Cycling Bliss on the Alpe Adria

Apologies for the long gap in posts, but we’re now back in France and finally catching up on our past month of adventures. So how’d we get back to France from Salzburg? Cycling through the Alps and some trains of course!

We really enjoyed our few days off the bikes in Salzburg, but as always, were eager to get back exploring. We find that more than two days off the bikes can put us off our game (like the Tour de France, eh?), so it felt good to roll out and head up the beautiful Salzach River towards the towering spires and massifs of the Alpes. Ok, maybe a little intimidating too.

The Alpe-Adria is a long distance cycling route that starts in Salzburg and covers 415 km over the Alps, all the way down to the Adriatic Sea at Grado, Italy. This spectacular route was (mostly) completed between 2006 and 2009.

The first day was about 65km to the pleasant and somewhat upscale town of Sankt Johann im Pomgau. It was a tougher day than expected for a number of reasons. It was all upstream and uphill, although there were not many big climbs. Second, we had a good headwind, which made even the flat river sections tiring. Finally, there is a gap in the route that requires you to ride on a narrow two lane road through a gorge.

The worst section is from Salzachlamm to Werfen, which has about 5km without any shoulder, lots of trucks, and a barrier hemming you in on both sides. Yes, it was a bit sketchy and we had to grit our teeth a few times as large trucks approached at good speed from both directions. But it was daytime and we were fairly confident that the regional truck and car drivers would be looking for cyclists on this stretch. 

So although we made it just fine, we asked ourselves, “would we ride it again?” No! So we have to recommend skipping it with a quick train train hop on the S3 (S-Bahn) from Golling to Werfen. It was the only traffic impacted gap in the otherwise enjoyable Alpe-Adria route, so we hope they figure out a solution in the gorge to make it a bit less stressful. It seemed that many cyclists rode to the restaurant near Pass Lueg and either turned around or perhaps got a shuttle as we saw no cyclists on the narrow and truck filled stretch. We now know why.  It would be better if you’re on fast road or bike packing setup, as you’d be narrower and faster. For now, we can add it to the many stretches of road around the world we will only ride once!

Our next day to Bad Gastein was dramatic and all along quiet roads and paths. The profile was again mostly uphill as we continued towards the main spine of the Alps. But the long profile hid some of the up and down rolling terrain along the edge of the valley.  It was fun (roller coaster!) but the last stretch up to Bad Gastein was very steep so required some pushing and patience.

The reward was the « discovery » of Bad Gastein, as we hadn’t ever heard of it prior to this journey. We highly recommend a stop here and staying at the Bade Schloss hotel if possible. (It was a bargain in late September) It just reopened in 2023 with a dramatic remodel to three historic buildings, as well as a new 14 story concrete tower. Ok, the tower is a bit of a sight from afar, but the rooms and rooftop pool are wonderful. And the setting next to the roaring falls incredible. It’s a faded spa town with belle epoque buildings and a bit of a Wes Anderson vibe. 

The nice thing about stopping in Bad Gastein for the night was that it was just a relatively easy 7km climb to the train portal. Yup, the official Alpe Adria does not go up and over the highest passes, but utilizes the hourly Tauernbahn shuttle between the Austrian States of Salzburg and Carinthia. The 10 minute train ride takes cars and bikes through the mountain and is a fun way to feel both the accomplishment of a pass without the reality of a high pass, including weather challenges in late September. (Note that the tunnel will be closed until July 2025 for engineering works.)

Contrary to our hope for sunshine on the southern side of the train pass; the rain just got heavier as we headed down the fairly steep and relentless switchbacks on the other side. My disc brake pads even started to crystallize a bit trying to control my loaded tanks’ speed. But eventually the rain ended and the terrain flattened out and we made our way to Spittal am der Drau for the night. Another relatively short but memorable day.

The next day was another relentlessly rainy day with few places to stop and escape the weather. This is definitely a challenge on many long distance cycle routes; there may be lots of nice benches and even tables, but there are rarely covered rest areas, so bridge underpasses or farmers barn overhangs become your best bets.

As we rode over the second pass into Italy, we could notice the terrain and vegetation changing somewhat from the north side of the Alps. The most popular and scenic part of the route is the downhill decent from Tarvisio to Venzone along the former Pontebba rail route. It’s a spectacular route of viaducts, tunnels, and waterfalls. 

After a relaxing night at an apartment in the old town of Venzone, we took the recommendation of our cyclist host and rode an alternate route to Udine via the west side of the river valley and eventually back through San Gabriele del Fruili to Udine. The route was very nice and had some steep hills, a surprise pro bike race, and a chance to sample its famous prosciutto.

So we almost did the entire Alpe-Adria route except the last flat stretch to Prado. We diverted west at Udine towards Milan as we had a hard deadline with our long distance train back to Geneva and hoped to find some more rolling hills. But more on that soon in our next post. Ciao!