Throughout this tour I have been reminded of the embattled history of Western Europe during WWI, with today’s route passing near two significant battleground sites on the Italian front. The day started at the strikingly haunting Monumento al Caduti, the War Memorial located across from city hall in Vittorio Veneto. The Battle of Vittorio Veneto, fought between October 24 to November 3, 1918, followed up on the success of the Italian Army at the Second Battle of the Piave River. The decisive victory at Vittorio Veneto marked the end of the war on the Italian Front and contributed to the end of WWI just a week later. The resultant reconfiguration of European borders has had long lasting economic and political consequences that continue to the present day.
I left Vittorio Veneto by retracing my route along the small canal and then continuing on the Munich-Venice cycle path for most of the day. I’d chosen the MV route to avoid some of the traffic experienced by Team Anderson on their way from Maniago to Conegliano several years ago. The route started off a bit bucolic, passing chickens, donkeys and bee hives on the way out of town. But I soon found myself on a surprisingly busy, shoulder-less road that passed through Carpesica and continued for five miles to Conegliano. This was not the idyllic MV cycle path I met in Brunico – a fact that made me a bit grumpy. Interestingly, the route had no such effect on a group of Germans cycling from Munich to Venice – they proclaimed it was just another Italian road.
The ride through the city of Conegliano only added to my quickly deteriorating mood. I passed through a seemingly endless series of construction zones with snarled traffic and the roar of jack hammers. I kept moving, seeking to get beyond the noise and congestion. I eventually found a small park where I sat for a while on a shaded bench, lowering my temperature and elevating my mood.
Leaving Vittorio Veneto on a sunny blue-sky morning
The route got a bit better after passing through the extensive outskirts of Congeliano but I didn’t really relax until I’d crossed the Piave River at Ponte della Priula and passed through Nervesa della Battaglia. By that time, the heat had replaced traffic and noise as my biggest concern. With temperatures in the mid-90s, I again called on my RAGBRAI experiences of cycling in high heat and humidity and took numerous stops in the shade.
While I am not adverse to sitting or even laying on the ground, I often seek out churches as rest stops for they often have benches or stone steps where I can sit in the shade with my back supported. About five miles after crossing the Piave, I came across a church in the countryside near Bavaria, the Parish Church of Saint Urbano. The church itself didn’t look promising but there was a parish house next door with a row of benches under a roofed porch. Perfect! I pushed Vivien George up the short slope to the parish house and left her in the sun while I laid on the bench. I didn’t fall asleep but had a good long rest, one that was made even longer when my phone overheated and needed to cool down before I could resume navigating my route.
My outlook of the day had picked up considerably after the long rest, but it kept getting better. Shortly after leaving the parish house, the route began following a canal system that diverts water from the Piave to irrigate the farms and vineyards in this area of the Veneto. I cycled for miles on a tree-lined lane alongside the canal. Though tempted, I couldn’t really wade into the canal but I did take advantage of water spigots placed along the route to douse my head and refill my water bottles. I felt almost human by the time I arrived in Montebelluna.
I arrived in Montebelluna at 2 pm, too late for lunch but too early for check-in. I found an attractive café around the corner from my lodging, leaned Vivien George against the flower pots and went inside to see what they had on offer. I was craving some sort of milk shake and though dismayed that they had no ice cream, the server promised he could come up with something cold, creamy, and refreshing. And he did – concocting something that resembled an iced latte but much richer. I added a Schweppes lemon and water to my order along with a small salad, the only thing other than sandwiches that was available to eat.
The Caffé Club was a wonderful stop, a welcoming first impression on what turned out to be one of my favorite overnights of the tour. The café is a family run business – Papa Giorgio, Mamma Lorella and son Tiziano - it was Tiziano who made me the special latte. He’d done a bit of mountain biking and offered some insights as to how/why the cycling infrastructure is so much better in Trentino than in other regions of Italy. Although the café was closing up for the afternoon, there was no indication that I should hurry along – in fact, Giorgio came out onto the terrace and both he and Tiziano took a great interest in checking out Vivien George. It was such an enjoyable time that I left feeling like a member of the family.
The friendly and welcoming spirit of Montebelluno extended to my lodging where my host Davide greeted me with a warm smile and a plate of fresh fruit. The day finished with a splendid meal at T’osti, a Mediterranean restaurant where I dined on eggplant-stuffed ravioli and Iberian pork loin. It was a day to remember and a reminder to keep smiling and remain optimistic, no matter how badly the day may start.
The family-owned and friendly Caffe Club in Montebelluna
4 months ago