Cycle Tour Veneto – Tyrol – Swabia

The sun is shining again in the sky. We climb into the saddle in a good mood.

Back on the bike path, we have to turn around after 300 meters due to a road closure. This is easily avoided here in the village. Once we reach the Rienz River, we are on a well-maintained bike path. This has now been completely improved all the way to Niederdorf. Two years ago, I had to cycle left over the hills.

In Niederdorf, we have to ride through the village on the road. At the end of the village, we cross the railway line and there we are on farm roads. It essentially stays this way until Welsberg. Within Welsberg, we are on a bike path the entire way.

We then enter a forest and shortly after, on the right, we reach Lake Olang, along whose shore the cycle path runs for almost two kilometers.
Towords Oberolang, we have to climb a few meters on the road with cycle lanes, with several Dolomite peaks in front of us. We cycle past the cemetery of Oberolang, down into the village, and then continue through Mitterolang to Niederolang. There we stop briefly at the grocery store to stock up.
After Olang, we are closer to the Rienz River again. The cycle path descends along the right edge of the valley with only a few climbs. Below Lamprechtsburg Castle, the valley is so narrow that the cycle path leads through two tunnels.

We don't stay long in Bruneck, as we already know the town from previous visits. As a reminder, we deviate from the cycling route and cycle a loop through the old town. Back along the banks of the Rienz River, the well-maintained cycle path leads to San Lorenzo. The village has a lovely square at the Church of San Lorenzo.

Before turning off the railway embankment into the Gader valley behind San Lorenzo, the Sonnenburg Castle is on the right on the banks of the Rienz.

In the Gader valley, a cycle path runs close to the riverbank to the upper end of the industrial park in Aue. Beyond Aue, the route climbs quite steeply up the mountain, and immediately beyond it, the route descends again to the Rienz River. The cycle path continues alongside the Pustertal railway to Casteldarne. After Chienes, we continue on farm roads through the meadows.

Before Vandoies di Sopra, the cycle path is closed due to construction work. A detour is signposted. We cycle along this to Vandoies di Sopra and shortly afterward, we rejoin the Pustertal cycle path.

It leads close to the river to the Mühlbacher Klause (Mühlbach Fortres). We continue on a cycle path above the SS49 and the last few meters into the town are on the road. In Mühlbach, we find a café and treat ourselves to a break.

Beyond Mühlbach, the trail climbs to the Stöcklvater Chapel. Shortly after the chapel, the view opens up over the Rienz Valley. Rodeneck Castle is also clearly visible.

Then we roll down the narrow road, past several farms, to the parking lot at the Hotel Sonneck. Here, we misunderstand the signage in the construction zone and mistakenly descend to Raut. Due to the construction, there is only one way back to the track: back up to the Hotel Sonneck.

Beyond the construction zone, we turn onto the narrow road before Schabs and roll downhill past orchards. We continue on a cycle path alongside Nikolausstraße until just before Aicha. After another kilometer, we reach Franzensfeste Fortress, which we cycle around on a dedicated cycle path.

After crossing the Brenner Pass road, we cycle below the motorway, later alongside the Brenner Pass road, to the village of Franzensfeste. Roadworks force us to cycle for 200 meters on the Brennerstraße, then we turn onto the cycle path that leads past the Franzensfeste train station and up the valley.

Beyond Franzensfeste, the cycle path runs directly alongside the main road on a separate lane. Near Mittewald, we go under the motorway and railway and continue cycling on a narrow side road.

The climb is gentle; only at Mauls, Pfulters, and Stilfes are there three hills to overcome. Beyond Stilfes, the route follows the narrow strip between the Eisack River and the motorway. We cycle the last few kilometers up the valley to Sterzing on flat terrain.

It starts to rain in the final stretch, so we have to put on our rain gear for ten minutes.