CYCLING FROM MUNICH TO VENICE

SARAH, A CAIRN AMBASSADOR

Originally from Annecy, Sarah Fayolle usually plans a short cycling trip around May each year, as it's not too hot yet, and it's not too crowded either.

After the tour of the Netherlands and the Via Rhona, Sarah and her partner were looking for a more mountainous route closer to home.

That's when they came up with the idea of the Munich-Venice route, thanks to social networking.

SEE BIOGRAPHY

PREPARING FOR YOUR TRIP

We love discovering and travelling by bike because it's a 'fairly slow' and 'wild' mode of transport, which means we can really enjoy every place we cross and every moment we spend. It's also a sporty way of getting around, in keeping with our passions and values for the environment. That's one of the reasons why we love this kind of project so much!

From a sporting point of view, we weren't particularly prepared for this cycling trip, but what we can say is that we prepare for it all year round through our different sports (ski touring, trekking, mountaineering, road cycling...). So from that point of view, there weren't necessarily any major concerns.

There wasn't any particular goal in mind either, just discovery, travel and sport. We weren't aiming for a time, as we were mainly planning to take advantage of the opportunity to visit and be tourists, in peace and quiet! As the start drew nearer, I was looking forward to it more and more! What I was most looking forward to was crossing the Dolomites. I was fascinated by the beauty of this massif, which I'd already discovered on a hike before.

THE BIG START

For the route, we used the Koomoot application. It's worth noting that there's a well-known cycle route that's well signposted throughout, which makes it easier to prepare from the day before to the day after.

We had only planned a few detours in the Dolomites, including the Lago di Braie.

What's special about this kind of trip is that we're completely self-sufficient: food, cooking, sleeping, etc. With all that, we had 22 and a half hours to prepare. With all that, we had 22 and 25kg of luggage respectively on our bikes.

We also had a solar panel to recharge our phones and camera.

Every evening, we pitched our tents in a sheltered spot to rest, relax and, above all, enjoy a quiet evening.

We set off for 600km with 5300D+ in 8 days, following the stages below:

Munich to Achensee (104km) 900D+ 500D- // Brenner (72km) 800D+ 700D-
Bruneck (90km) 1000 D+ 1150D- // Lago di braies (40km) 800D+ 100D-
Cortina d'ampezzo (50km) 700D+ 800D- // Farra D'alpago (83km) 600D+ 1400D-
Treviso (70km) 300D+ 750D- // Venice (40km)

LANDSCAPES

During our journey, we were lucky enough to see so many different landscapes: typical towns and villages in the three countries we crossed (Germany, Austria, Italy), lakes, forests, the mythical Dolomites, the hills of Prosecco, the sea... It's quite incredible to see the diversity of the places we crossed thanks to the strength of our legs alone.

This itinerary is full of change of scenery and variety. Travelling by bike gives you a feeling of freedom and a complete break from everyday life.

It's like refocusing on the simple moments in life, and simply pedalling to discover new horizons.

The main difficulty we encountered was the weather... but we're used to having this 'black cat' following us on our adventures.

We were treated to heavy showers for 2 days in the Dolomites and we had thunderstorms every evening, without exception, when we pitched our tents!

But it obviously took more than that to discourage us from going all the way!

AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE

Really, it was a great route that I'd recommend to anyone. It was both suitable and safe, as it avoided the main roads, which is an important factor to take into account when cycling these days. I also loved cutting myself off from my daily routine to experience this adventure through some magnificent landscapes.

If I had to remember just one thing about this cycling adventure, it would be the encounter with a deer in the Dolomites: magical and magnificent at the same time. It was such a rare moment of purity that we had the time to witness.

Thanks to Cairn for accompanying us on this adventure, especially with the PRISM II on our heads for the 8 days! A pleasant, lightweight helmet that does the job perfectly.