dogs and drinking Spritz on the local beach with her friends!
- With Cycle Europe since: 2022
- Role in the team: Tour Reservations, Partner Relation
- Languages: Italian, English, German, French
- Favorite bike item: MTB
- Favorite place to ride: mountains
- Next dream vacation: Svalbard and then South America, back to Africa, New Zeland and Italy!
Everything started at 16 years old with a cultural immersive experience in Brazil where Daria lived for six months; from there the world became a lot bigger and her traveler spirt took form, to the point that Daria lived in 6 different countries and travelled across Europe. Now Daria is back in Italy, and happy to work with us!
Daria is a passionate hiker and nature lover and loves dancing folks dances from the South of Italy such as Pizzica. She is into art and her favorite form is photography and music in all its expression.
- With Cyle Europe since: 2023
- Role in the team: Tour Leader Manager
- Languages: Italian, English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Favorite bike item: bike handlebar
- Favorite place to ride: Portugal
- Next dream vacation: Japan, Taiwan, Bhutan
Davide is a young professional born in Emilia-Romagna in 2001. From a young age, he has been fascinated with the world of tourism, which led him to specialize in this field during his high school and later on in courses. Prior to his current position, Davide had completed internships in hotels and travel agencies, as well as worked seasonal jobs by the sea. After graduating, he was offered an opportunity to work at BikesPlus – Cycle Europe, where he was able to gain invaluable experiences and immerse himself in an exceptional environment. As part of his current role, Davide manages the rental services and the “Partners Tour Collective.”
- With Cyle Europe since: 2021
- Role in the team: Rentals Reservations & Manager
- Languages: Italian, English
- Favorite bike item: lights
- Favorite place to ride: riverbank
- Next dream vacation: Ireland or Scotland
In 1996, Betta was the first ExperiencePlus! guide to be hired outside of the Malpezzi-Price family. In between guiding tours and her current position as tour leader manager, Betta spent 15 years working as an export manager for a multinational company. Happy to return “home” to CycleEurope, Betta now oversees our (notably larger) team of tour leaders.
When she is not making sure all of our tour leaders are taken care of, Betta can be found mountain biking, hiking, camping and traveling as much as possible!
- With Cycle Europe since: 2015
- Role in the team: Tour Manager and Tour Leader
- Languages you speak: Italian, English, French, Spanish, German
- Favorite bike item: Bike jerseys
- Favorite place to ride: everywhere in beautiful and unspoilt nature
- Next dream vacation: New Zealand
- With Cycle Europe since: 2015
- Role in the team: Logistics and Delivery
- Languages: Italian and English
- Favorite bike item: Front and rear brakes
- Favorite place to ride: Downhill offroad
- Next dream vacation: wherever I can live new experiences and meet new people
- With Cyle Europe since: 2022
- Role in the team: mechanic
- Languages: Italian
- Favorite bike item: wheels
- Favorite place to ride: anywhere quiet away from the traffic
- Next dream vacation: Indonesia and Philippines
- With Cycle Europe since: 2023
- Role in the team: Marketing, Reservations and Tour Management Associate
- Languages: Italian, English, a little of Spanish and French
- Favorite bike item: Lights
- Favorite place to ride: Quiet country roads
- Next dream vacation: Portuguese Coast, Asia… everywhere new!
Igor is a master of logistics. During our busiest season in Europe, he assigns equipment to all European tours and supervises the movement of vans and bikes traveling throughout Europe. Additionally, he works with our full-time mechanics to ensure all bikes are in top shape before leaving our Italian headquarters. He also is one of our star tour leaders in Europe. In his spare time, he can’t get away from biking and he spends his vacation bicycle touring with his family. Igor has been skateboarding since he was thirteen and loves helping friends build parks and ramps. Although he does not drink coffee, does not follow soccer, and has a Russian name, do not be fooled, he is 100% Italian.
Javier joined us after moving to Italy with his wife and three small girls from Texas. His experience organizing and leading cycling tours in South America and Europe, as well as his background in customer service and marketing, made him a great fit for our growing team.
Born and raised in Patagonia, Argentina, his father’s work took his family to the United States, Norway, and Venezuela, among other countries while he was growing up. After university, he spent a decade working as a sales rep for tech companies in the US, Caribbean and Latin America (five years living in Mexico, a country he misses dearly!). His passion for travel and the outdoors were too strong, and he left the “corporate world” to start exploring the “real world,” – he worked as a scuba diving guide in Brazil, explored jungles in Central America and marveled at the ancient Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. And he crossed Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil by car, by foot and bike. Today all his time (and energy) are spent with his family, who luckily share his curiousity and lust for travel!
- With BikesPlus since: 2018
- Role in the team: Marketing and Customer Service Manager
- Languages: English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
- Favorite bike item: my handlebar bell (which gets plenty of use on Faenza cycling paths)
- Favorite place to ride: the Andes of Argentina and Chile; ridgetop rides on the hills near Faenza
- Next dream vacation: I dream of travelling to Africa and the Middle East some day!
John started leading tours with ExperiencePlus! In 2000 and has been our Director of Tours since 2013. In his free time, John loves photography, videomaking, music, cooking, and putting his sommelier skills to practice. John was Head Produce Buyer for Whole Foods Market in the Boston area until – having always had an intense passion for food, wine, and travel – he set off on an around-the-world trip in 1996 that eventually led to living in Europe. After relishing several years living in France, John moved near our Italian headquarters in 2006.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2000
- Role in the team: Tours Director
- Languages: English, Italian, and French
- Favorite bike item: a proper bike fit
- Favorite place to ride: South of France
- Next dream vacation: Thailand
Massi has a very cheerful personality, if you’re having a bad day and he is around, don’t worry: he will certainly cheer you up! Massimiliano loves being in the open air and enjoying “little things” (il piacere delle piccole cose) such as playing with dogs and kids, laughing with his friends and being active!
- With Cycle Europe since: 2021
- Role in the team: Garage and Logistics Management, Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish
- Favorite bike item: MTB
- Favorite place to ride: in the mountains
- Next dream vacation: everywhere
Marida is really passionate about history, local food and wines, in fact she is sommelier. She teaches Kundalini Yoga since 2012 and now she is really happy to work in active tourism, combining her two passions! She also likes swimming and riding, of course!
- With Cycle Europe since: 2024
- Role in the team: Sales representative
- Languages: Italian, English, French
- Favorite bike item: MTB
- Favorite place to ride: hills
- Next dream vacation: India to discover the origin of Yoga.
Massimo a.k.a. “Max” is Paola’s nephew and Monica and Maria Elena’s cousin. He has worked with ExperiencePlus! longer than any other full time employee or tour leader. Between 2007 and 2013 Max retired from ExperiencePlus! to work as general manager for his family’s restaurant on the Eastern Coast of Italy. 2013 marked his return to CycleEurope as the Italian office Business Manager. If you are lucky, you may even see him out on tour every now and then. Max enjoys photography, sailing, deep sea diving, and cycling. Most of all he enjoys spending time with his beautiful daughter, Eleonora. Massimo says what he enjoys most about his job is meeting great people and sharing his love of Italy with others.
Michele grew up in a village at the base of the Alps, in Lombardy. He studied Environmental Science in Milan and tried working in the environmental law field, but the call to adventure was too great. He headed to Australia for six-months of backpacking, then returned to Italy and started teaching at an environmental education school. He has also worked as a guide in a natural reserve and as a tour leader for other companies. Michele has a long history leading tours and now takes care of route logistics and quality control on European tours.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2004
- Role in the team: Routes Manager, Tour Development
- Languages: Italian, English and some Spanish
- Favorite bike item: Front bike light
- Favorite place to ride: Romagna hills
- Next dream vacation: I would go over and over again to Northern Argentina, alternatively the Dolomites
Sara started as an intern at Cycle Europe while she was a student at the University of Forlì. She studied veterinary medicine for two years before deciding she was more passionate about travel and language. Sara took a break from school to pursue her passion for travel. She left her hometown of Forlì to work as an au pair in Chicago, USA and spent half a year in Australia. Upon returning to Italy, Sara enrolled in university to study language and interpretation, during which time she also spent a semester abroad in Shanghai, China. Shortly after graduation Sara joined Cycle Europe full-time. When she’s not working, Sara enjoys volleyball in all its forms – competing, watching, and refereeing. She is an avid music lover and says she is “old fashioned enough to still buy CDs as opposed to buying digital downloads.”
- With Cycle Europe since: 2014
- Role in the team: Tour Reservations and Customer Service
- Languages: Italian, English
- Favorite bike item: Lights and bells
- Favorite place to ride: quiet, flat secondary roads
- Next dream vacation: South east Asia
Stefania is a Forlì, Italy native. She previously worked as a computer programmer and systems analyst but left that life behind to spend more time on a bike. When she is not working for Cycle Europe, she likes traveling to far flung places such as Nepal, India, Costa Rica, and New Zealand. Stefania loves meeting people, experiencing different cultures, and exploring countries at the speed of a bike.
- With Cycle Europe since: 1999
- Role in the team: Tour Manager
- Languages: Italian and English, along with some Spanish and super basic German
- Favorite bike item: Front and rear lights
- Favorite place to ride: Anywhere safe
- Next dream vacation: I’d like to go to Bhutan and back to Argentina
OUR TOUR LEADERS
Federico was born in Emilia-Romagna, the region where ExperiencePlus! headquarters are located. He has lived in Italy, Ireland, Chile, France and Indonesia. After obtaining a master’s degree in geography and territorial planning at the University of Bologna, he worked for 10 years as a CSA (community supported agriculture) network coordinator with small organic farms in France. In his free time, Federico likes farming, cooking, eating, cinema,listening to and playing music, and exploring new regions by bike and on foot. When he’s not leading tours, he travels around the world and works on small farms.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2022
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian, French, English, Spanish and German
- Favorite bike item: Panniers
- Favorite place to ride: South America
- Next dream vacation: Mongolia
Felix started leading tours with us in 2019. He is a passionate cyclist, connecting personal athletic challenges to travelling and getting around, or just riding up and down his beloved hills of Tuscany. He was born and grew up in Bavaria, but has been living in Italy for much of the last 24 years, only interrupted by a year as an exchange student in Portugal. With a lot of curiosity for a wide range of topics, Felix has always tried to study and observe as much as possible, especially regarding history, geography and culture. He loves sharing and introducing people to his favorite towns, landscapes, artworks and architecture.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2019
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Favorite bike item: His own legs
- Favorite place to ride: Tuscany
- Next dream vacation: It could be just some climbs away, discovering new perspectives on a place seen dozens of times before
In deep love with art, food nature and the outdoors.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2023
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish, Catalan
- Favorite bike item: Bikepacking gears and custom bike frame
- Favorite place to ride: Colombia
- Next dream vacation: Japan
My name is Jörg. I was born and raised in Germany and spent most of my time after university working abroad as a language teacher. I always had a thing for changing places but rather late in a young man’s life – in 2016 at the age of 32 – I discovered bike travel and immediately took to it like rubber to the road. The following years, I rode some 80,000 kilometers in more than 60 countries on a very low budget and enjoyed the simplicity of life. Now it’s time to give back the hospitality I have received while travellng and share some skills and experiences… happily as a Tour Leader for ExperiencePlus!
- With Cycle Europe since: 2024
- Role in the team: Tour LEader
- Languages: English, German, French
- Favorite bike item: The rack. It turns your bike into your travel companion, which carries all of your luggage.
- Favorite place to ride: In the mountains, under the sun…in remote places.
Mark grew up partially in the United States and Tanzania. He has called Italy home for the last 28 years, working as a bicycle tour guide for the last 18 of those. In his free time he likes to bake fresh bread and cook for family and friends.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2015
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: I speak Italian and English
- Favorite bike item: A wool jersey
- Favorite place to ride: Tuscany
- Next dream vacation: Portugal or Ireland
Michela was born, grew up and still lives close to one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy, Lake Garda. She has a background in languages, studied History of Art for three years, and graduated from the American University in Business Administration. Michela’s done raft trips on the Tatshenshini-Alsek River in Canada, cruised the Queen Charlotte Islands, sailed through the Grenadine, and walked the Camino to Santiago. She loves getting to know people, learning about new cultures, foods and wine, and sharing her enthusiasm to help people get the most from their holidays.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2012
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: I speak Italian, Brescia dialect, German and French
- Favorite bike item: Shorts, shoes, safety items (lights, vest, etc.)
- Favorite place to ride: Everywhere in the world, but it has to be a little challenging
- Next dream vacation: I would like to go around the world
Michele was born in Vicenza where he still lives with his family: the super energetic Mattia , the lovely princess Aurora, and his wife Marta. He studied sport sciences at Verona University. When he’s not leading tours he is a physical fitness instructor. Michele also roller blades and enjoys climbing, swimming, and alpine and cross country skiing. Sports are his life. One of his mottos is “mens sana in corpore sano,” which means “a healthy mind and a sound body.” So, he doesn’t waste time on bad food or wine.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2008
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian and English
- Favorite bike item: Jersey
- Favorite place to ride: Everywhere in Italy
- Next dream vacation: I would return to Cuba
Roberto grew up in Faenza, Italy and lives in Avignon, France. After getting a Middle East Studies B.A. and a Master’s degree in Public and political communication, he worked for about ten years as a free-lance editor, journalist and consultant. He then moved to France – by bike – with his girlfriend, he wrote a novel, found a publisher but… something went wrong (and that’s why some of his friends call him écrivan maudit). He has also been a bartender, a drummer, a photography student, and a radio show host. He is a wine and tea lover and connoisseur. In his spare time he reads and cooks a lot, he grows chili peppers and he, sometimes, creates crossword puzzles for his friends. He is seriously caring for his natural leaven which he uses to bake a fragrant whole flour bread.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2014
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish; in 2016 he started Russian lessons.
- Favorite bike item: panniers (and the freedom that goes with them).
- Favorite place to ride: he learned how to ride in the Appennini hills in Romagna so he will always love those places. But he says that the best feeling is whenever he rides a road for the first time.
- Next dream vacation: planning a one year around the world bike trip!
Before leading tours with us, Sebastiano worked for mountain bike associations and as a bicycle mechanic. He lives in Piedmont close to Torino and is passionate about nature and alpine environments which he explores by hiking, climbing and skiing.
Sebastiano is passionate about food and wine and claims to be a great cook. In his free time he loves creating and restoring objects, from the artistic to the artisanal, including lamps, earrings, bikes and wooden forniture.
- With Cycle Europe since: 2022
- Role in the team: Tour Leader
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish, and French
- Favorite place to ride: The alps
- Next dream vacation: Corsica bike trip