Eastern Alps cycling trip - Aug 2023

Getting started
Getting to the starting line this time went so smoothly that I was almost scared. We had a late flight on a Saturday evening. Getting the bikes to the airport was easy, as well as the check in. The flight arrived ahead of schedule, for once the queue at the password control was longer for Europeans, and the boxes were there waiting for us before the other luggage. Outside there was nobody queuing for a taxi, we got one and the boxes fitted perfectly. In 5 min we were at the Venice Resort hotel, checked in to a room on the ground floor with a terrace outside. The most exciting bit was being welcomed by a mantis in hunting mode. I've never seen one before and was so exited when she turned and for 5 sec our eyes met. At 10.30pm we were in the room, looked at each other in disbelief, and thought we will pay this back with interests. 

did it really go so smoothly??

Next morning we woke up early, had breakfast and got on the unpacking and building the bikes. In 1h we were done, left the boxes at the hotel that kindly agreed to keep them for 2 weeks free of charge. 

Ready to go!

We set off towards the Mestre train station, about 10 km away. There was actually a cycling path most of the way there, and being Sunday morning it was all very quiet, and hot! We could definitely feel the difference in temperature, like melting hot as soon as the sun came out at 9am.

Day 1 - Gorizia to Tolmic - 55k and 600m
Sunday 20 August - We got on the 10.41 train to Gorizia, no place for the bikes so we left them in the middle of the way, but it was not too busy and nobody really cared. We got off in Gorizia in 30 degrees heat, we were surprised to see quite a few other cycle tourers, but they all set off and so did we. The town was absolutely deserted. After a couple of tries we stopped at a restaurant and got some gnocchi and tomato, exactly what we needed.

 

At 1.40pm we finally started cycling on a cycling path that soon brought us to the border with Slovenia. 

 The first bit was a cycling dream, in the shade of trees, by the river and mostly flat. 

Then we got to a village and saw a shop open (being Sunday everything else was closed), and we stopped for a cold drink. We really needed that to get back some of the lost sweat... We then left the cycling path and got on a minor road which started climbing. Things kind of degenerated from then on, passing from gravel to MTB pro stuff, and steep, both up and down. The cool thing was that we could see the river below and the busy road on the other side, and high mountains on the horizon, we would be there tomorrow! Finally we reached some kind of top, and from there it was a very steep descent to a village by a big lake (I then understood the angry face of the cyclist who reached the top from that side...).

We couldn't find much info on cycling paths online, but once you are there they do exist

From there it was 5 flattish km to Tolmin by a river, and that was packed full of cyclists. I don't know how much I sweated that day but it must have been in litres, thank goodness we brought 2 x 1l bottles each. We were staying in an apart which was pretty empty of everything. Being Sunday everything was closed so we went for pizza number 1 right outside the flat, which turned out to be pretty popular. In the same apart there were another 2 couples of Swiss cyclists, to our surprise we would meet quite a few in this trip!

Day 2 - Tolmic to Bovec - 62k and 1200m
Monday 21 August- What a day! We had a leisurely start and woke up at 7am with fog, thinking that's great we will have a bit of a break from the sun. At 7.30 we were in the same bar/pizzeria having breakfast with the same Swiss people, €10.50 each for bread and coffee but at least we got some fuel. We set off at 8.40 eager to start the adventure, on a flattish secondary road that was a pleasure to ride. We met many cyclists and with the freshness of the morning it was just great. After 16km we got to a place with a huge gorge and below the river Soca, which we have been following since the start. Kobarit (7 days after I realized that that was Caporetto in Italian...) arrived soon after and with it a big supermarket, where we stopped to get stuff for lunch: a super loaf of bread, huge avocado, tomato, apples and sports drinks. It was an absolute mess of people and cars but eventually we managed to got away of that place and town.

The proper off road adventure started then, when a small road turned into gravel. We stopped by a fountain to refill the bottles and pour water into our faces. We kept going on an initial flat road, then took another road from where the climb began. It was actually nicely graded, and if it was not for the heat quite a pleasure to ride. Paul got in hunger crisis and we stopped for a bar. We pushed on and finally got on the gravel road up the Stola pass, 10km of steep rocky gravel in the midday sun, looking up from the bottom it looked quite intimidating. We managed to cycle the bit in the shade of the forest, but when the cover finished we stopped and had lunch in the middle of the road, half way through. We hadn't met a soul up to that point and we just dropped the bikes in the last bit of shade, sat down and improvised a huge sandwich with avocado and tomato. 

I can prepare a bocadillo everywhere!

 

We drank all the sport drink and finally resigned to start pushing the bike up the last 5km. We were a waterfall of sweat, honest I must have sweat like 6l. Paul was not having a good time and I thought he would get a heat stroke but the random stop in the thin shade of the random tree made the trick, and finally at 2pm we reached the top at 1400m high, and the fresh breeze revitalised us. After a little break (we didn't want to burn alive), we pushed on and when we got on the descent we got the best view on the Julian Alps, that was worth it all! 

The other nice surprise was that the descent was all in the forest. It was a bit rocky so not exactly a fast one, but certainly faster than the ascent. We also met 4 youngsters heading up with panniers. The first was a girl who was pushing the bike up. In women's solidarity spirit I told her "I did the same on the other side!", she was pleased to know that and thanked me. When we passed the guys there were a few silent looks of disappointment instead... At the bottom of the gravel road we stopped to celebrate the end of the hard bit. 

After that we got on the best descent of probably the all trip. Well paved, smooth, fast and quiet, we shot down like bullets to the main road that would bring us to destination. The last 8 km where on a busy and narrow road, and with the heat not that pleasant, but the end was in sight and patiently we got to the centre of Bovec, which was packed full of people. It took a while to find our apart as Google doesn't seem to work that well in Slovenia. 

Me I was going nuts while Paul with his usual quiet and compose demeanour managed to find it, and it was a nice one as well! We had a huge window and balcony looking at the mountains, and it was well equipped too. After the duly shower and washing we headed to town to get food (€43 worth of goodies!) and to the tourist info office to figure out our plan for the day after as we ad a day off. We decided we would get the 9.30am bus to some place called Lepena and do a hike up a pass from there. We had a great dinner of spaghetti and radler on the balcony, while in town there was some party on with live music that was filling all the valley (anything from country, folk, drums). We should really have gone to check it out but we were way too tired, it was still cool to hear the music under a sky packed full of stars.

Day 3 - Bovec - 13k walk
Tuesday 22 August - The day didn't quite go as planned... We had a late start and leisurely breakfast, and a bit of an accident while making coffee the Slovenian style (that was the only coffee maker..). We then walked down to the bust stop, optimistically waiting for the bus. We were reassured by other bus drivers that that was the place and that it would be coming, pity that the bus never showed up and at 10am we gave up waiting and decided we should get a plan B.

It was a huge disappointment as the weather was still perfect, that was our only day off in Bovec and by then it was too late to actually do something worthwhile. The thing I hate the most is wasting time. We went back to the tourist info office, got a map of the area (mental note: always get a map of the area), figured we could get the cable car up to Kanin 2200m and walk back from there. I'm glad we did that as up there the temperature was a bit more human and we finally got to be in the Slovenian mountains. It was all rocks and scree, limestone, no water and no shelter from the sun, but at least it was not as hot. There were quite a few people around but as soon as we got on the path to Passo Salle Neva, at the border with Italy, we didn't meet a soul. Paths in Slovenia don't have numbers, or signposting with distances as in the rest of the Alps, but they write the directions with red arrows on the rocks. The level of the walks is not that clear either...we found them much harder than what was on the map we bought, possibly because of the steep scree paths and the fact that we had no poles to help with the balance. We stopped for lunch at the pass, in the shade of a shed, and then we slowly started to make out way down. It was long and steep. We would drop 17 00m in 13km (the last few being flat in the forest). It was a bit never ending but I'm glad we had the chance to see what the Julian Alps, and their paths, look like.

 

 

 

Ciclamini!!! I can still smell their parfume

We then hit town for a massive and delicious ice-cream. There were considerably less people around than the day before, we hoped there would be a village party that night too (that we would have joined) but we missed the boat. Never mind, our legs would be glad of some resting! Without the music we could hear a sea of crickets at night, which reminded me of my summers when I was a child. We both slept very well.

Day 4 - Bovec to Tarvisio - 65k and 1400m
Wednesday 23 August - Back on the road, and what a day, possibly my favourite of the trip. We knew we had the Vršič Pass in front of us, and that it would be hot, and possibly busy with cars and bikes. We woke up at 6am with a beautiful view of the mountains outside the window giving us the good morning. We had breakfast and finished all the Slovenian coffee, packed and at 7.08am we were leaving town. The legs were a bit sore after the long descent of the day before, but overall I was eager for a good climb, and to be back on the saddle.

We got on the main road along the Soca river which was mostly flat and at that time not too busy. There was some mist on the crystal clear river and it felt mystical, like a pure joy to be out there. We passed the small village of Soca and kept going to Trenta, a small and cute village that we reached at 8.15am. The small shop was opened and I got a can of coke,which I drank straight away to charge me up. 

The climb started as soon as we left the village. The first 3 km were a false start, then we saw the sign 8.5km to the top and 49 bends. We would get a mark at every 1/2km. The average gradient was 10%, but I felt good pretty much all of the way. We were in the morning shade of the forest, not many cars and as we gained elevation we could see the mountains all around appearing in all their glory. The last 1.5km were a killer, but we could see the end in sight and kept going slowly. At 10am sharp we were on the top! Always such a feeling of relief and satisfaction to reach the sign confirming you made it. The top was a mess of parked cars, bikes, people and sheep. I have no clue where they all came from as we haven't met much going up! We found a nice bench in the sun and ate the bread and cheese from the day before. We also got to talk to a couple of elderly men who cycled up from the other side. One of them was at least 70 and no e-bike, respect!

We then started the descent, which was way steeper than from our side, and full of bends with cobbles...glad it didn't rain. The amount of cyclists going up, with any kind of bikes, age and outfit, was as remarkable as totally out of the blue, I really didn't expect this was so popular. It was a nice descent but a slow one because of all the hairpin bends, but eventually we got to the bottom to a nice lake where we stopped for a picture.

It was then a short cycle to Kranjska Gora, which we reached at 11.30am. We only had 20km left to end the day so we took it extra easy and went around to check town and for lunch in a restaurant (pasta for a change). Energies recovered we got back on the saddle at 12.45, and then our minds got blown away. We were on the cycling path D2, whatever that means, but it was the best ever! Like a road with 2 lanes just for cycling, dogs must be on lead (which means there were not many), and the amount of people of any kind and age using it was nothing ever seen before. You mean that's what happens when you have a perfect infrastructure in place? And it was not even a weekend! And how fit and happy everyone looked, I wonder how much money they saved on health in that country! The route was among trees and just a joy to ride, and it was basically flat or well graded.

We crossed the border and entered Italy, and a map on a board was there straight after. We kept going and stopped at a bench to waste some time, and commiserated the UK and its car- entitlement culture. It feels like we are begging for peanuts while we should demand the same level of infrastructure. But oh hey, we will all go extinct soon so who cares.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

A few more km and we entered Tarvisio, our destination. It couldn't have been more well timed as it started to pour down right when we reached the shelter of the once was train station. We all stopped to get shelter there, thinking it would be a quick one but it ended up lasting all evening. Luckily our hotel was round the corner and we managed to check in at 3 in a dry spell. The hotel was 50% cyclists, the garage was full of bikes and for once we were not the only weirdos. We managed to go to check town before the deluge resumed and ended the day with pizza number 2 of the trip...a bit on the heavy side.

Number of cyclists accumulated in 5 min of rain

Day 5 - Tarvisio to Kotschach - 69k and 1500m 

Thursday 24August - When I woke up my face was as swollen as a balloon. Motivation = 0 but at least it was all foggy and cool. I didn't sleep that well and I blame the pizza, but I still managed to eat a lot for breakfast. The breakfast room was packed full of cyclists and that was a first for us, normally we are the first to show up but that was no longer the case! By then I realised that every day would be fucked up in its own way, or as Paul put it, every day will present its own challanges (he is the diplomatic one).

Bikes in the garage (1/2 of them)

We set off at 8am with no much life in the village. We got back on the Alpe Adria path, and the first 22k were known territory as we cycled them in the traverse of the Alps part 2. It was first a gentle climb and then all downhill until we reached Pontebba. Not many cyclists until then but they seemed to have all gathered there and it was a bit of a mess. That would have been us leaving the crowds, as from there on we haven't met a soul, which I was quite happy with.

We were now on a tiny road passing by Studena Bassa, directed to Malga Cason do Lanza. Thank goodness it was quiet with cars too as it was very steep and narrow. Thankfully it was all paved up to the Malga, but with the heath we were really struggling. The first few km were nicely graded but after that it got ridiculously steep and we pushed the bikes quite a lot, no way I could have cycled up there even with 5 more lower gears. I wonder why we haven't met anyone else... After a while we stopped at what we thought was the Malga, which it was, but another one and only for local people. There were a few of them outside and they looked at us bemused, as if we were coming from the moon, or if we were just lunatics. We asked if she had a cold drink and she said “I only have beer, and radler!” I was like “not another of theses places!!!” but at the end we managed to get a cold apple juice and refill the bottles which were almost empty. We sat for a while with the cute doggo and then kept moving with the good wishes of these people. 

We cycled possibly a km and after that it got even steeper, like it was difficult to push the bikes too, but at least we were higher and could get some good views around. It eventually levelled up a bit and at noon we reached the Malga, which was more of a top restaurant with impeccable toilets. We got a cold drink and rested a bit. 

We were at 1500m, and then lost 200m on a steep descend. At the bottom of it we went on the gravel road and started pushing the bikes to regain 150m. We were now in Austria, via a pass that I think was called Passo Polentin, but we have no clue where we were and there were so many gravel roads up there that Google is not of much help either. Who cares, we reached the other side and even though there were not many views it still felt like an accomplishment. 

The good news was that the gravel road on the descent was very well surfaced. We stopped at a bench at 1pm to eat our sandwich (cheese and tomato) while looking at the valley below and so relieved to be done with the hard part of the day. From there it was a steep 10k descent on good gravel, in the forest down to the village of Kirchbach. We had to stop a few times to rest our hands which were sore after so much breaking but it was a very sweet descent. We then joined the perfect R3 cycling path, not as busy as the Alpe Adria but equally excellent. It was now melting hot, like 35 degrees, but it was only 14k to destination and we just strolled around by the river until we reached it at 3pm.

The village was very quiet, and the Pension Lipicer where we were staying was the best one of the trip (and the cheapest one too, prices spiked up everywhere apart from this place!). The lady was super welcoming, and reassured us that the 10k of the main road that we had to do the day after was busy North to South and we should be ok. That made my day as I was a bit worried of dealing with a climb on a narrow road busy with heavy traffic...

The other nice surprise was that we finally changed our diet of pasta, pizza and bread. We found falafels!! That was a very welcoming change, and the sound of the river outside the house sang us a good night sleep, and so it was. 

Day 6 - Kotschach to Cortina - 113k and 1300m
Friday 25 August - Another day of contrasts. We woke up in this tiny village and had the best breakfast so far (no croissants but home made granola and yogurt!). We were a bit tense at the idea of the big climb on the main road and by 7.40am we were on the move. It was a bit chilly but that felt good after all the heat of the previous days! I thought the climb was 11k to gain 300m so I was surprised when it started climbing so steeply. It turned out 11k were in total to get to the cycling path on the other side, and after 6km we were already descending. In no time we were at the bottom and stopped a sec to recompose ourselves. As the lady told us, the traffic was heavier coming from the North and we didn't feel unsafe after all, such a relief to join the R1 route to Lienz anyway! The cycling path was perfect and with few people around. The sun was out but not too hot yet and we enjoyed strolling to Lienz which we reached at km 35. We stopped at a store to get lunch and snacks, and I couldn't turn away buying 2 Lienz biscuits, one of which disappeared straight away. 

 

At 10am we left town, which was a bit messy but eventually we found ourselves on the R4 along a roaring river. It was flat to start off but overall we would climb quite a lot this day, it was basically all uphill but on a gentle gradient. To our surprise it was all paved, while I remember it being gravel last time we were there 3 years ago.  

Paul was struggling and after 15km we stopped at a bench for a bar. 

It was also quite hot by then, and the flattish ground with the same views was stating to feel a bit boring, so I told him he could keep his head busy by thinking of something like winter project or a bike project. It turned out that something else would keep our minds occupied soon... All of a sudden we started meeting cyclists of any kind coming down full power. As we went on the numbers were increasing, and they all looked like “domingueros”, or those who go out on a Sunday doing something never done before just to do something. They were definitely not cyclists. After a few km we started to think that there must be some events as they were in their hundreds and more and more, like a never ending procession. But we couldn't see any sign about events, so we thought maybe it was some Facebook meetup kind of stuff, but even then it would be impossible to gather so many people. The problem was that they were treating the cycling path as if they were playing a game in Gardaland, coming down full speed and not keeping right, while we were the salmons slowly making our way up the river. It was certainly not like all the other cyclists we met in the other cycling paths. I don't know how many times I shouted at them to keep the damn right and I still think is a miracle we didn't crash. Someone though did crash, a woman filming with her phone on a steep descend who broke with the wrong hand and fell on the cyclist ahead. And that was the average IQ around that day, I wonder how busy the emergency department was in Lienz that day... At 12 we stopped for lunch and I asked a family if there was an even but they didn't know anything, then we spotted that most bikes were rentals from S. Candido... We kept going to San Candido really slowly and not in a great mood, and rejoiced that we got there. It was boiling hot, still above 30 degrees, and we got 2 bottles of cold drinks, which disappeared soon. 

Then we moved on and when we passed by the train station we saw the rental place with hundreds of bikes outside and understood everything. I personally think it's criminal to rent out so many bikes (I'm talking about hundreds and hundreds) to people (with children) who have no clue what they are doing, and make use of public infrastructure to make money (because this was not promoting cycling!), but anyway, somehow we got out of it in one piece and I won't be back ever again. And I came to the conclusion that I just really hate idiots, regardless of their form of transport.

We soon reached Dobbiaco and from there got on the gravel road to Cortina. It was first a climb along a river, passing by Lago di Dobbiaco and the Monte Piana Cimitero di guerra. As we climbed the views on the Dolomites were getting better and better. We stopped at the spot where you can see the 3 Cime di Lavaredo for an apple. We kept going to the point where finally the descent started, 13k of downhill after a long day of constant climbing felt really good. It was not the relaxing kind as we still had to keep an eye on the many cyclists around, but at least we knew the hard bit was done. Against the odds we managed to get to destination without accidents, truly a miracle. 

We went to check in to the Hotel Royal, to find out we actually booked the Hotel Aquila...The room was the best ever with views all over the mountains, we couldn't have asked for more! The town was packed full but we still managed to go foraging and also got an ice cream. Given the extortionist prices we got our dinner from the Coop and had the best meal ever in our room with the view of the mountains. The original plan was to do an off road loop in the mountains the day after, but given the amount of people around we decided against it as it would not have been enjoyable, even though the sunny days were numbered as the forecasts for the next few days called for heave rain and thunders. By then we were also starting to feel quite tired and thought it may not be a bad idea to have a bit of an easier day and just head down to Belluno. The moral is: I'll never ever ever step foot in the Dolomites in August ever again!

Day 7 - Cortina to Belluno - 77k and 477m
Saturday 26 August – Being Saturday, we wanted to get out of Cortina asap. We woke up with a beautiful pink sky and the skyline of all those beautiful mountains, and I felt gutted not to go and explore them, but really mass tourism is killing everything.

It was quite chilly at 1200m, but again this was welcome as we knew what the day would bring...more 30+ degrees. We had a poor breakfast for such a nice hotel, but then we were not at risk of starving either. At 8.30am reluctantly we left our royal room and got on the cycling path, which started paved and with the pedestrian/cycling division. Quite a few people were already out but still bearable at this hour. I was so glad to leave all the mess behind while we were descending. We passed a few villages and the perfect path occasionally gave way to gravel of dubious quality in the forests, being downhill I still managed to cycle that all. Overall it was a very good one and the views on the mountains kept us well entertained. I was not on full power and was hoping for an easy day, and in fairness the first 40km were easy.

We stopped at a café for a smoothie and then kept going down. 

Spot how many devices has this bike (and me still with my Casio wath only...)

 

After Pieve di Cadore the path finished and we got on a minor road, where the proper descent started! It was the coolest descent, but by then the heat was starting to be unbearable, and we had a strong headwind too which felt more like a hairdrier. We were feeling a bit peckish but there was nothing around, thankfully we bought too much bread and cheese the day before and that went down quite well when we stopped in a tiny village at 11.30am. We kept going on the road by the river Piave, which was quite bumpy and hot. There was not much around, just a few more couple of cycling tourers all looking very hot. We were planning to stop in a bakery at Longarone (la cittá del gelato!), pity that the route didn't take us there and it looked all too messy to deviate route, as the traffic on the road was insane. We thought we may find somewhere else where to eat on the route, but the only bar we found in Codissago didn't serve food (it was a bit of a weird place with naked manikins hanging around...). We still managed to get a cold lemonade with mint and ice and had a chat with the backer who was delivering bread (but no food served, weird hey?). 

 

All the other tourers arrived shortly after and followed our example. They didn't look particularly chatty so we moved on and faced the heat for the final 23k to destination. I was really struggling with the bumps, heat and headwind, and stopped after 9 km in a park with a fountain and some shade for our lunch of biscuits bought in Bovec. 

We then crossed the Piave again and got on Sustran's like paths, like sending you everywhere to go nowhere, or covering 20k when the straight road would be 5. But anyway, those where in the shade of trees and quite fun to ride so I can't complain. Finally we entered Belluno on a beautiful bridge of the Alpini (there was a huge Alpini hat before it but by then we couldn't be bothered to take pictures, it was survival!). There were gerani all over the fence and a parade of mountains stretching all over the horizon, now that's an entry! We went to find the Hotel Cappello where we were staying, which was in the centre, and with the heat the town was dead. We checked in at 2.30pm and the room was the hottest ever, that called for a cold shower which kind of brought me back to life. I'm so glad we didn't go for the longer route as I ended up dead tired with an “easy” day!

We then went to check out town and got our duty ice-cream (Paul was quite disappointed he could 't get it in Longarone...). We ended up having a dinner of pasta in a very pretty restaurant. By the time we went out it was packed full! The town square in the evening was much more lively than in day time and we enjoyed just watching the world pass by us, there was a lovely atmosphere in the air. We knew the day after would be a demanding one and tried to prepare mentally for it. 

...red orange radler?

Day 8 - Belluno to Bassano del Grappa - 101km and 1900m
Sunday 27 August – This was easily the hardest and more rewarding day of them all. The forecasts were a bit unstable but we didn't get any rain, just a few drops of rain here and there. We woke up in time for the 7am breakfast, and stuffed myself with stale pastries while the fresh ones arrived when we were leaving...oh well. The news from the North West of Italy were quite scaring, they really got bad weather there with heavy rain, hail and thunders making disasters. We new the bad weather was heading our way but thankfully we got another day of sun/clouds.

By 8am we were on the move and said goodbye to the sleepy town. Being 8am on a Sunday there were quite a few cars on the roads already, I guess it was the end of the holidays for many and they were on their way home. We were heading to Feltre, 35km away, via a cycling path that I expected being the Sustrans style of the day before but it was actually quite enjoyable. The day before we were considering getting the train to Feltre, but then the train didn't exist and I'm quite glad of it as it was a nice way to start the day. We were mostly on quite roads, flattish and with only 2 climbs to spice up the morning. All the time we had a parade of high mountains on our right, truly stunning. We then reached the old town of Feltre and it was just so pretty, like nothing we would have expected, the main square packed full of old building and a general pleasant atmosphere. We couldn't stop long as we had a big climb ahead, but before we went to a supermarket to get some goodies. We didn't want to leave the bikes unguarded so we went inside in turns. Paul is much better than me at this. I couldn't find any pastries so I ended up buying a pack of tronky (honest, last time I ate them I was 8), and 660ml of coke. I wished they sold drugs too but that was as far as the doping went. Given the forecasts we also changed our plans. We were originally meant to sleep in a hotel on Monte Grappa, and then spend 2 days exploring the Asiago plateau, but we decided against it and called to cancel the Asiago hotel. We would instead end the day in Bassano del Grappa and have a day off there to let the rain pass. I'm still gutted at not getting to Asiago but there was really nothing we could do.

We left the store and cycled to the small village of Caupo, from where the climb started. The sign said 28km, and the Garmin gave 4.8% gradient. It would be a long climb... After 2km of gradient at like 10% I started to think I would die. I was playing mental games like “2 done, then I have to do 13 times what I've done”, which normally helps me mentally, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn't look good! Slowly slowly we went up, and although we were surrounded by forest we would occasionally get a glimpse at the mountains around, and the feeling that we were indeed gaining elevation. After a while it started to became flat, and I didn't know if we would pay for it or we had already paid for it... We just took it with philosophy and kept pedalling. There was really nothing around, but exactly half way through we found a bench and stopped for lunch, which was a pizza we bought the day before in the Conad that took us ages and litres of sweat to find. It went down very well!

From there it was more steep climbing, and bits of flat, and also downhill, and more steep climb. I was mentally and physically at the limit, but this massive has such a history that reminded me I shouldn't really complaint. Just thinking of what happened here in the past gives goose skin. We pushed a couple of stretches of 17% gradient, but apart from that we cycled it all which I'm quite proud of. I didn't realise how big the massive is, with so many roads (there are 6 ways to reach the top), Rifugi and also houses. We finally got at the junction to the top and from there it was 2.4km to the top. 

 What a place. It was dark with clouds, and it looked severe, sad, tragic, so huge that it can't be understood. On the top was the WW1 Ossuary, where 12,000 soldiers are resting, 11,000 of them unknown, quite a place to rest. We didn't have perfect visibility but could see the plain at its feet, and the high mountains behind, and the sound of the wind. We parked the bikes and walked around in silence and disbelief that such a place can exist. You would think we would have learnt something out of it but looking at our history we have learnt nothing, I hope we go extinct fast.

We started the descent down the other side, and that was steep, with many bends and there were many cars around so we took it easy and stopped many times to rest the hands. It was 20km to the bottom, where we stopped for a snack. Up there it was actually quite chilly but as we descended, all of a sudden the heat got back. It was 12k to Bassano and thankfully mostly flat. It was a bit of a maze of small roads but finally we reached the Hotel dal Ponte at almost 5pm. It has been a long and tiring day, we really needed a shower and were very glad we would get a day off. Dinner was a pizza at Al Vesuvio, followed by a walk in the main square which was vibrating with people. We had an ice cream while being eaten by mosquitoes and got back to the hotel for some deserved rest. It turns out that from Monte Grappa things would go downhill on more than one way. Still can't believe that we made it up there though. 

Day 9 - day off / rain
Monday 28 August - The bad weather has finally reached us and at 5am the disco of lightening and thunders started. Mid morning was not too bad and we managed to go and see the Ponte Vecchio, Viale dei Martiri and Parco Ragazzi del 99 (that was a sad story, it's a park for all those born in 1899 who were sent to war aged 18 to replace dead soldiers). Everywhere we would read really sad stories of resistance and death. At noon we went to see the Museo Civico, and by the time we got out the sky was coming down. We had lunch at the same restaurant, where we would also have dinner, and then went to pay respect to the Ossario. We then went to get the bikes and moved to the B&B Era Destino, which I originally booked for 2 days after when we were supposed to come back from Asiago. I have no idea why I choose it as it was out of town, like in the middle of nowhere, and the lady was super creepy. The terrace was nowhere to be seen and the room on the sad side. Thankfully we didn't stop long there as we walked back to the centre for dinner (to the same restaurant), and stopped at a store to get lunch for the day after. When we got out it was raining like not even in Scotland. I'm so glad we got 2 umbrellas! The forecasts for the days after looked better and instead of the 2 days in Asiago we decided to cycle to Trento and then to Verona instead. Bye bye mountains!

 
Day 10 - Trento to Bolzano -70km and 160m
Tuesday 29 August - When I went for the pre breakfast smoke it was still pissing down. I told Paul, who checked the train situation for Trento and found out that the only train taking bikes was at 8.25am, and it was 7.40am and we didn't even had breakfast, and we were in the middle on nowhere. We activated the turbo gear, ate super fast, got sorted, cycled in pissing rain to the train station, got the tickets and we were on the platform at 8.14am, check that! I was so glad to be living that place and the creepy woman that in the rush I forgot to get the cheese that we left outside the window overnight...she must have been delighted to find it! Thankfully I rescued Paul's pants at the last minute which were hanging to dry...

The train journey was pretty civilised and in 2 hours we were in Trento. It was still raining but I had too much energy and we could 't have justified another day off, so we got on the saddle with our waterproofs and found our way out of town to get on the E7 (the Sun Route hahaha) to Bolzano. We found that while on the paths the signposting is really good, within the towns there are no signs at all on how to reach them and it has always been a bit of an ordeal to get on them. But once we got there, that was a cycling highway! Honest it was the best so far, smooth, fast, well signed, kind of scenic (I mean, it's not an alpine pass but I guess that's ok) absolutely perfect! We started with headwind but it eased off, and we soon took off the waterproofs too. It was not too hot which we were glad about. We reached the train station in Bolzano 5 min before the train back to Trento was due to leave so we didn't stop at all, but I'm still glad we got there. In between the constant pedalling on the flat and the headwind it felt more of a turbo session which was good to release energies. 

Somebody may have bought a bit too many olives...

We then checked in the Hi Hotel, very nice, with cycling garage, balcony with a nice view and good breakfast too! We went to visit the centre and after the usual useless search for food we went for a delicious Mexican (please no more pasta or pizza!).

 

Day 11 - Trento to Verona - 108km and 427m
Wednesday 30 August – The sun is out again! It was quite chilly when we woke up at 6.30am but at least there was no rain. I had a very abundant breakfast (even strudel!) which would sustain me until lunch. 

Strudel for breakfast!!

We set off shortly after 8am and it took a while, for a change, to find our way to the cycling path to Verona, which was still the E7 up to a point. The path was mostly flat and would follow the river Adige, for once we would go with the current. There were a few people around but not the usual crowd, possibly because we were heading South like everybody else and we set off early. We reached Rovereto after 35km, at 10am, and stopped for a coffee.

 

 

 

Next stop was at the Eurospin where Paul went to shop for lunch (we established he was much better than me, especially after yesterday when I came out with ½ kg of pitted olives, why??). The km were going so fast that the times of 7km/h were a far away memory, now we were averaging 25...

The path was very fast, and just occasionally turned into a vineyard slalom, overall it went very fast until we reached a proper hill with 10% gradient to get to the quiet town of Rivalta Veronese where we had our lunch. The sun was out but we found a nice bench in the square, with nobody around for a change. I loved it!

A descent followed to get on a path by the canal, which would take us to Verona. Although it all looked flat we still managed to climb 500m today, and given the distance it felt like a good workout. By then we definitely said goodbye to the mountains and were just surrounded by flat grounds in every directions. We checked in our hotel which was closed to Porta Nuova station, and then went to see town which was much better that what I remembered. I'm so glad we got to stay there as it was so pleasant to walk around the centre and see the Arena and all the other monuments. The cycle to the Alps turned into a cycle city sightseeing but we were enjoying this too. It was also interesting to check out all the different cycle paths (Munich-Venice / Alpe Adia, Claudio Augusta / Sun Route etc). It definitely widened our horizons! The surprise of the day came as we headed back to the hotel, when I turned the moon was so huge and orange that I thought I was drunk but no, it was the blue moon!

Day 12 - Vicenza to Treviso - 79km and 100m
Thursday 31 August – According to the original plan we would have got to Treviso today from Bassano del Grappa. Instead we took the train to Vicenza and cycled from there on the I4 cycling path (which is not the 14...). The most remarkable thing of the day was to meet this guy outside the shop while Paul went to get lunch. He was a kind of half tramp half rasta, very cheerful and he was arranging for his big shopping to go in 2 big bags to be transported on the bike (racks and panniers are totally overrated!). He started by saying “we are just too many, we were already too many in the 60'!” and so on. He was a weird guy but he had so much truth and the attitude of “whatever, I know I'm right but this won't change a thing”. He reminded me of Nietzsche “and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Apart from that the day was pleasant and unremarkable. We stopped at 12.20pm at the feet of the tower in the quite village of Piombino, at km 52, for lunch.

We then reached Treviso at 2.30pm and stopped right in front of an ice-cream shop, it would have been rude not to get one.

The B&B Terzpiano was very nice and the town even prettier, with all its canals, alleys and old buildings. We were having an aperitivo to kill some time when a cold wind started and in a sec we were both freezing, what happened?? 

Day 13 - Treviso to Venezia- 43km and 62m
Friday 1 September – Breakfast was better than expected, we had to go 1 street down the B&B to have it but it was so worth it, we even got fresh pineapple, grapes and pineapple! The guy running it, a cyclist himself, was super nice and we had a nice chat on cycling infrastructure in the region, our favourite topic!

As usual it took us a while to find the path, but once on it the first 25 km on E4 to Sila where the dream cycle, like honest I felt like I was floating in a dream and when I checked the odometer we already had 21k! What a way to start the day!

The original plan was to cycle to Lido di Jesolo, then get the ferry to Venice, leave the bikes in the storage (as you can't even push them in town) and from there cycle to the Venice Resort hotel to get the boxes pack and go. Instead we thought we would take a more relaxing approach, and cycle today to the hotel to pack the bikes and bikes free do the rest. We reached the hotel at 11.30am. The good news was that the boxes were still there, but the guy at the reception was not super helpful and when I asked if we could leave the bikes there overnight, paying, he put on a face and said he needed to get authorisation. By the time he got back we found out that there was storage in the airport, I called and they said they had spaces so that was problem solved, and it would work out even better that planned! We packed the bikes and most bags, got a shuttle to the airport, dropped the bikes at the storage, then got a bus to Lido di Jesolo, and when there another bus to reach our Hotel Stockholm. We got there at 2.30pm and were starving so we went for a bite first. I've never been here before but knew what to expected: endless hotels and beaches. Not my kind of stuff but I was quite keen on walking barefoot on the beach.

We were still wearing our dirty cycling clothes and had a mini bag each...the woman at the reception asked if we were here for the Frecce Tricolori, and us: “he? ...we are cycling?”. It turns out there was an aerial show, top gun kind of, and they would rehearse that afternoon while the proper show was the day after. We went straight to the beach and indeed it was quite a show! Pity we couldn't take any pictures as we left all our valuables in the hotel thinking they would get flooded or stolen... Oh well, that was a nice way to end the trip! 

 

Day 14 - day off / Lido di Jesolo and Venice
Saturday 2 September – This was an endless day. We went for a final walk on the much quieter beach after breakfast, then checked out at 10am. 

We got the bus to Punta Sabbioni where we got the 11am ferry to Venice Piazza San Marco. The best part of the day was to reach Venice via water! 

 There were many people but I expected many more. We walked around and got lost in the alleys and canals, then went for lunch (it turns out that you can't sit and eat picnic/ take away food in Venice, it made me feel like being in a museum rather than strolling around town), where I was complimented again for my very good Italian... We kind of got the idea of what Venice was like and walked to the other side to get the train to Mestre, which was more of a normal town. We spent some time strolling in the centre, got our last ice cream (that was the best one!) and slowly slowly got to the airport, picked up the bikes, and waited for our flight which was delayed by 2h 30min. The airport in Edinburgh was a total mess but thankfully we arrived there, as well as the bikes and eventually got back home at 3.30am. As usual it feels like we have been away for 2 months, but also that we never left. This was a great trip and we had the chance to see a good chunk of Italy, but me I prefer to be in the mountains, please no more people!