Top 10 Bike Moments in Italy, 2024

By Emma Boutcher

Allora…the title of this writeup has changed many times in the course of recounting these rides. It started off as “5 best bike days of 2024", which I soon realized was senseless in trying to narrow down last year’s riding to just five days. This year happened to be one of my biggest bike years thanks to my relocation to Italy and it was just too tempting to not ride every second of every day to explore my new home.

After much deliberation, I’ve narrowed it down to “Top 10 best bike moments”. I use the word “moment” loosely and let it apply to any general biking “experience”. Here they are, in no particular order, accompanied by a superlative:

1. Tour de France - Most Focaccia

Three day weekend with two friends to see the TDF (twice)! Train to Torino after work Thursday. Friday morning train from Torino to Borgo San Dalmazzo. Rode 60 km up to Isola 2000 to catch Tadej win Stage 19. Aperitivo in the piazza with an amazing atmosphere. Sad realization that we were no longer in Italy which meant no free food with our beers. Continued on for another 40 km to our final destination (one friend forgot his sleeping bag so he had to book a hotel that morning. Of course, all were full so he booked the closest one he could find…40 km away). 

Day 2 from Auron to Nice to catch the start of Stage 20. Didn’t watch any of the race but enjoyed free snacks/beverages thanks to our VIP passes. Departed from Nice after lunch, pedaled another 75 kms, super hot, epic road descent above Monaco. Finished in Riva Ligure. Aperitivo started in the last few kms of the ride and ended at 9:45PM. Sunset swim at 8:30PM. Slept on a beach. 

Day 3 involved very little riding, a bit of swimming, lots of focaccia, and a train ride from hell. Home at midnight. Yes, stopping for a Braulio with 12 km remaining was necessary

2. Daily Commute - Most Anxiety

Many, many mornings and evenings spent pedaling between home, work, and train stations. Done mostly in the rain for the first 1.5 months. Fell in love with the 10 minute (mostly all bike path) ride from Morbegno station to the office, which usually involved stopping to buy bread for the day, filling up my water bottle from the stream fed fountain, and then arriving at work feeling completely energized (even before my first coffee).

From June-August my train line was under construction and ran until one stop short of my final destination, which meant my 10 minute bike ride was now 45 minutes. I made the most of it, however, and enjoyed covering longer distances, opting to maximize bike time and minimize “commute” train time. Because let’s be honest, bike time isn’t commute time. Shortest commute = home to Mandello station (less than 1 km). Longest commute = office to home in Valmadrera (65 km).

Now officially a Trenord pro at traveling with a bike and no longer get kicked off. And now I have a group of friends on the train whom I sit with everyday. 

3. Stelvio Gravel - Most Novelty

One day ride from Bormio with a gravel group from Milano. About 100 kms and 2700m of climbing. Epic climbs, high alpine flowers, and singletrack descents. Finished with a stop at the natural hot springs before driving home. Best part = realization that this is now considered just a normal “weekend activity”.

4. Sentiero Valtellina - Longest Ciclabile

Weekend overnighter to watch the Giro d’Italia. Departed from home and rode along the lake until Colico where we picked up the Senitero Valtellina (114 km bike path through Valtellina ending in Bormio). Highlights included: free grappa from the owner of Pizza Express and 2 pump tracks. Finished in Isolaccia at a friend’s house. 155 kms for the day. Day 2, rode the classic switchbacks up to Lago di Cancano in the morning then made it back down to town to watch stage 15 of the Giro. Descent back to Tirano to pick up the train. Another stop at Pizza Express.

5. Traghetto Day - Greatest Number of Modes of Transportation

There was a ride I did at the end of the year that had me smiling ear to ear the whole day. I should preface by saying that when I moved here I was so excited to plan routes that combined taking ferries to connect different parts of the lake. After six months, I finally did my first ferry to ride day, and it did not disappoint. Glorious fall day with a group of ten. Car to Varenna, ferry from Varenna to Cadenabbia, bike to funivia in Argengo, road climb to Rifugio Venini. Polenta, sausage and beer. Trail descent back to the ferry. Epic sunset for the boat ride home.  

6. Grinduro Toscana - Most Pit Stops

Grinduro = gravel ride with enduro style timing. Which means you can ride at whatever pace you want for 98% of the ride, stop at all the food stations, enjoy a full plate of pasta mid ride, hell, take a nap in the sun if you want, but sprint in four different predetermined sections. Easily my favorite type of race format. Small turnout, vibe was super chill. Enjoyed meeting new people, exploring Tuscany gravel (incredible), and riding the pump track of my dreams. Won a huge bottle of wine. Pit stop in Liguria on the drive home for a quick ocean dunk.  

7. Post-Work Bivy - Best Week Day Hack

One of the highlights of the summer was the mid-week post-work backpacks with coworkers. After work we’d bike to the supermarket, load up on beer and food to grill, divide it between our packs and then pedal up to the bivacco (basically a shelter). Slept outside or in the bivacco - rider’s choice. Introduced the Italian coworkers to s’mores. Many card games and learning the difference between briscola, brisciola and briciola. Morning singletrack descents back down to the office, one of which was done during a thunderstorm. Best way to make a weekday feel like a weekend. 

8. Torino Nice Rally - Most Border Crossings

Easily the most “epic” of my rides this past year and my longest bikepacking trip ever. The ride used to be an official race but is now just a well documented route with .gpx files, sleeping/resupply suggestions.

All five days were spent riding up and down mountain passes from Torino to Nizza (passing back and forth between Italy and France multiple times). Finished with a salty jump in the sea on day 5, and then an unexpected day 6 pedal to Liguria because the trains weren’t running. In love with the feeling of having your bike as your only means of transportation. No train? Okay, I’ll just pedal myself there. Traffic? Good thing I can roll past it all. Enjoyed sleeping outside and some pretty freaking cool rifugi. Truly epic route with very few blah sections.

9. Family in Italy - Most Arguing ...jk

My mom got into biking this past year and naturally bikes were all we chatted about on her first night when she came to visit me last October. Over the weekend we climbed up to Perledo and then proceeded to pedal home along the lake because I refused to wait for the train in Varenna. First legit bike ride with mom and enjoyed showing her my home by bike. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!

Can’t just do a mom shoutout, right? Let’s just say, I love riding bikes with my dad. Especially when I get to play tour guide. Rode Ghisallo and Muro di Sormano on a gorgeous Saturday morning last May. Perfect conditions, amazing scenery, all from my front door. Finished off with beers in Lecco and a very smiley Steve.

10. Cech Cech Cech - Most “Local”

Unexpectedly got roped into organizing a gravel event in Valtellina with a coworker. The name Cech Cech Cech refers to the area where the ride was held (Costiera dei Cech), the Cech being a non-Christian group of people who were very late to convert to Christianity (I don't blame them).

Glorious 60 km "gravel" loop from Morbegno on a perfect December morning. Event modeled after the grinduro, where we introduced four timed strava segments along the route. Fastest male and female women won helmets and gloves (compliments of MET - go figure). Seventeen people rallied for the event - enthusiasm and appreciation for the ride was super high.

Final Thoughts

What I loved most about my riding this past year is that it was so varied. And what made the rides memorable/enjoyable was not purely based on the epicness of the ride, but on the novelty, the company, and the realization that I will never run out of roads/trails to explore in Italy. Excited to see what 2025 brings