Given our struggles with the trails along the Po River valley, given our time constraints, etc., we decided to jump ahead from Pavia to Bolzano in the foothill area leading to the Dolomites. We had to take some regional trains with three transfers due to the fact that bicycles can only be brought onto certain lines. Getting bikes onto the trains can be a challenge. We had to change trains in Milan, and Verona. Turns out we missed a connection to Bolzano. Also, some of the regional trains can be crowded so we had to stand between cars for a couple of hours. A slice of life goes by on these trains. Bolzano is a beautiful bustling city with many tourists, mostly German. In Tyrolean Italy, the signs are in Italian and German and most of the residents speak German. The streets, buildings and shops are all clean and well maintained.
Upon riding out of Bolzano we were immediately impressed with the condition of the trail. We saw workers sweeping and cleaning the trail, trimming grass, etc. We rode from Bolzano to San Candido which is the summit of the pass leading to Austria. The views in San Candido are amazing. The ride and day was fantastic. The views tempt one to go hiking into the Dolomites. It was all climbing up to San Candido but the grade was very gradual and gentle because the trail followed an old railroad bed. We rode 78 miles.
Arrivederci Italy, Guten tag Austria. The Austrian border was only a few km from San Candido. From San Candido the trail dropped elevation so we really enjoyed riding this area. We got up to speeds of about 50 kph. The trail was well marked and beautiful. We traveled through many charming and well manicured towns, each with a tall unique church steeple. After about 90 miles, we had short but steep climb up to a rail station where a train took us through a long tunnel. On the other side of the mountain we road our bikes down to Bad Gastein which is an old spa town. The train takes both bikes and automobiles. The only other way around is about a 10 hour drive. The train dropped us off about 6 km from our hotel. Our hotel which dates back to the 19th century. It has a funky charm but a heated pool and sauna awaited us! How delightful after riding 100 miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment