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| In Italy much of the route is well signposted, but watch out for the 100km gap |
There's
something special about riding a bike from a mountain in a landlocked
country, to the sea. From 1000m altitude to 0m. So when the Ciclovia
Alpe Adria project became reality, and as this new cycle route almost
passed the door, riding 350km from Embach to the Adriatic rose to the
top of the bike touring programme.
Could
anything be better than Austria's long distance bike routes?
Well-signposted, and with generally good but often gravel surfaces,
they follow the valleys and criss-cross the nation. The Alpe Adria
uses these trails beginning in Salzburg and turning south and east to
Villach and then south again into Italy.
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| Austria's section of the Alpe Adria here along the river Drau |
European
borders are a disappointing collection of unused buildings and folorn
bars. But here the Alpe Adria italian-style begins. What a nice surprise!
Smooth asphalt, yellow lines marking the edges of the trail and even
a centre line making some of Austria's gravel tracks look primitive.
From
Trevisio the Alpe Adria follows a former single-track railway
crossing the Alps with a gradual gradient, numerous bridges and
tunnels, and views that would have been more wonderful if it had not
been for a main road and an Autostrada sharing the same valley. Could
Italy be the best place in Europe for long distance cycling?
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| In Italy the completed section of the Alpe Adria follows a former train line |
At
a small town called Resiutta one finds the answer: “No!” As the
marked trail comes to an end, so does the signposting which if
anything had been superfluous. It is necessary to take to the roads
and in one place, to follow the Alpe Adria along a rubble-strewn
track through unlit tunnels and to find the way in and out of the large
and bustling town of Udine. Basically, riders are largely left to
their own devices for something like 100km. Then, coming out of Palma
Nova there are the signs again and a bike path which runs beside the
almost dead straight road all the way to Grado and the sea. It's just
the gap in the middle which lets the whole project down.
Getting
home again without retracing steps is a problem. But Slovenia, too has bike trails. Could
they be any good? So cross country to Nuovo Gorice in Slovenia, and a
train to Jesenice. Riding out of town towards the Italian border at
Trevisio, there is a bike track sign. And behold! A superb bike
trail, smooth asphalt, white lines on either side and a white centre
line. A gradual climb up to the ski town of Kranjska Gora then cruise
down to Italy again along an old railway line.
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| Slovenia's D2 bike track joins the Alpe Adria near Trevisio |
These
bike trails in Italy and Slovenia have been funded partly by the EU
to bring clean, green tourism into the villages where hungry cyclists
will be looking for food, drink and a bed. The routes are so good
that they make some of Austria's look rather rough and ready though the country probably leads the world with its network and the investment that goes into it demonstrated by Austria's popularity with bicycle tourists from around the world.
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| Wayside map of the interconnecting bike trails of Austria, Italy and Slovenia |
