To Bolzano

June 22, 2024

A spectacular day. Overnight rains cleared the air, leaving blue skies, moderate temperatures and low humidity. Perfect conditions for continuing my trip up the Adige River to Bolzano. I was very excited to get started so I left without a real breakfast - my lodging offered only a coffee machine and a couple of pre-packaged pastries. I downed two espressos, one pastry and was off – planning to stop at the Bicigrill about eighteen miles up the road.

The ride was everything I’d hoped when planning this section of the tour – cycling along an excellent path under blue skies surrounded by mountains. Added bonuses were terraced hillsides dotted with small villages and rows of fruit trees lining the trail, mostly apples as far as I could tell. I stopped often for pictures, intent on making up for the last few hazy days.

A sunny blue sky morning on the Adige River, swollen by the overnight rains

Happy and helmet-less, just for the photo :)

Lots of fellow cyclists enjoying this glorious day

Apples, Asparagus and Alps - I'll give the day an A+

There was also community garden space along the Adige

The overnight rains did more than give me a glorious cycling day, they also added to the volume of water churning in the Adige River – it was high, muddy and fast moving. In fact, it had risen so much that a large section of the cycle path was closed. I met Terry and Diane at the barrier entering San Michele all'Adige – an Aussie couple heading toward Trento. We had quite a lovely chat and then I took off, following the yellow detour markers as it led me away from the river and onto a small road that wound through miles of vineyards. I’m not sure what I may have missed on the cycle path, but the detour route was the best stretch of the day.

Terry and Diane, a lovely couple from Sidney on a self-guided tour from Merano to Riva del Garda

A look back at the flooded path - and the muddy Adige

The detour route was splendid - Tour des Vines

Another great vista is just around the bend

Entering South Tyrol, a region that was part of the Austrian Empire until turned over to Italy in 1919, at the end of WWI. Though a part of Italy, German is the language spoken by the majority of people, and town names are in both German and Italian

The detour ended at at Salorno sulla Strada del Vino, the next bridge upriver from San Michele. I took another detour into town for lunch, a pretty mediocre tomato and mozzarella on stale bread that soothed my hunger pangs. Then it was back on the road – twenty more miles to Bolzano. As I pedaled along, enjoying the fine surface and glorious scenery, I started to wish for curves, terrain, and pass-through towns. The afternoon heat must have awakened the masochist in me.

I met Oliver and Sabrina just before the detour ended in Salorno - they convinced me the gravel double track was a much more scenic way to town.

This Cormorant was a surprise - I saw two gulls land on the pipe and was zooming in on them when I saw this black bird fluttering. I thought at first it was some sort of "twirling bird scarecrow" to keep other birds off the pipe (don't ask for a reasoned axplanation). The flutter turned out to be this fella rapidly opening and closing his gullet - sort of panting. Do birds pant? This was just one of the serious questions I contemplated as I pedaled along

Another amusing activity while pedaling along a river

It seemed as if the houses were floating above the black netting

The route into Bolzano was a breeze – another city with an extensive biking infrastructure, and one that has seen significant upgrades since I last visited in 2021. I’d booked a room in what was essentially a dormitory/hostel just two blocks off the bike path, a small room with a single bed but sufficient for my needs. I cleaned up, rested up, and dined on Indian food. I retreated to my small room, fully satisfied with both my meal and an extraordinary day of cycling.

My small room had two tiny pictures on the wall, each about the size of a large postcard. Any ideas as to who/what this is would be greatly appreciated.

In Bolzano - might there be another storm coming?

Heart

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Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 1,423 miles (2,290 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	7

Carolyn van HoeveWhat a glorious day that looked to be! So glad you're getting sunshine at last after your very wet spring. I think we need to plan for Italy next time!
And to let you know I've changed the beginning of our tour through France (en route to Spain) based on your & TA's enthusiasm for the route through Rocamadour. Instead of catching a train to Orleans from Paris, we are now catching a train to Souillac and then cycling your route in reverse to Bordeaux :-)
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5 months ago

Robyn RichardsTo Carolyn van HoeveThis sounds like a great route!
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5 months ago

Susan CarpenterTo Carolyn van HoeveI hope you enjoy the route as much as we did, and that you have less rain!! And a reminder that we missed a turn going into Sarlat, entering the city in a road I would not recommend!
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5 months ago

Carolyn van HoeveThanks Susan ! I’ll have a close look at the GPX file I downloaded from your journal.
Wishing you many more days like you had today!
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5 months ago

Susan CarpenterTo Carolyn van HoeveThanks Carolyn, and let me know if you have any questions about the route. Wishing you a wonderful tour
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5 months ago

Rachael AndersonWhat a great day but be wary of that masochistic tendency especially in the heat!
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5 months ago

Ben Parkehttps://youtu.be/8z6JQanrv-I?feature=shared
Probably some video of what you missed with the detour in here. Great route. Wonderful cruising on perfect path. Südtirol is a cycling dreamland.
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1 week ago