53km Alto Gizio
Views across the Alto Gizio to the Maiella
Ride overview
Rarely is a bike ride in Europe like this - when you are really alone
With no settlement blinking in the distance
Or a ski lift, with chairs removed for summer
Or a sheep
Or even a flock of them, with bells tinkling, their heads down grazing dried grass the colour of Demerara sugar
And rarely too, will you have views of peaks and sky or valleys and autumnal trees as extensive as this
It is in short, a beautiful and solitudinous ride.
Alto Gizio
The old mule track through the woods
Ride Practicalities
START/FINISH: Lay-by on the SS17 DISTANCE: 50km TOTAL ASCENT: 1482m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Other than 3km, the route is ridden entirely on tracks which become very faint the further up the valley you ride FOOD AND DRINK: Scanno; La Trattoria Sgabello, Michelin listed, good interpretations of the local dishes, Agriturismo Jovanna, a very part-time restaurant, open mainly at weekends in late July and August. There is a water tap beside the farm wall LINKS TO OTHER RIDES:
Ride Notes
The route begins in a lay-by near Ponte D’Arce, on the Sulmona-Roccaraso road from where you take the old mule track which heads straight for the woods and hills. For an hour, as you labour up the gravel track, there are only the silent trees and their turning leaves for company.
Once out of the woods, what panorama’s await! Wave after silent wave of mountains, roll across the silent rock-sea. (We are in limestone country, and the rock has been made with the bones and shells of countless millennia of sea-creatures). In autumn the colours of ginger cake and biscuits replace summer’s richest of greens. The air is cool, and the spirits rise up with the hills, as you ride on a perfectly surfaced track.
Towards Mt. Genzana
At a junction where the road you need turns left, there is a water gently splashing from a metal pipe into a frost-rimmed stone trough. Never rely on water sources in the Abruzzi mountains after a long hot summer, but this seems to be consistently working and the water is sweet and pure and just what you’ll need after your uphill toil.
A fountain and M. Amaro in the distance
After an hour or more you’re out of the woods and the huge panorama of the Apennines opens before you. On a clear day you see the whaleback of the Maiella, perhaps dusted with early season snow. Far away the pointy peaks of the Gran Sasso and ahead Mt. Greco. Infinite folds of mountains, in their fawn-brown end-of-season coats rise and fall across the horizon. And on a windless day, it is bewitchingly calm and beautiful.
The distant Maiella massif
You’ll have an hour or two with these views, as the track contours around Mt Genzana and later Toppe Vurgo. The way is easy and well defined on hard packed earth and sometimes grass. Be aware too, that there is no shelter up here and when the weather breaks as it did one summer’s afternoon when I was here, the wind and rain pummel you in a way you’ve rarely experienced before. In summer, the scene is a palette of various greens and in late autumn, the colours are more biscuit and ginger cake. On crisp autumn days the air is fresh, even cold - its refreshing and great to ride in, but stop and you’ll chill fast.
Mt. Greco in the far distance
Follow the route on the map and after 27km you’ll arrive at a junction where a track leads down to the left. Take it, and ride exhilaratingly fast through a narrow gorge on a reasonable surface. It flattens out as you cross the high altitude plain of Cinque Mille, where the ancient varieties of wheat are grown such as emmer and spelt. At km34, you’ll join the old Nmain road to Sulmona. Stay on the old road - it is still tarred and crosses the new one several times. As you approach Rocca Pia, you’ll turn the pedals for the last few rotations before the road heads fast downhill. The road is barely used and it is not swept of falling rocks, and leaves, or even as I found one late spring day, of snow. It is tempting to descend fast through perfect bends and curves, but hazards await your over-confident glee. Bushes and brambles are enjoying the freedom too and are beginning to make their way across your path. Beware!
Pettorano sul Gizio
As you descend, you whizz through Rocca Pia and Pettorano Sul Gizo, both beautiful, both with restaurants worth stopping at if you are in need of lunch. For the final descent from Pettorano, you have to use the main road, SP17. The surface is perfect - there are no tunnels, just wide sweeping bends and for this last section, traffic. No pedalling is required. And after 52km you are back in the lay-by where you began, all those views ago.
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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