Udine to Venzone : Riding the Alpe Adria Cycle Route

June 26, 2018

We have enjoyed Udine. Repeating the Alpe Adria route this year has proven to be full of surprises, and by that, I mean good ones.. We came back to ride this beautiful route as last year’s ride in September gave us winter like cold weather, heavy unrelenting rain and flooding. Consequently, we missed seeing much of the mountains and as we seemed to be in survival mode trying to keep warm and dry, we felt like we missed important sights. This year, we are trying to stay in different places and experience new things. Rather than riding through Udine, we stayed here for 2 nights.

We loved the view of Udine and the mountains from our room. Every evening the heat was broken by a thunder rain storm, and then it would clear.

Roses are beautiful here and bring back memories of the Italian neighbourhoods in Toronto with front yards of well tended roses, decorative statues and grapes growing above.

North Udine is a mega shopping area -we feel like we have entered Disneylandon the plus side, this is where we found the excellent bike store where Barry went. This area explains why so many shops in the centre have closed.

Our hotel in Udine that gave us comfort, excellent breakfasts, great views of the mountains and 2 days of much needed rest for Mary Ellen.

The staff at the Hotel Continental are excellent and very service oriented. Thanks for your hospitality.

We like seeing the great signage for the Alpe Adria route - and yes, we are on our way to Tarvisio.

Last year, we took to the road most of the time as the off road route was generally flooded or too muddy to ride. Even with our heavily loaded tandem this route is fine.

Our first sight of the foothills of the Alps.

We love the landscapes here of historic villages with the mountains as a constant backdrop.

There are many things we love about Italy, and one of our highlights is the Bar that is the centre of a village, rural area or city. This family run Bar, with Luca and his family, gave us a place to have a good cup of coffee and a sandwich.

Luca, his wife and daughters came out to see us off.

Their village is decorated in green and it is in support of their local football (soccer) team for the upcoming tournament. Last year their team, the Ursines won the grand title.

The next village had purple decorations to support their team.

We met this father and daughter out for a ride. We admired his velomobile.

A field of donkeys is always a good thing to encounter. This mother and her young donkey were affectionately grooming each other and taking care of itchy spots.

We love the infrastructure of the Alpe Adria and the details which take care of us. However, we were a bit stymied by this tunnel that asked us to dismount and walk through. Barry had to ride as the tunnel was at least a foot shorter than him.

The aquamarine colours of the water that comes down from the moubtain is quite beautiful.

A farmer taking in his hay in this mountain landscape.

Oh yes, the mountains are always a beautiful backdrop. We are enjoying the good weather compared to last year.

We have arrived in the medieval walled village of Venzone and see that the Roman warriors of its history have been replaced by road warriors in a Lycra uniform.

Now we haven’t met a Gelato in Italy that we haven’t liked, but Bike Friendly, that makes it even better!

Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 3,109 km (1,931 miles)

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