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.
From Zola Predosa it runs 252 km to Zola Predosa; allow about 4 h of riding. The stops in between: Cathedral, Bassa collina reggiana, Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Ape and back through Bassa collina reggiana. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 41 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
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 is where the day begins. 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.
Cathedral comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. 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.
about 80 km into the recorded legs you reach Bassa collina reggiana. Next is Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Ape.
Gypsum dissolves in water far faster than limestone, and in the upper valley of the Secchia, in the Reggio Emilia Apennines, that simple fact has produced a strange landscape of white cliffs, sinkholes, caves and underground rivers. The Evaporitic Karst and Caves of the Northern Apennines were added to the World Heritage list in 2023, and this area near Castelnovo ne' Monti and Villa Minozzo holds some of the most striking outcrops, ancient Triassic gypsum that glitters in the sun and forms steep walls above the river. Near the Secchia, the springs of Poiano gush out of the rock with a strong flow of slightly salty water, fed by the karst system.
Read the complete Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Ape write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Ape, 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 sits at 155 km, 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 comes up about 214 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gessi di Zola predosa.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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 closes the day.
Gessi di Zola predosa → Cathedral is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cathedral → Bassa collina reggiana is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bassa collina reggiana → Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Ape is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Ape → back through Bassa collina reggiana is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bassa collina reggiana → back through Cathedral is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cathedral → Gessi di Zola predosa is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.