The C-word, which we never really want to talk about again and which we suffered so much in 2020 and 2021 also brings us great things! A group of road cyclists in the Treviso area decided to do things completely differently during this period. The world was upside down anyway. So instead of grabbing the bikes with 28mm tyres, they got their gravel bikes out of the shed, looking for trails that they themselves had not ridden before either.
Read also: Dream destination VIA FRANCIGENA
They mapped the roads and the hidden gems they discovered in the process and made the most beautiful routes of them. This province, where tourists' attention is mainly focused on the city of Venice, turns out to have more than 5,000 kilometres of gravel paths. 5,000 kilometres! No wonder the first two editions of the World Gravel Championship were held in this region. That does not mean, by the way, that you can only go here if you can cycle rock hard. The routes are very diverse; north into the hills, or south into the valley. Yes, the hills are steep, but short. Cyclists of any level can have fun here.
The Prosecco Hills
On the first day, our cycling group rides north and we soon find ourselves in the hills. Here you literally ride through vineyards, up and down. Extra nice that now (October) is exactly harvest season, so we are greeted by vintners and grape pickers every time. Tractors with trailers full of grapes drive back and forth. I ask our tour guide if we are allowed to cycle here at all, as it feels like I am riding on private property. Ricky explains that there are hardly any private roads in Italy and that otherwise they are clearly marked. Good to know, because I wouldn't have taken some roads myself. And then, unfortunately, you stay mostly on the major roads. So especially nice between the tendrils!
Perfect for gravel lovers and bon vivants: not a coffee stop but a prosecco stop. Prepare for a delicious bottle of bubbles for less than five euros a bottle and a board of cheeses and cold cuts. I will get apple pie again at the Prologue in the Netherlands. Here I do accept that after lunch I won't go as fast as before.
The hills are short and steep, in the first 25 kilometres we already have over 400 altimeters to tackle, but the surfaces and paths are not technical. We ride on relatively wide roads and the gravel is Strade Bianche-worthy. Here and there an exception: one of the MTB riders in the group finds the descent on one of those crazy gravel bikes just unstable.
The city with 100 horizons
Today we go on a city trip. From Montebelluna, we ride via the World War I battlefields, where we also briefly visit the trenches, and through the Asolo Hills to the town of Asolo. It turns out to be a town with a rich history, where princesses and poets have lived and where there is a chance of bumping into George Clooney. Asolo is nicknamed "City of 100 horizons" because the view from every vantage point is completely different. Cycling through is possible, stopping is better. The central square is home to Porchetta a Manetta, the regular lunch spot for cyclists from the area. Their speciality is a sandwich with the famous porchetta (thinly sliced slices of pork) and a cold beer. After lunch, I learn the card game Scopa! with special Venetian cards and already know; I will soon leave here with real pub legs.
Next level gravel
We ride on to one of the many villas in the area: Villa Barbero, designed by the famous architect Palladio. Worth a visit as far as I'm concerned, but I can well imagine that on a bike ride you don't want to stop for too long. No problem though, because after you wind your way up between the cypress trees and onto the main road, the villa is so built, perfectly symmetrical, that even from the road you can see how big it really is. If you drive a little further, you will pass the chapel belonging to the villa or one of the other large imposing houses.
Where we started the day over the fields of WWI, we end the ride on "La Tradotta"; a landscaped gravel bike path that follows the original railway line between Montebelluna and Susegana that was used for military goods transports during the war. It is a tourist trail, so not technical or challenging, but is great for cruising. Oh, and watch your head when you have to go through the small tunnel!
To the source of the Sile River
Leaving the hills behind, further south the landscape is a lot flatter. Flat as in; there are only 100 vertical metres in a 50-kilometre round trip. We start the day in Treviso and use the cycle path to ride to the river. Yes it's gravel, but because of the many road crossings, with swinging gates it doesn't really ride well. Our local says this is the fastest and safest route anyway, so we listen to that! When we get to the river we have a bit of everything: fields, woods, bridges until we reach the swamp where the source of river De Sile is. In my head, I must have heavily romanticised the river origin, because I would have walked past the pool of bubbling dirty water if I didn't know that this was the source. So use it mainly as the occasion of a fun cycle route, and not as the purpose of the trip.
Trees that reach to the sky
A little later, we pass a group of trees. Truly enormous trees. These turn out to be monumental trees that are being protected at all costs. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we cannot ride past more of the trees, but a special cycle route has been created that passes all these monuments. Bold. Not just at the trees, but everywhere we ride past, Ricky has a story ready and talks about all the other routes you can ride in the area. As I wrote, there are so many kilometres of gravel roads in the region that it is no surprise that I want to know more about everything. Fortunately, the beautiful routes in the area are easily available via the site of Gravel Veneto
My tip for gravelling in Veneto: take your time, enjoy the real Italian culture: the villas, the villages, the prosecco and the delicious food. What you cycle here may not be epic, and you don't need to be trained like half a pro, but the views are romantic and the roads crunch so wonderfully. That's precisely why this is the ultimate relaxed cycling destination!
