Calling all Mountain Bike Lovers!!! Here's a delicious recipe of fun for you and your bike.
You'll spend a terrific day amongst the Dolomite mountains with your bike. We did a test run of this nice itinerary just for you and have discovered it's a ride that really everyone can enjoy. There is a section where the climb is a bit hard, but don't be ashamed if you have to walk your bike a little at this point ... remember, you're on holiday and the most important thing to do is enjoy this day.
Ingredients:
- 1 Mountainbike
this summer you can rent it directly from the sport shop Skitop 100 meters from our Ustaria Posta.
- 1 Mountainpass Alta Badia
which offers you unlimited use of 13 lifts in Alta Badia and buses around the Sella group as well as bus lines in Val Badia, Val Gardena, Val Pusteria and Val Isarco until Bolzano
- 2 Chairlifts
And we speak of those we have in town, at the Santa Croce that take you and your bike up high to the foot of the Santa Croce Mountain.
Preparation:
You have already done the most difficult part of this tour with the ... chairlift ...
and when you arrive at the
Santa Croce hut near the characteristic church ...
take the path numbered 15 north. The first part of it is represented by small ups and downs, but after approximately 2 km, you'll be taken on a bigger trail that leads directly to the gorgeous Armentara meadows. Here, enjoy the stunning views south to the Marmolada glacier and north to the glaciers of the Italian-Austrian border.
Continue to follow path 15, this will bring you back into the forest and from there a wonderful and long descent towards the farm of Spëscia proceeds. Along this path, you will find more fresh water fountains where you can fill your water bottles.
At the end of the descent, you'll enter the path towards Ciurnadú number 13-15. This road is a continuous slightly upward slope and then downhill you'll go until you arrive at a stretch of about 200 meters steep downhill that takes you to a paved road leading to the town of La Valle / Wengen.
Follow the paved road for 1.5 km and you'll arrive at a crossroad on which there is also a small chapel; from there take the paved road on the right that leads towards the farm Biëi. The road is paved and heads uphill, sometimes the incline is slight, sometimes a bit more challenging.
When you arrive at the farm of Biëi, follow the signs to the trail number 5 to 'Forcela da Cians'. Until now, the whole path you left behind seemed easy, it is changing right about now. You've reached the point where now, for about 20 minutes, you need to suffer a bit. The fittest ones will be able to cycle it up without any problem, but you are not racing, take it easy and just push your bike if needed. Arriving fresh at the top, you're now ready to enjoy more downhill fun.
Once you reach the top, you'll reach the crossroad after 200 meters, take the path on the right and follow it until you enter
path number 8 where you need to follow the sign to
"Ju-Col dl'Ancona". From here, you'll ride forest road along the ridge of the mountain above the town
San Vigilio, with stunning views above it.
Suddenly, the road climbs up to 200 meters, but that means you are reaching the end, and once you've finished this stretch, you turn right and descend to the La Para Hut. When you reach the hut, the road becomes paved again and leads you directly to San Vigilio.
Tired?
San Vigilio is the signpost to decide whether you are happy with the whole tour and ride further downhill along the main road until you reach the town of Longega from where you'll wait for the
local line bus which brings you free of charge back to the starting town of
Badia thanks to the
Mountainpass used to get on the chairlifts.
For those who want to return by bike to Badia, there is the possibility to do that all off road where you will be on the main road for just 2 km. You'll also follow the road to Longega for 1.5 km, and arrive in the town of Mantëna after 2 semicurves, you turn left and pedal towards the 'Colac'. The road is paved, but at the first bend take the unpaved road that goes north. After a climb of about 2 km there is a little downhill run for half a km and an uphill stretch for the same distance. Then the fun begins... a single track in a tremendous undergrowth covered forest by larch needles heading to the town of Piccolino.
When you reach
Piccolino, cross the main road and take the road toward
San Martino in Badia, pass the gas station and turn left onto a footpath that runs alongside the river. After 1.5 km you'll reach the main road that you need to follow for about 2 km until arriving at the village of
Pederoa, where, instead of crossing the bridge turning left, pull straight across to the unpaved path following the river again. This trail takes you to a paved road after about 3 km until you reach the
farm of Corcela and then unpaved again to the
farm of Costa and finally you'll arrive back at the starting point in
Badia.
Journey time:
- 3 hours on your bike for the trip from Badia to San Vigilio
(Excluding breaks for photos, lunch, rest, pee, etc..)
Distance:
- Complete (return by bike to Badia): 37 km
- Reduced (return by bus): 22 km
Where to eat:
References:
- Tabacco Map Sheet 07
(available at our Hotel)
GPS Track:
- Write us and we'll be happy to send it to you
Other:
- If you have the occasion to ride this itinerary, we would be happy to hear your opinions, write them in the comments at the bottom of this post.