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        • 11. Flat and Dry: Spittal to Arnoldstein
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Buongiorno, Bella Italia
Wednesday September 5, 2018

We wake up to a beautiful, sunny day - and the sound of Harleys. We see some bikers at breakfast, and when we go out there is a steady stream of Harleys on the road. I then find out that there about 80,000 Harleys underway to the annual Harley parade at Faaker See, a lake not too far from here. That's a lot of motorcycles! Whenever we are off a bicycle path, we see and hear the thousands of Harleys who are on their way to the humongous meet-up.

This day turns out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Soon after the border we turn off the road onto the bicycle path, a disused rail line, and it's a glorious ride. Sometimes the signs aren't easy to find and we can't rely on the route on our GPS, which we planned using Internet apps. The Internet maps are not up-to-date, the posted signs are more reliable, but you have to keep your eyes open.

At one point we miss the signage for a turnoff and continue blithely down the main road. It isdown and when we discover that it has taken us on to a highway, we don't want to go back up so we just keep going. That is a bad decision. We are now on the SS 13 with fast traffic, no shoulder. I am just hoping there will be no tunnels. After what seems like an eternity, but it is only three kilometers, we can exit the highway to a town with a bridge over the river. That is where we are supposed to be, on the other side of the river. We can see the rail-trail trestle high above us and wonder how we can get back up there. It is our good fortunate that in Prerit there is a sign with Ciclovia Alpe-Adria on it. It takes us on an amazingly steep little road, but it gets us there. When we manage to push to the top, we see the sign telling us it was 27%. (Btw, the Ride-with-GPS indicates 10% - obviously inaccurate. I can ride 10%, but this I could hardly push.) The effort is worth it, we are back on the wonderful rail-trail and it is fantastic. I am sorry to have missed even a small part of it.

The rest is a beautiful ride. We find a B&B in Chiusaforte. Chiusaforte was once had a train station and the town is down the hill. We can't find the address and call our hosts. My broken Italian comes in handy. The outcome is that the room isn't ready yet - at 5 pm - but they will meet us in front of the supermarket in an hour and show us the way. It all works out and we can even use the washing machine.

I am hoping there will be a place to eat somewhere, Chiusaforte is a very small town. Yes, there is. It's a pizzeria but the food is terrific. We were more than hungry and ordered much too much. The Italians set a high standard for the quality of their food. The antipasto and main course are excellent. I doubt you would find anything like that in a German village.
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Bikers riding through Arnoldstein in the morning.
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On their way to the HD parade
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No formalities, you just ride through - after you stop to take a picture, that is.
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This must have been Trevisio
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Are we in heaven?
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We see more cyclists on this part of the Alpe-Adria bike path than anywhere else so far, but it is far from crowded.
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I love the tunnels. Even if they are a little dark. The lights go on automatically as you pass through!
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Coffee break in Pontebba
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In Pontebba
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We see many abondoned buildings along the trail.
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Abandoned train station
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After crossing the river, we return to the trail. On the sign we read 27% - I believe it!
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We were somewhere down there, not good.
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Many photo stops are necessary.
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Another abandoned train station
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I had a kind of calzone for the main course - after I stuffed myself on the antipasto.

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Next
  • Home
  • Bicycle Tours
    • 2021 >
      • Autumn in the Allgäu
      • Austria Again
      • A Dip into Tyrol
      • Wertheim and Beyond
      • We got as far as Wertheim
      • Bavarian Getaways
    • 2020 >
      • Out and About in Bavaria >
        • Day 1: Gauting - Bad Tölz
        • Day 2: Bad Tölz - Bad Kohlgrub
        • Day 3: Bad Kohlgrub - Landsberg
        • Day 4: Landsberg - Gauting
    • 2019 >
      • The Season Has Begun
      • Pedaling and Shooting in Bavaria >
        • Day 1
        • Day 2
      • More Pedaling in Bavaria >
        • Day 1
        • Day 2
      • Cycling the Inn in Austria >
        • Day 1 Gautig to Tölz
        • Day 2 Tölz to Jenbach
        • Day 3 Jenbach to Innsbruck
        • Day 4 Innsbruck to Rietz
        • Day 5 Rietz to Landeck
        • Day 6 Landeck and Home
    • 2018 >
      • A Two Day Outing
      • A nine-day tour in Lower Bavaria >
        • Day 1
        • Day 2
        • Day 3
        • Day 4
        • Day 5
        • Day 6
        • Day 7
        • Day 8
        • Day 9
      • The Romantic Road >
        • Day 1 - Füssen to Peiting
        • Day 2 - Peiting to Klosterlechfeld
        • Day 3 - Kosterlechfeld to Gersthofen
        • Day 4 - Gersthofen to Donauwörth
        • Day 5 - Train Ride Home
      • Continuing on the Romantic Road >
        • Day 1 - Donauwörth to Raustetten
        • Day 2 - Raustetten to Dorfgütingen
        • Day 3 - Dorfgütingen to Creglingen
        • Day 4 - Creglingen to Hochhausen
        • Day 5: Hochhausen to Uettingen
        • Day 6 - Uettingen to Würzburg
      • Alpe-Adria Tour 2018 >
        • 1. Alsace or the Alps?
        • 2. We're Off: Munich to Bruckmühl
        • 3. Mountains Aready? Bruckmühl to Übersee
        • 4. Almost Salzburg: Übersee to Freilassing
        • 5. On the Ciclovia Alpe-Adria: Freilassing to Golling
        • 6. A Short Ride: Golling to Werfen
        • 7. A Patch of Blue Sky: Werfen to Sankt Veit
        • 8. Holed up in Sankt Veit
        • 9. The Big Climb: Sankt Veit to Unterkolbnitz
        • 10. Inching Our Way: Kolbnitz to Spittal
        • 11. Flat and Dry: Spittal to Arnoldstein
        • 12. Buongiorno Bella Italia: Arnoldstein to Chiusaforte
        • 13. Best Bike Path Ever: Chiusaforte to Tavagnacco
        • 14. Closer to the Sea: Tavagnacco to Palmanova
        • 15. Last Day on the Road: Palmanova to Grado
        • 16. Grado and How We Got Home
    • 2016 >
      • To Berlin and Beyond
    • 2013 >
      • Eight Wheels in Transit
    • 2011 >
      • From Passau to Vienna
    • 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
  • Day Rides
    • Rides 2023
    • 2022 Rides
    • 2021 Walks and Rides
    • 2020 Bicycle Days
    • 2019 Rides >
      • Bicycle Days 2019
    • 2018 Rides >
      • Bicycle Days 2018
      • 2018 Monthly Challenges
      • Cycling in Circles
    • 2017 Rides and Challenges >
      • Late to the Party
      • The Munich Kaffeeklatsch
  • Bicycle Memories
    • 1981: Bicycling with Daniel
    • 1981 - Passau to Vienna
    • 1982 - Provence with Daniel
    • 1985: Believe It or Not
    • 1986 - Southwest France
  • About
  • Contact
  • My Blog
  • Miscellaneous
    • Hochbunkers in Munich