Jenny & Ahmed's Cycling Adventure

Paths 2 The Soul - Episode 007

From San Valentino alla Muta to Bolzano (09 to 11 April 2025)

Countries Visited :

72 kilos of freedom, and heading for Bolzano…

This new episode takes us deep into South Tyrol, following the path of the Via Claudia Augusta. Between freezing mornings, sunlit pastry breaks, medieval villages wrapped in stone walls, inspiring encounters, and improvised dinners… we slowly make our way toward Bolzano. Each day brings its own small surprises: a shocking weigh-in at the sorting centre, a haircut from a Chinese barber, a pizza scenting the whole street, and most of all, moments shared with people who leave a mark.
Welcome to Episode 7, the one where our bikes weigh a ton, but our hearts feel light.

A day at the San Valentino Della Muta campsite.

Waking up in the tent, frost outside. You get used to it, eventually. Down to -4°C last night. The difference is, we have nothing to pack this morning, so it’s easier. We enjoy a good hot shower at the campsite, a bit of cereal, then decide to treat ourselves to pastries with a good Italian coffee. Finding gas would be really nice: we buy a canister at an electronics shop, but it’s not compatible. Thankfully, the seller agrees to take it back, nice guy! The day before, Ahmed had met a couple at the campsite, also on bikes, but electric ones, who decided to leave everything behind and hit the road… They’re more or less our age. Suddenly, we feel a little less crazy 😁 They’re heading off today. While one of us sits down to work on the tablet, the other goes to the Eurospin supermarket to buy detergent, because there’s a washing machine at the campsite! That’s what we call good teamwork! We also do a bit of research on the Dolomites. Unfortunately, the peaks are still snow-covered, and hiking’s not looking great. In the afternoon, Ahmed sets off to explore the nearby town in search of gas. When he returns, we go for a walk around the little lake. Then, it’s gourmet evening: Jenny dives into fine cuisine on a tiny stove, on the menu, fresh salad and rice with a lovely pepper and onion sauce. A delight!

On the Via Claudia Augusta, discovering new landscapes.

San Valentino alla Muta → Merano - 72.2 km 🚴

This morning, a pleasant surprise: no frost on the tent! It’s still cold, around zero, but everything is dry, and that makes all the difference. We pack up camp after a good hot shower, a simple breakfast (yogurt, banana, BN biscuits), and get our traditional departure photo taken by a mum and her kids. We ride along the lake, this time on the wooded side. The views are still breathtaking. We’re cruising along one of the most beautiful cycle paths we’ve taken since the beginning. The scenery is like a postcard: snowy mountain backdrops, green fields, villages with slender steeples, medieval castles… and hardly anyone around. After a well-earned “couques & pastries” break, we arrive in Glorenza, a medieval gem of the Tyrol, surrounded by 16th-century walls. We wander, pause in awe before an expressive wooden Christ figure in front of the church, and sip a latte on the sunny square. We chat at length with a lovely couple, 54 years of love. Then we move on, and Ahmed spots a weighing platform at a recycling centre. The verdict: our bikes each weigh 72 kilos! A shock. The rest of the day is gentle: not much effort thanks to the slight downhill, blooming orchards everywhere, a self-service apple juice stand in the middle of the trees, sheep with musical bells, and a strange mist in the valley, we gradually realise it’s smoke from a fire. In Castello, a very simple lunch break: bread, cheese, tomato. From now on, we’ll have to adjust to new shop hours: everything shuts down from 12:30 to 3 p.m. The landscape changes slowly as we descend into the valley. More cyclists, more homes, and always water flowing alongside us. We reach Lagundo by a beautiful winding road with a stunning view. Once in town, the search for accommodation is less poetic: the youth hostel is full, and the Airbnb hides sneaky extra fees. But we manage to settle in anyway, with our bikes on the balcony, and a simple but delicious dinner: spaghetti with peppers and pesto, salad with chicory and apples, and Ringo biscuits for dessert. We end the evening in front of Netflix, but after 72 km, sleep comes fast.

From Merano to Bolzano, the gentle warmth of the valley, and of the people we meet.

Merano → Bolzano - 32.1 km 🚴

After a proper night of rest in a real bed, we get ready to leave slowly. A calm breakfast, tea for Jenny, first moka pot coffee for Ahmed, while the ants hold their own feast in the kitchen. Time flies, we pick up the pace: panniers down, bikes packed in the street, and a souvenir photo taken by a kind passerby named Nello. First stop of the day: the Chinese hairdresser we spotted the day before. A quick €12 haircut, and Ahmed comes out refreshed, almost a new man. We capture the before/after shot, then hit the road for about thirty kilometres to Bolzano. Leaving Merano is quick, and we soon find ourselves on a beautiful cycle path through blooming apple orchards and then along the river. It’s warm, almost like a summer’s day, probably the hottest since we started. This time, we’re ready for the midday shop break: we take a detour into a village to pick up bread, cheese, and sliced deli meats. We treat ourselves to a cappuccino in the shade of a terrace, while a waiter brings out a pizza that fills the whole street with its smell. We ride on, but quickly stop again to picnic by the water, surrounded by blooming dandelions. We make a little progress on the blog, then cycle another easy hour along a flat route, with castles perched in the mountains on either side. We enter Bolzano in the late afternoon, under a still-bright sun. There are lots of people on the bike paths, and the mood is relaxed. We pass the large energy storage tower of Atzwanger AG, with its perforated, backlit façade, designed as an urban artwork. We stop for drinks on a city terrace, a few grandpas take interest in our bikes. Then we meet Jonas and Hanna, our hosts for the night, both biologists and cyclists who travelled the world by bike for two years to study biodiversity (they made it all the way to Singapore – https://biking4biodiversity.org). We store our bikes in the basement, carry the panniers up to the third floor, and share an amazing vegetarian dinner rich in flavours (Jonas is an incredible cook) and conversation. We live for evenings like this. We are so happy we met them, we had so many questions to ask about their amazing journey, and they were kind enoguh to share all the details, so inspiring. We end the day packing our backpacks for the Dolomites: lightweight version, no tent, just the essentials. But with uncertain weather and a tight budget, the plan remains blurry…

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Jenny & Ahmed