From Udine to Vienna
Don’t let yourself be fooled by the pictures, it rained every single day!
What was meant to be a sunny summer holiday bike-packing trip quickly turned into a masterclass in flexibility, weather-app obsession, and making the most out of every possible dry window. Together with Marta, I rode from Udine all the way to Vienna, crossing the Italian border and weaving through four Austrian regions. The landscapes shifted constantly: mountain valleys, quiet prairies, forest patches, smooth cycle lanes, and long stretches of gravel. A perfect mix of everything except sunshine.
We followed a patchwork of cycle routes, starting with the Alpe Adria (FVG1) before connecting to Austrian Radwegs including R2, R2A, R3, R5, R18, R46 and a few others that popped up along the way. The infrastructure was incredible and took us through some of the most scenic riding I’ve done in a long time.
Scroll down to discover the adventure day by day!
DAY 01
—udine > tarvisio—
km // 102
d+ // 1120m
Wet beginnings
It rained (twice), but that didn’t stop the fun. Alpe Adria welcomed us with panoramic views and an old railway line cutting through the valley toward Austria. By the end of the day we crossed the border, ate pizza, and rested our soaked legs.
DAY 02
—tarvisio > sankt veit an der glan—
km // 80
d+ // 390m
Rain + mountains + border feelings
Still raining. Still pedaling. Still laughing. We left the FVG1 to join R3, R2A and R5, moving into beautiful gravel and gentle climbs. The mountains stayed with us all day, reminding us where we were and why we were doing this.
DAY 03
—sankt veit an der glan > knittelfeld—
km // 78
d+ // 820m
Rain, pedal, eat, enjoy, repeat
This was the morning we woke up to heavy rain and had to make a choice: ride for three hours under a deluge or take a train for 8 minutes and save our sanity. We chose the train. Best decision ever.
With dry(er) bibs we enjoyed the rest of the stage, stopping only once to let the sky finish its tantrum perfectly timed with lunch.
DAY 04
—knittelfeld > mürzzuschlag—
km // 101
d+ // 570m
Miracles do happen
A full day of riding with zero rain. Marta was flying, the route was flowing, and we celebrated with a giant gelato. Honestly, it felt like a reward from the universe.
DAY 05
—mürzzuschlag > wiener neustadt—
km // 67
d+ // 440m
A checklist kind of day
Not running from the rain.
Eating the best nutty pastry from a random bakery.
First Sachertorte of the trip.
Seeing a deer crossing the path.
And… falling. (All that in under 24 hours)
DAY 06
—wiener neustadt > vienna—
km // 60
d+ // 230m
Rolling into Vienna felt unreal after so many days of dodging storms.
We arrived grateful, proud, soaked again, and ready to eat everything.
A huge thanks to Marta—the funniest, strongest and most encouraging partner in crime. She even taught me German numbers while pedaling.
FAQ
Best time to do it? - definitely summer
Do I really need a gravel/mtb? - not really, gravel was pretty nice and you could easily deroute and take tarmac roads
Is it doable in more/less days instead of 6? - absolutely, it's all on how you want to ride it.
Are there hike-a-bike sections? - noup, 100% rideable