Veneto Gravel Challenge: Epic Bikepacking Through Italy

Conquering Veneto Gravel: 400km Bikepacking Blitz in 3.5 Days!
This video chronicles our adrenaline-fueled journey through the Veneto Gravel 2023, tackling 400km of Italian countryside in just 3.5 days. Witness epic climbs, picturesque villages, and mouthwatering pasta as we push our limits (and maybe lose some house keys!). Join us for breathtaking landscapes, heart-pounding descents, and the ultimate bikepacking adventure!

Key events:

✈️ London to Venice: Building bikes, meeting kindred spirits.
Colli Berici Climb: Conquering the toughest ascent.
✨ Verona & Lake Garda: Selfies, canals, and stunning views.
Montagnana Mishap: Keys lost, carbs regained (deliciously).
Colli Euganei: Pedaling through Petrarca's poetry.
Finish Line Feast: Triumphant arrival & well-deserved rewards.

Blog:
We took our bikes for this one, not taking bike hire as a chance here to ensure we could ride 400km in only 3 days and a half.

After flying from London to Venice we built the bikes up from the boxes and took a train to the lovely Bassano del Grappa where we met with other cool cyclists that were starting their adventure. A short 60km ride to our first accommodation just before the biggest climb of the route.

We loved the vibe and scenery, but this was just the beginning...

Day 1.5:

We start the day with the biggest climb of the route, about 500m high and 12km long, The Colli Berici were not to be trifled with...
We met some new friends ‪@FeniceBike_Cycling‬ and fun companions for the climb and soon after started a very long descent down to Verona.

After an obligatory selfie at the Arena and the Ponte Vecchio we swiftly headed down towards Garda, with long stretches of green and canals leading us west...

Day 2.5 was an hot one!

Starting the day in a lovely B&B near Lake Garda and riding down towards #Gardaland and the Lake with stunning views all the way to Peschiera del Garda, a small town south east of the lake itself, where we stamped our 2nd checkpoint of the route at @gardagravel

After a quick break and some photos we rode past the busy area along the canals and river paths and back inland towards Montagnana, our stop for the night.

It was halfway there we realised we forgot our house keys at the B&B! 😭Sadly we had to call them and tell them to throw them away as we wouldn't reach it in time to complete the route too. (Luckily we had a spare at a friends' house when we got back to London 😅)

No problem, onwards we went and through definitely more gravel than the first half of the route. Nothing too technical but definitely more watts to be consumed and more pasta to be had to replenish the carbs lost that day.

That was also an excuse to taste the amazing Montagnana Cured Ham and Bigoli from a local restaurant that produces their own pasta 😍

Have you been in Veneto before?

Day 3.5:

The last day of Veneto Gravel started with little sleep from the night before...

thanks to a noisy hotel neighbour that decided to have a call about her life choices the whole night 😭

We started a bit late to recover and get some rest while rain was looming on the horizon. We headed to Este and the countryside towards Colli Euganei, one of the prettiest sections of the route so far.

We saw where Petrarca lived and composed some of his poetry and dreamed of simpler times while climbing higher. We then got to Padova for lunch and looked for a nice place to eat just outside the main town.

A long straight led us to Bassano del Grappa where the finishers were waiting for us, along with some nice and well-deserved food and beer at the end.

We managed to reach some of the cyclists we met earlier that had surpassed us, had a few chats and avoided most of the rain that day!

Check IG for more photos:   / csq7ifpibxm  

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   • This Gravel Ride almost killed us! - ...  

Gear used:
GoPro Hero 10 - 5.3k @ 24fps ISO range 100/1600

Edited on:
Premiere Pro

Bikes:
Steel Vitus SRS-1 and Aluminium VRS-1

Tyres:
Gravel - Teravail Rutland 47c + WTB Venture 47c

Groupset:
11-speed SRAM Apex 1x + E-thirteen 9-46T cassette

Music: Artlist.io https://artlist.io/Bike-3657234