Most of the 1,000 metres in altitude planned for today are already in my legs as this seemingly endless, nasty, slippery gravel climb slowly loses its steepness. I can breathe more deeply again and savour the scent of Mediterranean herbs. Up here, a light breeze caresses me and dries my sweat, cooling my skin pleasantly. After the uphill struggle on the gravel, I can enjoy the view. Deep below me, the fleecy clouds and blue sky are reflected in Lake Trasimeno. Gently rolling hills frame Italy's fourth largest lake and tower up to 350 metres above it. Fine, light beige gravel crackles under the tyres as a fitting background melody for this magnificent panorama. This is exactly how I imagined gravel cycling in Umbria: Once the toughest climb is over, you can enjoy a wonderful view and then whizz downhill through cypress avenues. In a few minutes, I'll be sitting on the lake shore with a cup of cappuccino and thinking of nothing but the beautiful moments of this tour ...
Umbria. Why Umbria? To my ears, the name of this region didn't have the Italian-inspired ring of Emilia-Romagna or Tuscany. But I was looking for a holiday destination for my family - husband, toddler and me. A family holiday with gravel biking in a relaxed atmosphere. And that's when I discovered Villa Rey in Umbria, a restored farmhouse with a pool. There may be many beautiful country houses, but as a biker you can't go past this one: owner Silvia Rey has been riding bikes herself for decades and is the sister of Hans "No Way" Rey - a pioneer in trials and freeride. Silvia achieves the feats that made her brother famous on a bike in a different way: in 1990, she founded ALPStours, one of the first mountain bike tour operators, before moving to Umbria with her husband and setting up this gem in the middle of this blank spot on the biking map. A gem in a tourist no man's land. Most travellers from the north literally leave Umbria behind, preferring to visit Tuscany to the north-east. No matter how pathetically Umbria's tourism managers like to advertise it as the "green heart of Italy".
On the road with the "off-road racing bike"
The fact that this coastless region is often underestimated is what makes Umbria so interesting for me. Instead of souvenir miles, crowded squares and swarms of coaches, a gentle, quiet hilly landscape awaits us. The landscape may seem rougher and less tidy than in neighbouring Tuscany, but Umbria also produces the finest oils and wines, and plenty of truffles are dug up.
It is 1,300 kilometres from home in Germany to Villa Rey, which is located near the tranquil municipality of Panicale, around 30 kilometres south-west of Umbria's capital Perugia. The first holiday for our new little family. With a small child, we need three days, two tankfuls of petrol and a lot of nerves to get there. Everyone should get their money's worth at the villa. My husband and I want to take turns looking after the child and touring. That's the plan.
The morning after our arrival, I receive a few more instructions from my host Silvia - not only about the day's tour, but also about snakes, or more precisely, poisonous vipers. You shouldn't walk through tall grass and it's best to avoid the natural toilet. I would like to say that this is not a problem for me, but I find nothing worse than the idea of reptiles in the wild. Silvia then tells me that gravel biking was uncharted territory for her until recently. In order to give us tour tips, she got on one of these "off-road racing bikes" for the first time and explored her adopted home, where she knows almost every dirt track and every trail from mountain biking, in a completely new way. In doing so, she realised that it was not enough to declare gravel mountain bike trails as gravel terrain. Especially when riding steeply downhill on hard ground with loose gravel, an off-road racing bike can reach its limits, says Silvia. In the end, she developed four gravel tours for us: two beginner tours on natural roads with moderate climbs and two tours for more experienced gravel bikers. On the latter, the gravel routes are technically more demanding and steeper sections await, with a maximum gradient of 15 per cent uphill and up to 18 per cent downhill.
Interview with Federico Sposini - doctor and Umbrian gravel pioneer
I love the feeling of being completely immersed in nature and losing touch with civilisation
TOUR: Why did you start gravel biking?
SPOSINI: After all those years of mountain bike racing, I was fed up with hard training, time statistics and performance calculations. I needed a different cycling philosophy: relaxation, contact with nature, enjoying the view and stopping to do something or take a photo of the beautiful landscape. That's what gravel biking means to me.
And you find all this in your home country?
Yes, Umbria is a wonderful region. Here in the north, the hills are not too demanding, ideal for gravel biking. And from the top you usually have a marvellous view of the plain with lakes, castles, abbeys and medieval villages where you can still breathe the air of a life that exists far away from the chaos and hustle and bustle of the big cities. This is the environment where I was born and where I like to live.
And what about the gravel scene in Umbria?
It's booming, as it is throughout Italy. According to a friend who owns a bike shop, gravel bikes and e-bikes are currently the only sectors that are growing in a market that is struggling. Many of my friends have now bought a gravel bike and numerous events are organised throughout the year, most recently last week in the Sagrantino wine region of Montefalco.
Do you have a favourite tour?
That's difficult to answer. There are wonderful things to discover everywhere - for example, on my last ride in Tuscany in Montalcino, where I partly followed the Eroica route. And if we're talking about the areas where I usually ride, I would say the Monte Peglia circuit (Monte Peglia is located 35 kilometres south of Villa Rey; editor's note)because it is so wild that you are completely immersed in nature and lose touch with civilisation. I love that feeling.
Strade bianche: Gravelling on historic routes...
After the first few kilometres, I know that Silvia has done a great job. Some of the tarmac side roads are, shall we say, in need of maintenance. My bike rumbles over bumpy, patched surfaces with occasional deep cracks, wide enough to swallow even a gravel tyre. The road bike would be a much worse choice here. My wide, profiled tyres, ridden with low air pressure, take the roughness out of the roads. And because there's not much going on in this part of the country, I'm not disturbed by traffic as I turn round the cracks. Then it's off the tarmac and onto terrain that my bike was built for: a "strada bianca", as they say here. The famous white roads, more commonly known from Tuscany, are finely gravelled, compacted natural roads made of light-coloured limestone that connect remote farmsteads and villages in rural areas. And because they are only used by relatively few people, they have so far escaped being tarmaced. The hillier and lonelier it gets, the rougher and sometimes looser the surface becomes. Perfect gravel terrain.
... with local delicacies
Shortly before the end of my first tour, I make a stop in Panicale, which has retained the structure of a medieval fortified village; framed by a mighty wall, it lies on the top of a hill overlooking Lake Trasimeno. Its old buildings, made of quarry stone and brick, are well preserved, yet the alleyways and cobbled squares are not crowded with tourists. I treat myself to a coffee in Piazza Umberto I at the 500-year-old travertine fountain, followed by the local speciality torta al testo, a flatbread from the wood-fired oven topped with prosciutto and pecorino. I look around and enjoy the brief journey back in time to the Middle Ages in the piazza with its octagonal fountain, which used to be the town's cistern. On this afternoon, the square is almost deserted. But then a man comes round the corner and walks straight towards me. Federico Sposini has an appointment with me. Silvia arranged the contact because Federico, who works as a GP in Panicale and has only owned a gravel bike since 2023, is already considered an expert on gravel tours in the still young gravel scene here. But he doesn't have much time, the next patients are already waiting. We have a quick chat about gravel and his favourite tours (see interview)then he hurries back to the practice.
I take some time for Panicale and the last few kilometres - and reach Villa Rey in the most beautiful sunset. The pollen of a huge poplar tree floats through the mild spring air. One of the other guests, who has just returned from a mountain bike tour, is playing his acoustic guitar. It's early May, the German winter has been long and dark. The low sun shines into our spacious guest cottage and I am full of anticipation for the days ahead. In the evening, all the guests sit around a huge table in the main house. Silvia serves up the food and has a story to tell about each course. There is artichoke carpaccio, lemon risotto and chocolate mousse with local olive oil. She also serves grape juice aged in oak barrels from her own vineyard - with a powerful flavour and Hans Rey on the label.
The Gravel-Kind-Team
My husband can hardly wait to get started on his gravel bike too. But because I don't want to miss out after the first tour was so enjoyable, we split up the next few days: We each get a few hours on the bike. So we become a well-rehearsed gravel kid team. On the two difficult tours to Lago Trasimeno and the upper Tiber Valley, I'm even glad that we're sharing the kilometres and metres in altitude. Because I realise that long gravel tours put an unusual physical strain on me, the mountain biker. But as we ride through picturesque cypress avenues and the hilly Umbrian wilderness, I forget that my legs are burning. Then there's the anticipation of the wonderful meal in the evening. I can't imagine a more beautiful gravel bike family holiday. And, I promise Silvia, if I don't come back before then, she'll see me here again in 15 years at the latest, when the little one can ride a gravel bike himself.
Info on the gravel region of Umbria
The region
The region of Umbria is located in the centre of Italy, surrounded by Tuscany, Lazio and the Marche; its capital is Perugia. Umbria is characterised by extensive mountain ridges with pasture farming and arable farming. Our location, Villa Rey in Tavernelle, which belongs to the municipality of Panicale, is in western Umbria, around 130 kilometres south-east of Florence and around 30 kilometres south-west of Perugia between Lake Trasimeno, the fourth largest lake in Italy, and the Nestore, a tributary of the Tiber. The mostly wooded hills reach heights of just over 800 metres, with Tavernelle lying at an altitude of around 240 metres.
Arrival
Castiglione del Lago. Via Castiglione del Lago and Panicale to Tavernelle. From Frankfurt am Main via Switzerland, then via Milan and Bologna, it is around 1,100 kilometres, with a total toll cost of around 170 euros there and back.
Flight: The airports in Rome and Florence are 170 and 150 kilometres away respectively. The closer airport of Perugia, 40 kilometres east of Tavernelle, is not served directly from Germany.
Railway: Time-consuming and inconvenient due to several transfers. From Frankfurt am Main via Munich and Florence to Castiglione del Lago or via Munich and Bologna to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme in just over 13 hours without bike transport; continue by taxi to your destination. Trains with bike transport extend the journey time to at least 22 hours - so it is better to take your bike disassembled in a bike bag or bike case free of charge.
Best time to travel
Local cyclists ride all year round, but the best time is between mid-April and October, when daytime temperatures climb above 17 degrees on average. July and August are the warmest and least rainy months, with daytime temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees - but in August, during the Italian summer holidays, the traffic on the roads can be annoying. The calm autumn with mild temperatures until October is an ideal time to visit, even if it rains more as the year progresses.
Accommodation
Panicale-Tavernelle
Country House Villa Rey, Phone 0039/3396855155, villarey.eu
Silvia Rey and Jürgen Komolka, both keen mountain bikers, run the lovingly restored farm surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. They cater for cyclists and are happy to give tips on tours. Double room with breakfast from 195 euros. On request: half board with an excellent evening menu, preferably from Pro products from organic farms in the region for 55 euros per person. If you book seven nights, you pay 1,090 euros per person for accommodation with half board. alpstours.eu also offers weekly packages at Villa Rey - with guided tours or independent riding using GPS tracks.
Food & Drink
Panicale
Ristorante Lillo Tatini, Phone 0039/075837771, lillotatini.it
Regional ingredients, traditional dishes from Tuscany and Umbria, interpreted in a modern way - all in a pretty, large room that looks like a living room. Book in advance!
Hotel Rastrello, Phone 0039/3534126302, rastrello.com
Ideal for a sundowner with a view of Lake Trasimeno: Bar and garden at Hotel Rastrello.
Bike service
On the western shore of Lake Trasimeno in Castiglione del Lago you will find two well-equipped shops with a workshop.
Cicli Valentini: Phone 0039/075951663, ciclivalentini.it
Cicli Marinelli Ferrettini: Phone 0039/075953126, trasimenobike.eu
Tips from gravel pioneer Federico Sposini
Enjoy wine
The Lungarotti winery (lungarotti.it) in Torgiano (Tour 4, 35 kilometres east of Villa Rey) stands for excellent white and red wines with a lot of elegance. In summer, the Madrevite winery organises sunset picnics in the meadows above Lake Chiusi, 20 kilometres west of our location. Info under madrevite.com/eventi-madrevite
City stroll
Umbria has many beautiful old towns: Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Spoleto, Todi and Città della Pieve are all worth a visit.
Shrines
The Sanctuary of Mongiovino or the Madonna of Mongiovino is located on the northern edge of Tavernelle, directly below the old castle of Mongiovino. It was built in 1524 and houses works such as the Descent from the Cross by Arrigo Fiammingo, a Resurrection by Nicolò Pomarancio, the Coronation of the Virgin Mary on the dome by Mattia Batini and the miraculous image of the Madonna and Child from the 14th century.
In the Settefrati Abbey, Federico Sposini's sister runs an agriturismo at the Abbey of the Seven Brothers near Pietrafitta (ten kilometres south-east of Villa Rey). The twelfth-century Benedictine abbey was converted into a hunting lodge in 1500 by the Della Corgna family, one of the most prestigious aristocratic families on Lake Trasimeno, in particular by Cardinal Fulvio Della Corgna, who had it painted with grotesque motifs.
Literature & Maps
Travel guide: "Umbria", 280 pages, Michael Müller Verlag 2022, 18.90 euros.
MapMichelin Local 359 "Umbria, Marche", 1 : 200,000, Travel House Media 2023; 10 euros.
More info
www.umbriatourism.it - official website of the regional tourist office
Our gravel tours in Umbria
GPS data
You can find these and many other tours at touren.bike-magazin.de.
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Tour character
Typical low mountain range: the hills are mostly uphill or downhill, long scooter routes are only found in the larger valleys or on the shores of Lake Trasimeno. However, the gradients are usually in the single-digit percentage range, and there are rarely any steep ramps. Tarmac: Some roads are in a miserable state, especially near Lake Trasimeno. Cracked tarmac and potholes require a high level of concentration, especially on the descents. However, it is usually possible to ride your own line, as most of the roads have very little traffic. Gravel: Many of the gravel passages lead over Strade Bianche, the famous white gravel roads that connect remote villages and farms. The hillier and lonelier it gets, the rougher and sometimes looser the surface becomes. There are also country lanes that can become so muddy and slippery after rain that it is better to avoid them in bad weather.
Tour 1 (red): Beautiful villages
56 kilometres | 1,000 vertical metres | 23 per cent gravel | 77 per cent asphalt
"I Borghi più Belli" is an Italian qualification for particularly beautiful villages. There are three of them to discover on this tour: Città della Pieve, Paciano and Panicale. We will reach the picturesque fortress villages via country roads with little traffic. In all three, it is worth taking a walk through the medieval alleyways, along the unplastered houses made of natural stone and clay bricks. This tour is suitable for gravel beginners due to the high proportion of tarmac. Only the descent from Città della Pieve down into the valley, which is steep in places, requires a little courage and experience. The tour then continues on firm gravel in the plain along the border to Tuscany, where three longer climbs on tarmac with gradients of six to ten per cent await and two short, even steeper sections. The reward: a magnificent view over the hills of Tuscany and Umbria.
Tour 2 (green): Lakes tour
75 Kilometres | 950 Altitude metres | 50 per cent gravel/cycle path, 50 Per cent asphalt
Tuscany is famous among racing cyclists for its "strade bianche", its white gravel roads. Umbria also has a few of these, and this tour runs along a well-surfaced road that is therefore ideal for beginners. The climbs are gentle and scenic through the hills between Umbria and Tuscany, where magnificent panoramas open up behind every hill. The three lakes on this tour are also very beautiful to look at, but unfortunately not suitable for swimming. The large Lago Trasimeno can only be seen from a distance. The smaller lakes, which are named after the small Tuscan towns of Chiusi and Montepulciano, are very close if you cycle through the reed belt of their bird sanctuaries. The Bonifica cycle path covers 20 kilometres of flat gravel, plus 2.5 kilometres along loamy country lanes (don't cycle in the rain!). Towards the end, you'll need some energy for the final gravel climbs. You can replenish your energy stores with the best coffee and typical Umbrian snacks at a stop in the two beautiful medieval villages of Paciano and Panicale.
Tour 3 (blue): Trasimeno Panorama
81 kilometres | 1,100 vertical metres | 42 per cent gravel/cycle path | 58 per cent asphalt
At the start of the tour, you cycle along lonely country roads through gentle hills covered with sunflower fields and vineyards - ideal for warming up for the next five kilometres. These lead up to 15 per cent uphill to the picturesque village of Agello and are therefore the most strenuous part of this tour. On the descent into Val di Lupo, you can enjoy the view of Italy's fourth largest lake, Lago Trasimeno. And then it's uphill again, now on a "strada bianca". Olive groves and small bushy oaks flank the path, which climbs ever higher with a gradient of between six and twelve per cent. Above Passignano, at an altitude of almost 600 metres, we reach the highest hills surrounding the lake. Up there, you are usually alone in the marvellous peace and quiet, as hardly anyone bothers to come up. The descent to Passignano is enjoyable, where you follow the cycle path for more than 20 flat kilometres. The riverside path to the south is lined with green hills full of olive groves and forests.
Tour 4 (yellow): In the upper Tiber Valley
106 kilometres | 1,150 vertical metres | 50 per cent gravel/dirt road | 50 per cent asphalt
North of Perugia, the Tiber rises in the mountains of the Apennines. In its upper valley it still meanders through the countryside as a modest river, only later does it flow into the Mediterranean as a significant and straightened river. Until we reach its valley, we cross fertile hilly country on a "strada bianca" with constant ups and downs and short, steep climbs - there is no shortage of metres in altitude. The landscape is like a painting. Stately cypress avenues lead to manor houses that are getting on in years. Tobacco, sunflowers, wheat: the plains are used for agriculture. The route then leads through hilly countryside covered in gorse groves and tasselled oak forests. The tour through the upper Tiber Valley is long and challenging; with the odd break, you should allow up to seven hours for the journey.
