It’s only 42 miles from Tarvisio to Gemona del Friuli. The weather was gorgeous today, the pavement smooth, the riding conditions ideal. It’s downhill nearly the entire way - after climbing a couple hundred feet in the first three miles we dropped over two thousand feet in the next forty in a nearly unbroken gradual descent. It doesn’t look quite this effortless on the RideWith GPS Profile, which indicates 1,800’ of climbing for the day. This is because RideWithGPS seems not to know about tunnels and always routes you over the top of them. There are a LOT of tunnels - at least 32 of them, though I lost count and think it’s a few more than that.
So - after a modest climb in the first three miles it’s essentially a lazy coast down the next 40 on a smooth paved surface, much of the way on a dedicated cycle path converted from the old rail line. Easy, almost effortless, and yet it took us over six hours even though we had no mishaps or adverse incidents and made only a brief stop for a picnic lunch. A 7 mph average wall time, or thereabouts. That should tell you something about the day.
So where did the day go? Stops to look at one stunning view after another, that’s where. About midway through the ride, as we sat on a bench beside the trail eating lunch and looking up at the peaks, we agreed that today’s is easily the finest ride of the tour and one of the best ever. It’s a ride where for much of the day we slowed ourselves down, not wanting the miles to pass too quickly. Truly exceptional.
As splendid as the scenery is though, I wonder if over time our strongest memory of the day will be of the tunnels. There really are at least 32 of them - some very short, others long enough that it was decidedly cold in the middle and you’re anxious to see the light finally show up around the bend - the longest is roughly a kilometer. All but the shortest of them are illuminated to some degree, but some are motion-activated so the tunnel ahead is dark until you near it enough to activate the light. And in one tunnel, over a half a kilometer long, the lights were either so slow to activate or in spots completely nonfunctional that we walked most of the way with the aid of the flashlight on our cellphone.
We knew to expect an exceptional ride today of course, but we were still stunned by the day. This is a famously beautiful cycle route and the reason we’ve come this way through the mountains. Other travelers - the McClouds, Suzanne and Janos, the Bartletts, the Hutchings - all preceded us here and have their own accounts to offer on this site. We don’t really need a fresh set of words describing the ride itself, so we’ll just leave you with a small subset of what held us up all day long.
The view from the window of our hotel room in Tarvisio this morning.
It’s hard to believe we’ve gotten such a fine day for this ride. Here we’ve topped out after the short climb up from Tarvisio. It’s all downhill from here.
There is surprising diversity in the tunnels - different shapes, cross sections, construction material. I could create a whole album of just tunnel shots. Or of bridges. Or waterfalls. Or derelict train depots.
Some of the bridges are striking also. I particularly liked this weathered old steel structure, badly in need of a new paint job and with a tunnel at either end.
Throughout much of the day we kept being amazed as the surroundings grew ever more spectacular, the river and our route steadily falling while the peaks soared higher above us.
Passing through Venzone, just past the confluence with the Tagliamento. Its double ring of walls date back to about 1200, but most of the town itself was rebuilt after it was almost completely destroyed by earthquake in 1976.
The day ended with our stiffest climb, the steep walk up to our restaurant in the old town. We dined outdoors, watching the sun go down and listening to Rachael complain that she couldn’t see her pasta well enough to know how much remained. It was dark when we walked downhill to the room, looking up at the clock tower of Gemona’s castle. Like Venzone, Gemona was devastated by the 1976 earthquake, and the castle is still being restored.
Ride stats today: 45 miles, 600’; for the tour: 1,565 miles, 55,300’
Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km) Total: 1,565 miles (2,519 km)
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Suzanne GibsonWow, you got good weather! It is such a great ride, I'm so glad you liked it. I was afraid that I had been a bit too insistent that this stretch is a must on the Alpe-Adria path. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonI’m starting to feel guilty about the exceptional luck we’re having with weather on this tour so far. And thanks again for steering us down this way - we’re indebted to you. Dinner’s on us next time. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Lyle McLeodGreat to see that we too didn’t over-hype it. From your description it sounds like the day met (the high) expectations! The tunnels and bridges are great… and when your bored with them there’s the spectacular mountains! Just think, you’ve only got the rest of Italy to look forward to now 😎! Hope the weather continues to treat you well. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Lyle McLeodYes, you steered us well. Really an unmissable experience. And yes, we have all of Italy before us. Six weeks! I hope we can find a decent meal or two here. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
