Biking tour of north Italy

[GBR78]

Hi all

If you're curious about biking in Northern Italy (Val Venosta, Bolzano, Trento, Mantova, Lake Garda, Ferrara) check out our blog and leave any comments or questions!

http://devidsarah.blogspot.com/2010/09/trip-diary-english-version-silandro-val.html

 

[videoman]

Great write up and lovely photographs.

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Looks fantastic .

 

[HJ]

Now that is a tour I would like to do....

 

[GrahamG]

Did you mostly use cycle routes? We did NW Italy as part of a recent 12 week euro tour and couldn't get out of there quick enough - rude/obnoxious people and the most idiotic driving ever experienced (even compared to the UK), now there were no bike routes to be seen anywhere so we were just on quiet(ish) roads. I know these things vary by region but it was seriously bad.

 

[psmiffy]

Did you mostly use cycle routes? We did NW Italy as part of a recent 12 week euro tour and couldn't get out of there quick enough - rude/obnoxious people and the most idiotic driving ever experienced (even compared to the UK), now there were no bike routes to be seen anywhere so we were just on quiet(ish) roads. I know these things vary by region but it was seriously bad.

I am suprised - I have cycled through/across Italy on five occasions (last in 2009 and six if I count Sardinia) - very rarely on cycle paths and through some pretty big cities and never experienced any problems - In fact (apart from it is expensive - but that is another matter) I can recommend Italy as a cycling destination.

 

[GrahamG]

Maybe it's a NW thing - never felt so unsafe on the roads. I should add that this continues over the border into the italian speaking part of Switzerland where we had the closest and highest speed overtake I've ever experienced, had to take a breather and early lunch stop after that. Have to say that we didn't find it expensive, but we were wild camping and cooking everything ourselves.

 

[andym]

I don't know about NW Italy but in The North East there are more cycle routes than you can shake a stck at:

- the Via Claudia Augusta
- the percorso ciclabile val di Adige/val Venosta (sorry the german name escapes me for the moment)
- the percorso ciclabile val di Brenta
- the percorso ciclabile Brennero
- the Lunga Via Delle Dolomiti (in fact thee are two of them!)
- the anello de Grappa

for info on cycle routes in Italy called something luke percorsi ciclabili.

Driving is pretty much the same IME as the UK, france, Spain - yes you get the occasional dickhead but most drivers are sensible and considerate (within limits). But equally the golden rule is to stay off the strada statale if you possibly can.

Like psmiffy I wholeheartedly recommend Italy as a cycling destination - although it definitely has Its downsides of which for me the most serious is the difficulty getting a croissant that isn't full of something sugary and horrible.

 

[GrahamG]

I'm amazed at the differences in experiences TBH, Italy is totally on our shitlist now! The other major influencing factor is that their bread is totally and utterly unfit for human consumption.

 

[psmiffy]

Its downsides of which for me the most serious is the difficulty getting a croissant that isn't full of something sugary and horrible.

Definetly outweighed though by the mega coffee - No.1 memorable coffee whilst touring - first village into Italy off Col du Mont Cenis - can still remember the taste today and still trying but failing to replicate on my expresso machine

 

[andym]

The other major influencing factor is that their bread is totally and utterly unfit for human consumption.

You can find decent bread. It does get noticeably easier as you head into the german-speaking parts of Italy. But there are a new wave of breadmakers offering pane artigianale and many supermarkets will have pana nero or pane integrale.

Oh and you have to try pizza bianca straight out of the oven.

PS I've just spent a fabulous day riding the pista ciclabile along the old railway line from Cortina d'Ampezzo and then down an almost-empty strada provinciale along the spectacular valley of the river Piave. Jaw-dropping - ranks up there with Corsica. Don't be in too much of a hurry to dismiss Italy.

 

[Fiona N]

Did you mostly use cycle routes? We did NW Italy as part of a recent 12 week euro tour and couldn't get out of there quick enough - rude/obnoxious people and the most idiotic driving ever experienced (even compared to the UK), now there were no bike routes to be seen anywhere so we were just on quiet(ish) roads. I know these things vary by region but it was seriously bad.

There are loads of bike paths/routes of various lengths and qualities but the local municipalities are pretty slow to get any sort of documentation (or signage in some cases).
I used to live west of Varese and I'm surprised at your bad experiences as mine, over two years, were fantastic and it was in Italy I gave up wearing a cycling helmet (a habit I picked up in Australia - before the days of compulsory helmet wearing). Of course, I speak Italian, and it's an area where relatively few people speak English, so it could be this gave me a different view of the people. Certainly, I could probably swim in the volume of drinks I've been bought at bars and restaurants around the area as I've got into conversation with locals. I also rode on Sundays with a local club (and I also used to belong to a Swiss-Italian club just over the border) so I got to know the local etiquette too.

 

[Fiona N]

Really enjoyed your write-up GBR78 - makes me want to jump on a plane and head out there as I love Arco in the Autumn - and anywhere in and around the Dolomites actually. I was going to move to Arco a couple of years ago - the combination of climbing, biking and the lake is just perfect. But then my job takes me to Scandinavia more these days than Switzerland so it's not quite so convenient.

 

[Fiona N]

for info on cycle routes in Italy called something luke percorsi ciclabili.

You do occasionally have to take 'pista ciclabile' with a pinch of salt when you see it on maps, especially if it's an off-road route. I have a map of the fantastic mountain on which Varese perches at the east end. I used to live at the other end and walk and run on the forest paths. I was pretty surprised to find that some of the paths I used to 'run' (remember, I've been a fell-runner and mountaineer for most of my life so 'run' has a relatively wide remit including episodes of scrambling, swinging from trees and similar) were marked as cycle routes - these would have tested world-class downhill riders and were as close to unrideable in ascent as anything I've ever seen marked as a cycle route.

 

[Crankarm]

Italy is an excellent cycling destination. The area north and west of Lake Garda has some great climbs and stunning views. Riva del Garda, Torbole and Arco are all nice. When I used to work in Verona I would head up toward the moutains for a long weekend taking either a MTB or road bike up. If I fancied a flat ride then down toward Mantova up toward Bresia and back or just ride north out of Verona into the hills going north for a nice circuit. Very beautiful. Between Modena and Firenza the hills are a beautiful patchwork and there is a great view from Fiesole of the Duomo in Florence.

Don't write Italy off as a cycling destination as it's great. Bellissimo.

Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi were both great winners of the TdF .