If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
If you ever have a chance to cycle the EuroVelo 7 from Dobbiaco to Brunico, just do it. And if you also have a chance to cycle the AHR from Brunico to Cadipietra, just do it, too.
Both routes are on dedicated cycle paths along rivers, with jaw-dropping views of the Dolomiti rising on all sides. The surface switches from tar to gravel, and we ended up on a couple short stretches of mountain bike tracks and cow paths. We also had a detour up through cornfields; not sure why, but probably the main path was blocked by a landslide or washout because of all the rain. But overall, this was one of the best days of biking we have had. The forecasted rain did not materialize, the sun peeked through the clouds on and off, the air temp rose from a chilly 48 degrees at the beginning to 61 at the end. Yep, a bit different from two weeks ago. We started out with tights, fleece jackets, buffs, and mittens for the first time.
The trail was busy with other bikers and hikers. Several stretches went around the edges of lakes, big parks, resorts, and villages with restaurants and shops. This is ski country, and the valley is lined with hotels, guesthouses, condos, and chalets. And gondolas. And ski and bike rental stores.
Our destination was a hotel in a village near the Austrian border. Nothing fancy, just a quiet old place that caters mostly to skiers and serves both dinner and breakfast. Our goal was to get out of the glitzy super-popular places, up into a valley where normal families hang out. And see some of the spectacular scenery. Such a difference a few miles make.
When we checked in, our host, Barbara, smiled kindly and said, "Oh, yes. I've been waiting for you," and then gave detailed directions for taking our bikes around the outside of the hotel, through the parking lot and into the garage, entering through the back door there, storing the bikes in the ski room near the sauna, and coming up a set of steps into the reception area. "You will figure it out," she said. She was right: we figured it out.
After showers and a little rest in our room, we also found our way to the dining room, where Barbara showed us to our table and served our dinner. I asked if she did everything in the hotel, and she said, with that little smile, "No. I don't cook." I loved her quiet sense of humor.
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| As soon as we started riding up the valley, we lost the crowds and the busy highways. We did still see people, and even large numbers of them in some of the resorts, but they were families and small groups out walking and picnicking, not big, loud crowds shopping and pushing. |
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| A tiny park across from the cafe where we had cappuccini in the morning. We have fallen into a routine of stopping midmorning for bevande (beverages): cappuccino if it is cold out, aqua frizzante and limone if it is hot. |
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| We rode around and through small villages off and on throughout the day. |
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| Low clouds hid the high Dolomiti from us, but the rain held off. |
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| Ken in his cold-weather cycling clothes. |
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| Me in mine! |
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| We saw goats. |
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| And caribou. |
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| And fields. |
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| And mountains. |
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| And villages. |
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| And castles. |
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| And ski chalets. |
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| After dinner in our hotel, we took a little walk around the church next door. There wasn't much else to see. The village has fewer than 900 inhabitants, and just a handful of places to stay. |
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| The rushing brook across the street from out hotel provided white noise...actually, the only noise in this quiet spot. |
