The Ciclabile della Valsugana (Valsugana cycleway) starts just outside the train station at San Cristoforo al Lago where a brand new section of bike path takes you to the Lago di Caldonazzo. The cycleway continues along the shore of the lake.

Once you get to Calceranica al Lago the lakeside cycleway gives way to a section cycleway that runs beside the road. At points the cycleway is little more than the permission to ride on the pavement. It’s not great, but it works and gets you into Caldonazzo without problems.

The Lago di Caldonazzo

The route through Caldonazzo is a little tricky because of the one-way system, you need to head out of the village on the Via Roma before turning off onto a country lane that runs parallel with the strada provin­ciale to the point where the cycleway resumes by a round­about on the main SS47. From here you continue on into Borgo Valsugana on a combin­ation of traffic-free cycleway and quiet road.

Before you get to Borgo Valsugana you might want to visit the Mulino Angeli (opening hours). This also houses a museum of scare­crows and a toy museum. The scare­crows were collected by photo­grapher Flavio Faganello. You can see a gallery of his pictures on this page: lacasadeglispaventapasseri.net: mostra The museum is about 60 metres from the cycleway - you need to turn left just before your get to a picnic area and take the road that leads under the railway line and under the main road.

The Ciclabile della Valsugana cycleway beside the Brenta river near Levico Terme

Borgo Valsugana

As you come into Borgo Valsugana look out for the Castel Telvana on the hillside above. If you have the energy you could go up to the castle - although it’s not open to visitors. 

The Valsugana links the Veneto with the Trentino. Between 1866 and 1918 this was the border between the Austro-Hungarian empire and Italy. The valley and the nearby Altopiano di Asiago were the scene of important battles in the First World War. In Borgo Valsugana there’s a mostra permanente (permanent exhib­ition). For more inform­ation see: trentinograndeguerra.it, or mostradiborgo.it.

Borgo Valsugana: the Castel Telvana. Photo by Matteo Cescato (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Borgo Valsugana to Grigno

Borgo Valsugana is a good place to stop for a coffee or a drink. From Borgo Valsugana there’s a long section of cycleway that takes you toward Grigno - although not into the village itself. Just outside Grigno the route crosses the river and then, shortly after, crosses back again, passing the Trincerone di Grigno on the other side of the river. Trincerone means ‘big trench’ and while it’s barely noticeable from ground-level, below is forti­fic­ation built by the Italians during the first World War to defend the border, as it then was, with the Austro-Hungarian empire ( picture of the Trincerone). For inform­ation on visiting the trincerone see: valsuganacultura.it or ask in the Biblioteca Comunale (library) in Grigno.

Into the Veneto

After Grigno there’s the bicigrill at Tezze Valsugana. A bicigrill is the cycling version of the autogrill on the Italian autostrade. For me this is an oblig­atory stop although there is another bicigrill a 8 kilometres further on at Piovega di Sotto. Or you could stop at both.

The section from Tezze takes you into the Veneto. This is perhaps the most scenic section of the route as the canale narrows and the walls of the gorge tower over you. 

The Ciclabile della Valsugana cycleway near Grigno

Further on, at Piovega del Sotto, there’s another bicigrill and the end of the traffic-free part of the cycleway. From here the route continues on a strada comunale into Valstagna. The road is very quiet and initially you won’t see more than the occasional car. 

Valstagna

Valstagna

Valstagna is linked by a stone roadway - the Calà del Sasso (en.wikipedia.org: Calà del Sasso) to the village of Sasso — 810 metres (altitude), and 4444 steps, above on the Altopiano di Asiago. The Calà was used to transport logs down to Valstagna, and from there they were trans­ported by river to Venezia. According to the Italian wikipedia page (it.wikipedia.org: Calà del Sasso), in 1999, Alberto Limatore rode a bike up the Calà without putting a foot down even once. 

The Calà del Sasso between Valstagna and Sasso (Veneto). Photo by fabyr

The local tradition is that if a couple walk the Calà hand in hand they will stay in love forever. 

The logs were trans­ported from Valstagna by the zattieri (rafters) who sailed rafts of logs down the river . The opening of the railway in the nineteenth century was the end of the zattieri but they are commem­orated by the Palio delle Zattere The palio takes place on the last Sunday of July. Teams from nine contrade (neigh­bour­hoods), each consisting of three men and a damigella (damsel), get dressed up in medieval costumes and take to the river on rafts that don’t look much larger than a tabletop. 

Flyer for the 2016 Palio delle Zattere

On its way into Bassano del Grappa the route passes the Grotte di Oliero . There are four caves - one that you visit by rowing boat - as well as three museums: one about caving, another about paper making, and an ethno­graphic museum.

View of the Ponte degli Alpini and Bassano del Grappa. Photo from: Wikimedia Commons