CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 251 km round trip from Castelnovo ne'Monti - roughly 4 h in the saddle. The stops in between: Bassa collina reggiana, Cathedral, Gessi di Zola predosa and back through Cathedral. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 35 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
The upper valley of the Secchia is the high Apennine country of Reggio Emilia, a landscape of beech woods, bare grassy ridges and deep river valleys, where Emilia gives way to Tuscany. The river rises near the Passo del Cerreto, at about 1,260 metres, and flows north through sparsely populated hills before dropping to the plain and the Po. The region is part of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine National Park, with wolves, golden eagles and red deer in the high country.
Read the complete Alta Valle secchia write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Alta Valle secchia is where the day begins. Next is Bassa collina reggiana.
The low hills south of Reggio Emilia, where the Po plain starts to ripple up toward the Apennines, hide a strange geology: outcrops of gypsum, the glittering crystalline rock left behind when ancient seas evaporated millions of years ago. Water dissolves gypsum easily, and over time it has carved caves, sinkholes and blind valleys into these hills. The Bassa Collina Reggiana, the low Reggio hill country, is part of the UNESCO site Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, listed in 2023, and around Borzano, Albinea and Vezzano sul Crostolo you can see the white and grey gypsum cliffs poking through the woods and vineyards.
Read the complete Bassa collina reggiana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Bassa collina reggiana comes up about 48 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cathedral.
Modena's cathedral is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture in Europe, and the inscription on its facade still names its makers with pride: the architect Lanfranco and the sculptor Wiligelmo. Work began in 1099 to house the relics of Saint Geminianus, the city's patron, and the result is a building of pale stone, with arcaded galleries, lions supporting the columns of the portal, and carved panels telling the story of Genesis with an expressive power that still surprises. The Ghirlandina, the cathedral's bell tower, leans slightly and rises high above the rooftops, and together with the Piazza Grande they form a UNESCO site.
Read the complete Cathedral write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 85 km into the recorded legs you reach Cathedral. Next is Gessi di Zola predosa.
Southwest of Bologna, where the flat Po plain meets the first ripples of the Apennines, the hills around Zola Predosa hide a strange geology. These are gypsum hills, made of evaporite rock formed when an ancient sea dried out millions of years ago, leaving layers of shimmering selenite crystals. Water dissolves gypsum easily, and over time it has carved sinkholes, blind valleys and caves through the rock. In 2023, the Evaporitic Karst and Caves of the Northern Apennines were listed by UNESCO, and the Gessi Bolognesi around here are a key part of that story.
Read the complete Gessi di Zola predosa write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Gessi di Zola predosa, about halfway. Next is back through Cathedral.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathedral write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Cathedral sits at 155 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bassa collina reggiana.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bassa collina reggiana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Bassa collina reggiana comes up about 204 km into the recorded legs. Next is Alta Valle secchia.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alta Valle secchia write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Alta Valle secchia closes the day.
Alta Valle secchia → Bassa collina reggiana is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bassa collina reggiana → Cathedral is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cathedral → Gessi di Zola predosa is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gessi di Zola predosa → back through Cathedral is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cathedral → back through Bassa collina reggiana is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bassa collina reggiana → Alta Valle secchia is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.