Our stay in Lana has erased all the stress of yesterday’s accommodation fiasco. The Garni Raffein is owned and run by a family who couldn’t be any kinder or more helpful. One never knows the cultural roots of the people you meet, but the woman who took a care of us seemed Tyrolean, and she could laugh at anything. When she asked what we’d like to drink at breakfast, I said we’d both like a Canadian-o. She though it was hilarious when I explained that, as Canadians, we have banned the usual name for the coffee from our vocabulary. She reminded us very much of a friend in Victoria. Her in-laws also ‘work’ at the hotel and there were lots of historic photos in the dining room. As I checked out in the morning, she looked me in the eyes and said, “Are you ready for this?”, which I took to mean the upcoming ride over the Stelvio that we had told her about. Very astute of her! But, it’s also possible she just wanted to know if I was ready to check out.
We set off on the main road outside our hotel and quickly located the labelled Val Venosta bike route that the handy-dandy cycle.travel app had chosen for today’s ride. That’s not exactly rocket science, but still, it was convenient. It ended up taking us all the way to our destination hotel in Prato allo Stelvio.
As many of you know from cycling here, they have spent countless millions of euros on cycling infrastructure over the years in this part of Italy. Not only that, but unlike so many other jurisdictions, they maintain them. Consequently, when e-bikes hit the market, the whole region became a playground for cycling. It is hugely popular for all generations, including families with young children. They have also built play areas for children along the route. These offer games, swings, slides, climbing apparatuses and even small fenced-in soccer pitches.
Typical hairpin turn. These are usually found on the roadways and are a way of gaining elevation with gentle grades. This was along he Val Venosta cycleway, completely separated from the road. Nice!
This being Sunday, there were hudreds of cyclists of all ages, shapes and sizes enjoying the cycle path. Almost all of them were headed the opposite direction which is mostly downhill.
Bike trails or bikeways such as this one often bypass towns, in the urge to provide a traffic-free experience for cyclists. The disadvantage is no business for the towns on the route. Those that do well are the trailside eateries, like the one we chose for lunch.
The Val Venosta cycleway was an enjoyable way to get to Prato. Over the day we gained about 600m (GPS didn’t record it, however), some of it in concentrated sections and the rest in a gradual way as the trail undulated through the woods along the river. It gained more elevation than it lost so the elevation added up in a pleasant way. They had paved the steepest sections of the trail and left the rest as packed gravel, which requires extra care and attention.
There were quite a few gravel sections of the bikeway today. They were in good shape for cycling.
We rolled in to the Astoria Hotel in Prato at 2:30 and spent some time resting (apparently snorts were heard), then we went to a nearby bar for a thirst quenching beer. For dinner, we strolled to the far side of town to a pizzeria, for Primavera pizza and an affogato for dessert.
Here’s today’s video. It’s titled from Lana to Passo al Stevio, but that’s tomorrow’s ride. It’s Lana to Prato allo Stelvio. It just shows you how much the Stelvio climb is on our minds.
Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles) Total: 665 km (413 miles)
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Anne AnastasiouWow! Another beautiful region. Glad you got in before those storm clouds. They look ready to burst! Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Patty BarronInteresting how much busier the bike trails are, now that you are closer to larger towns. And how encouraging that they are getting such good use too! Reply to this comment 1 month ago
