I’m at one of the flea markets in Berlin. Old watches, coffee cups, analog cameras, black-and-white photographs and paintings… While looking for something to decorate the walls of my new home, my eyes catch on to the mountains rising behind a giant plateau that stretches as far as I can see. I’m getting a little closer. The photo was taken in the summer. The mountain peaks are bare and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. That’s right for cycling!
Written by Gökhan Kutluer (Photographs: Gökhan Kutluer)
While Ernest Hemingway was on duty as an ambulance driver in Italy during the First World War, inspired by the nature of the country and the multitude of cyclists, he writes in his notebook: “You learn the contours of a country best on a bicycle. You’ll remember them as they were, as you pedal and sweat as you go up and down hills. Whereas, when driving a motor vehicle, you can only notice the high hills. Therefore, you cannot remember the lands you have passed through as well as you can on a bicycle.”
Italy is one of the countries that everyone who has a passion for cycling wants to visit at least once with their bike. When the climate in both the northern and central parts of the country is taken into account, Italy turns out to be a country where cycling can be done at any time of the year. In the Dolomites, staying in places such as Bergamo, Bormio, Trento, Bolzano and Cortina d’Ampezzo in the spring, summer and the first half of the autumn; In periods when the weather is relatively cold, you can enjoy both your road and mountain bikes in Tuscany and its south. At this point, it all depends on what kind of experience you want.
Northern Italy
From the Passo della Spluga, one of the numerous gateways between Switzerland and Italy, which Mussolini used to flee from the Partisans at the time, to the Passo del Brennero, which connects Austria to Italy in the northeast of the country, or the Colle della Maddalena, which connects France to Italy in the northwest. Northern Italy, which hosts many routes until Livigno is the favorite town of those who want to be as close to nature as possible, especially with mountain bikes. Livigno and its surroundings, where every detail is considered in terms of facilities and routes for Downhill enthusiasts, also hosts numerous competitions and events, especially in July and August.
