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Alpe Adria Trail by BikeAlpe Adria Trail by Bike
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Two friends - Matthias from Innsbruck and Giacomo from Crema - connecting the Austrian Alps with the Italian seaside by bike. Fueled by muscle power and the drive to create memories. And yes, lot's of cereal bars😉 Read more
  • 28footprints
  • 2countries
  • 6days
  • 102photos
  • 6videos
  • 1.0kkilometers
  • 478kilometers
  • 453kilometers
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  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 2

    Only the Brave...

    September 12, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    ... Can ride down this road without constantly using the brakes! It continues on and on and you gain speed without any effort. As it turned out, I am not one of the brave, as I was already afraid at a speed of 40 km/h, while Giacomo reached a speed of more than 60 km/h! Fortunately he is not only brave but also patient, as he had to wait for me for quite some time at the bottom😉

    A video of Giacomo's ride down is coming up soon!    Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 2

    Through the Countryside

    September 12, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    After our ride down from Mallnitz it was mostly flat again and the weather was sunny - so we seized the opportunity for a little rest next to a stream where we also enjoyed some cool water.
    Giacomo saw some more cows, so he was happy, too!Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 2

    A Beacon of Kindness

    September 12, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    On our way we encountered a lovely surprise - a station specifically for bikers, to nourish them with fruits and snacks and provide them useful gear like chain lube, rain ponchos and rubber straps!
    We stopped at the charming snack-bar where I indulged in a delicious tomato while Giacomo was happy to find a rubber strap to keep his top tube bag secured. While enjoying some fresh peaches we wondered about the origin of this well-stocked "oasis"; we settled at the finding that whoever is maintaining this station must certainly be a kind human being, a real hero who loves bikers and probably has experienced the hardships of cycling him-or herself!
    Since we didn't expect anything like it we were especially grateful and took it as a gift we could truly cherish, unfortunately, we had no way to say 'Thank you' save leaving some money.    Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 2

    The First (Well-Deserved) Schnitzel

    September 12, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After some more kilometers and ups and downs we set up our tent and set out to Seeboden to get Dinner - after our spartanic dinner yesterday (bread with cheese and salami) we wanted to eat out - and to eat Austrian food, as Giacomo had not tasted it yet (except for the homemade Sacher Torte). We found a great Restaurant where I introduced him to the Austrian cuisine, Wiener Schnitzel with Preiselbeeren, while I opted for a Cordon Bleu. For dessert we shared a Palatschinke with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce - and whipped cream, because otherwise it would have been too healthy, apparently 😉
    After a saturating meal there was only one problem left: to get back to the camping place, with a quite steep climb 😬

    Today's effort in numbers: 76, 5 km total distance, 1136 m of elevation gain, 5 hours of moving time    Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 3

    But first, coffee

    September 13, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we had a long day ahead of us so we wanted to start early - and I once again prepared a nutritious breakfast, this time without using any infrastructure (except for the sink for washing the dishes) - our first camping breakfast, so to speak! I finally got the opportunity to use the newly bought esbit cooker which worked quite well and was simple to use - and perfect for bike packing, as I could easily fit it into my mess kit.Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 3

    The Last Austrian Meal

    September 13, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today we would be crossing the border to Italy, so we wanted to use the opportunity and have another taste of Austrian food. Giacomo at some point stopped because he was so hungry (we had been on the lookout for good Austrian restaurants, but had not come upon any and it was well after noon), after some "first aid" with a cereal bar I found a promising option on Google Maps to have lunch. The only problem: it was almost half an hour away!
    Google Maps suggested a route which would take us off our original path and instead lead us on sidestreets through the countryside - but there were other restaurants also laying on this route, so if we were starving, we could also stop earlier - at least so I thought, because all the other options were closed or not very inviting. For some reason Google Maps wanted to take the scenic route so badly, it kept leading us on the most rural roads possible which slowed us down tremendously - although there was a bicycle track on the main road, so it would not have been dangerous at all to take the direct route.
    After a little discussion we decided to ignore Google maps and to return to the main road in order to not lose more time. Even though the restaurant I had chosen was also on the main road, Google Maps kept leading me to the country side, but I brushed it aside and we did reach the restaurant - and it truly made up the sweat and the patience, as it was serving not only high quality food, but also offered local dishes. Giacomo treated himself to a Gulaschsoup and a mixed salat with the traditional "Backhendl" (with pumpkin seed coating as a twist) while I indulged in a Zwiebelrostbraten (Roast Beef with fried onions). After the delicious (and very saturating!) meal we were ready to leave Austria behind us and enter Italy.    Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 3

    Bye Austria, Hello Italy

    September 13, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    In the afternoon we crossed the border between Austria and Italy - so I now passed the expertise in food and language on to Giacomo😅

    Italy welcomed us with headwind, which slowed us down tremendously - which was a shame, as the cycle path was not only slightly downhill but also in very good condition, so without the wind we could have made good progress without much effort. Instead we felt as if we had a flat tire: we kept pedaling but were not picking up any speed, instead moving at a crawl speed of 15 km/h. It was a very strange feeling, to be going downhill and getting slower instead of faster!Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 3

    Following The Old Train Line

    September 13, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Eventually the head wind ceased and we could finally pick up speed again - it was now easy to, on the newly paved cycle path (even with road markings, the region of Friauli truly invested some money!) going slightly downhill, so without much effort we were cruising at a speed of 25 km/h and had time to marvel at the scenery. The cycle path in this part of the Alpe Adria Radweg used to be a train line, passing through short tunnels and over riverbeds, being lined by trees, shrubs and occasionally an abandoned house that lost its purpose when the train line fell out of use. And most importantly, it was detached from every other sort of infrastructure (namely, the highway) so it felt like we were in another world, lost in time.
    We hardly met any other cyclists here, so we enjoyed each other's company, riding next to each other and taking photos whenever we were amazed by the view (which was often!).

    We spent the night in the little village of Dogna, which was next to the Cycle Path and despite it having been the longest day in distance, we were already at 6 pm at the accommodation - the earliest we would ever be this week! Staying at the hostel was very relaxed as it was the off-season and there was only one other guest, a Polish women who also travelled by bike and took advantage of having an Italian help her with the maze of Italian transport.
    For dinner we were relieved of having to decide anything as the options were very limited, there was only one restaurant on the country road and on this evening it was just offering two different choices for dinner. We both opted for what was supposed to be potatoes with onions and cheese and a sidedish of polenta, but turned out to be lots of cheese with some pieces of potatoes and onions - we didn't complain, though, as we could use the calories and the pan fried cheese was tasty; only the short climb up to the hostel again was a bit though.    Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 4

    Day 4 - Our "Lazy Day"

    September 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Today would be our "relax day", with only 66 km ahead of us, so we enjoyed our breakfast in the hostel without hurry before we got on the cycle path again. Unfortunately, the cycle path on the train line ended and we had to join the cars on the highway - there was a designated lane for us cyclists, but having the cars pass us by after the total placidity of the train line was a shock.

    We passed through the village of Venzone, which was structured just like a middle aged city - with cobble stoned, narrow alleys, a market place with cafes, a fountain and buildings in the unique Italian architecture.

    We didn't join the flocks of tourists though, who had coffee at the main square, as it was still too early for us to stop. Fortunately the way lead us away from the highway again and onto empty side streets through the backcountry, where we found the perfect place for lunch: a little grove that gave us shade and had even a big trunk that served as a bench. We enjoyed our sandwich and rested in this placid place, surrounded by trees and birds and only occasionally being passed by other bikers or cars.    Read more

  • Alpe Adria Trail by Bike
    Day 4

    For a coffee to Udine

    September 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    After our rest we set out again, leaving the woods behind and exchanging them for the fields of the lowlands.
    In the early afternoon we arrived at our B&B, where once again Giacomo proved his unique talent of choosing the accomodation with the most ascent possible - we saw it as additional training.
    Because today's distance is so short, we decide to leave the baggage at the B&B and visit Udine, about 20 kms south of our accomodation. This way, we can quickly pass through Udine tomorrow, saving time on our final day to Trieste.
    While Udine is stressful to get into with the busy streets, the inner city is well worth a visit, the architecture reminded us of Venice and the little cafes were very inviting - so we rewarded us with some calories.
    On the way back darkness fell upon us, we were prepared and had brought our lights, but the exhaustion of the day was beginning to show. As it was already getting late we changed plans and got dinner on the way instead of first returning to the B&B for a shower - fortunately, we weren't thrown out, so apparently we weren't smelling as bad as we had feared.
    As we were far off the "tourist route" the menu was only in Italian but Giacomo did his best to translate and gave me an introduction to the Italian cuisine, reaching farther than just pizza. On the bright side to being off the "tourist highway", the restaurant offered local dishes (there seems to be no limit to the different shapes of pasta!) and as we had "primi" and "secondi" we also had plenty of opportunity to try it.
    After our saturating meal we returned back to the B&B, where we finally took advantage of the shower - a true highlight after our long day. We had - with our visit to Udine - covered more than 100 kms and spent almost 6 hours on our bikes - so much for our lazy rest day!    Read more

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