
I'm in the planning stage of a trip across Italy and I'm trying to find resources for all the route options that are out there. I plan to make up my own route from the tip of the boot's toe up to Milan. I'm going to share the resources I've found here, but I'd love to see more options if I've missed anything. Most of the routes I've found are paved and I'd like to ride off-road as much as possible.
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Bikepacking.com routes – a handful of options, nothing really relevant for riding the length of the peninsula.
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Appennino Bike Tour – 3100km, mostly paved, not sure about the routing, could be on larger roads.
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Ciclovia dei Parchi della Calabria – 622km, mostly paved route through national parks in Calabria. Seems like a great option and this is what I'm planning on starting with, there seem to be some decent off-road alternatives.
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Eurovelo 5/7 – Not completely developed, and in my experience with EV routes, they are not great for the off-road minded bike traveler. Sometime they are on nice gravel but I've found they frequently put you on busy main roads. Useful as a basic guideline, but otherwise I'll probably avoid them.
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Via Francigena – Pilgrimage route, lots of gravel roads, but not necessarily as 'wild' as I'm looking for. It seems to stay low and avoid the mountains, which makes sense for a medeival pilgrim but isn't what I'm looking for. I do plan on riding parts of the route though.
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Bici Italia routes – some good local options, but I think they're pavement focused, and none of them go north-south.
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Ghiaia Explorers routes – not sure what this group is but their routes seem to be more off-road focused than other options. I'm considering using their Francesco Trail parts 1 and 2 heading out of Rome.
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Via degli Dei trail – 130km, mtb and gravel route options, Florence to Bologna. Seems like an awesome trail, I'm not sure if I can work it into my route but I'm going to try. Looking for more like this!
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Italy Divide – I don't know much about this yet but it looks promising.
What am I missing? Thanks!
by No-Mushroom2535
2 Comments
If including an island is maybe an option you would probably enjoy [TransSardinia](https://bikepacking.com/routes/transardinia/).
You can follow the Italy Divide race, in the opposite way
I’m sure you can find the gox somewhere