Venice to Bolzano 200km / 125 miles circa 4 hours riding

As most riders will fly into Venice Treviso Airport we begin our stay at the Best Western Premier BHR Treviso Hotel for the first night.

Bikes will be available early the following morning and we shall begin our journey to the Tyrol region.

We shall take a few refreshment breaks along the route and generally this will be a relaxed journey to get you accustomed to riding the Italian mountain roads.

The route north slowly rises into the mountains and the roads will get progressively more technical. We end the day on some interesting back roads that pass through a forest on a twisty stretch just before we reach Bolzano.

The following days we will stretch the distance and offer greater challenges for those who want to master the hairpins and twists that this region offers.

Bolzano east circuit. 232 km / 145 miles circa 6 hours riding

This circuit heads to the east from Bolzano to Vigo di Fassa where you will get great views of the Sella and Marmolada mountains. Time permitting we can take the cable car 2000 meters up the mountains to further enhance those views before continuing our journey to the village of Caprile which sits above 1000 meters and commands superb views across the Dolomites whilst others might prefer to take in 4 great mountain passes known as the Sella Ronda;the Sella Pass, Campolongo Pass, Pordoi Pass and Gardena Pass. This adds about 35 miles to the journey.

At the Pocol ski resort we alter course to the north and pass between national parks and numerous areas popular with skiing in the Alta Badia area to reach La Villa. We continue north to St Martin and then deviate course to the west to Gudon "the village of 7 hills".

We then make our way south to return to the hotel in Bolzano

Bolzano west circuit 292 km / 182 miles 6 1/2 hours riding

Today we head to the heart of the alps, Parco dell'Adamello, which hosts the Adamello glacier, the largest in the Alps. There are many man made lakes that are used to generate hydro electricity. This is a very popular spot for mountaineering during the summer months and those willing to climb will get fantastic views though the air gets quite thin above 2500mtrs so you need to be fit!

The route continues north to the upper Valtellina valley and the town of Bormino another of the regions popular winter sports resorts that has hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships twice. It also has hot springs that naturally heat thermal baths.

As we continue traversing the Stelvio Pass each way before we momentarily cross the border into Switzerland then turn east to make our way back to Bolzano on roads that are surprisingly straight at times for the Alipne region so we deviate off the main road from time to time onto some narrow tracks to make things a bit more interesting!

Bolzano north circuit - 320km / 200 miles circa 7 hours riding

This will be the most challenging route in this tour. As we head off north from Bolzano we immediately join a road with twists and turns and passes through a few tunnels as we climb high above Bolzano. On one occasion you will do a complete 360-degree turn crossing the road high above where you were only minutes before. These tight twists continue to Merano where we take our first break.

The route continues north along more twisty roads as we pass ski resorts that are also popular with mountaineers and hillwalkers in the summer months as we cross the border into Austria and at Oetz we change direction to the east making our way to Innsbruck where we break for lunch.

The return route through the Bremner Pass remains interesting and challenging in parts and allows for deviation onto faster roads for anyone who is toiling.

Bolzano to Treviso 200km /125 miles circa 4 hours riding

Our planned route for the return trip to Venice Triviso will take about 4 hours; however, those who are in a rush to catch a flight can cut the journey time to around 2.5 hours using the highways.

We begin by heading south towards Trento before crossing towards one of the lesser known lakes Lago di Caldonazzo. It is actually the largest lake in the Trentino because lake Garda does not entirely belong to the Trentino territory. It is very popular with bathers because it is not very deep and generally warn with typical summer temperatures around 20 degrees. This makes an ideal spot for a rest break.

The route progresses from mountains into farm land as we make our way towards Bassano di Grappa which was an agricultural estate back in Roman times. It has an interesting wooden pontoon bridge and makes a good spot for our second rest break of the day.

The final leg of the route brings us back to the hotel where our journey began where the bikes will be uplifted and riders will make there way home or continue their say in Venice and surrounding area.