Italy is without any doubt one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world, with the city of Venice and the wider Veneto region perhaps being the cherry on the top. Of course, this is for “regular” tourism. What about from a gravel perspective though? Is the beautiful Veneto region, with its villas, canals and magnificent landscapes a good place to go with your gravel bike? Jorge Padrones was fortunate enough to be invited to visit and sent in this write-up of his travels.
The trip could not have started better. We were picked up at the Venice airport by the organisers of the visit, and we were taken to the Castello di Roncade where a wine tasting session was awaiting us. We were to spend our first night in this beautiful and quiet castellated villa, which dated from the 16th Century. The villa is the headquarters of a well-known winery in the region producing the famous prosecco among other wines.
Next morning the winery and castle owner took us on a visit to the winery and castle. He told us the amazing story contained between the castle walls and in the land nearby, giving us a glimpse of the history of the area. History, a word that is never to be forgotten when you travel to Italy, as it is everywhere.
After our private visit, our friends from Treviso Bikes picked us up to take us on our first gravel route on this trip. The route for the day was going to take us from the vivid and beautiful city of Treviso up to the seashore following the natural course along the Sile river.
My riding partners were Claudia from Germany and Hester from the Netherlands along with Riccardo, our guide. The aim of the tour was to do some gravel riding and to enjoy the route. We cycled at a leisurely pace and often stopped to take pictures - one of the many ways we have to enjoy cycling, because cycling is not only about racing! As soon as we started our route, not far in fact from the Treviso Bikes shop, we were in the middle of nature, following a gravel path that flowed with the River Sile on its way to the sea.
We passed through the Cimitero dei Burci, where the old boats that delivered the goods to this area via the river took their final rest, creating a poignant picture. There were some beautiful villages along the way with their narrow and tall bell towers dominating the skyline. The village churches found in this area commonly have a separate bell tower. We rode through many small villages where the central piazzas, with their small bars and cafes, allowed visitors and locals alike to have a rest and some refreshments.
It was midday and was lunch time, so we stopped in a typical small restaurant that offered a set menu or “Menu Fisso”. It is impossible to speak about Italy, with or without a bike, and not speak about food. A stop at a small restaurant in the middle of the countryside reminded us how important and special food is in Italy. It was possible to have incredible (and inexpensive) meals in unique and often remote places.
After we had eaten, we had some time for a little rest and maybe a short power nap in some hammocks, as the weather was brilliant, something that unfortunately was about to change. We continued our way to meet the sea. Adjacent to the river was a perfect easy and flat gravel path, which we followed until we were able to see the sea and the lighthouse that separated land and water in the Lido di Jesolo. We continued our way around the Venice Lagoon until we reached a special place called Lio Picolo, in which we even could prove our skills on a fun and flowy single track.
Here we were meant to board a boat, which was going to be a Bike and Boat trip. Unfortunately, there was a severe weather alert issued for the next day, making it impossible to navigate the Venice Lagoon due to strong currents and making it even dangerous, so we were taken back to the Roncade Castle, where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner in a local nearby restaurant, while the Treviso Bike crew worked on an alternative plan for us.
When we went for breakfast the next morning it was pouring with rain. It was raining so strongly that made it impossible to go on a bike, or at least to go on a bike and to actually enjoy it, so instead we were set for the alternative plan designed on the fly, but that as we will see was also appealing.
We visited a vineyard, Collalto, in the vicinity of Susegana and they showed us all around their vineyards in what was for me a happy re-encounter. This region is deeply linked to cycling and especially to gravel riding, as it had been the home of the two gravel world championships that we have had so far. As our Land Rover driver showed us the vineyards, I noticed we were following the same path that the 2023 gravel World Championships followed. At one point, we were in the middle of the first climb when I realised it was the place I celebrated finishing well my in first world championships. There was a big party on that day in the winery!
Image courtesy of @Castel Brando
For lunch we were taken to Castel Brando, were the owner received us for lunch in one of its luxurious and beautiful rooms. Afterwards, she took us on a guided visit of the castle and told us the story of how she and her husband bought the castle when it was almost a ruin and re-built the beautiful hotel and one of the nicest and best equipped spas I have ever been in. Unfortunately, it continued raining cats and dogs, so we changed our schedule and spent our afternoon making the most of the spa! In a place like Veneto, you never run out of activities in which treat yourself.
On our third and final day, a break in the rain gave us a window until midday, so we decided to start early and went to the south side of the Venice Lagoon to get to know that area. Our circular route started in Rosolina, where we took small gravel paths following a labyrinth of river channels and could spot some birds and enjoy the views, mixing the interior lagoon waters and the sea.
We extended the route as far as the Albarella Island, a beautiful gem dividing the lagoon and the sea, surrounded by pretty houses and gardens with a wild beach. You could circumnavigate the island following a narrow and lovely gravel path.
We had to rush our last kilometres going back to Rosolina as the big raindrops started to fall at exactly midday. Luckily we were back on our transfer just when the heavy rain started - that was a good save. As it was our last day in Italy, in the afternoon we went to Treviso, a city which is well worth a visit. It is a medium-sized city, crisscrossed by canals and with many historical buildings that make it very attractive. Our local guide took us to the place where one of the Italian wonders was invented, the Tiramisu. Our guide took us to taste it where, in his educated opinion, was one of the best places in the world. This particular place had won many awards for it in the annual worldwide tiramisu contest, which is held in Treviso each October. Afterwards, we went to try some other local specialities like the mozzarella in carrozza in very characteristic bars.
We could not close the trip without our last visit to the Rechsteiner winery which is owned by the Baron Florian von Stepski-Doliwa. The Baron himself took us on the visit and demonstrated to us the flavours of their wines on a directed wine tasting, after which we went for a final dinner in a local restaurant.
Veneto and especially the Venice Lagoon area is a perfect place for gravel bike touring, as it is an area full of stunning landscapes, it is a fully flat terrain where it is very easy to roll and there are many attractive activities to complement a biking trip. It is without any doubt the ideal destination if you want to enjoy the perfect gravelly “Dolce Vita”.
We are very grateful to Treviso Bike for covering Jorge's travel and accommodation costs.