The hills south of the city of Bologna aka Colli Bolognesi are like bowls of spaghetti. Not a linear stretch of road anywhere in sight. Min thinks Italian civil engineers may not be familiar with the concept of a straight line. Her thesis has been hard to challenge in Sardinia, Sicily and Calabria. But Bologna? Engineers here are about as common as pasta makers. Alas, they’re the wrong kind. They build Ducatis and Ferraris. The things that go fast around a curve.
Every time we arrive at a new base, I ride around for a while exploring then pick a few of my favorite treks to write about. Bologna is a bit tricky. North, west and east are motorcycle wastelands — flat as far as the eye can see. The south is just the opposite. So many fun roads it’s hard to set aside just a few.
6 minutes on Via dei Colli, just one of the many… noodles.
Santuario Madonna di San Luca
My best advice is to just head for the hills. Follow a valley or crest a ridge. Take a left and then maybe go up. All the roads are twisty, all beautiful. No, they didn’t take my breath away like the SH20 northeast of Shkoder or the Pindus west of Delphi, but they all put me in the zone within 7 minutes of leaving the city. Easy to wander for hours. Did just that this afternoon.
Possibly the only short stretch of public gravel within 15 min south of the city. Found it by chance and may have a hard time finding it again.
Close to the city the spaghetti is pretty tight. The roads are narrow, slow and surrounded by trees. It’s zen-like.
Hills west of Sasso Marconi.Typical single lane serving both directions.This one was freshly resurfaced and steep.
During the week most of the stretches are traffic free. An occasional bicyclist or two, but hardly a vehicle around. On the weekend the bikers simply take over. Not that many close to the city, but eventually whole squadrons. Three, five, eight at a time. Especially on the legendary SS65.
The SS65 runs for about 100km between Bologna and Florence. It includes some of the most technical sections of the Mille Miglia, the famous open-road race held annually between 1927 and 1957 where Alfa-Romeo and Ferrari reigned supreme. Today the road still sees an occasional vintage racecar, but on the weekend it belongs to motorcycles.
The Epicenter is the Passo della Raticosa, a mountain pass about half way between Florence and Bologna.
Sport touring squadron flying by, about 3km north of the pass.
Midday on Sunday there are hundreds of motorcycles gathered at the pass. They come from the north and south and every asphalt tributary leading in. Sports bikes, sports tourers and naked beasts dominate, but there’s every kind. Hypermotards, dirt, adventure, vintage.
The bikers, too, come in every form. Young bucks on their first 1000cc, salt and pepper track stars on Pingales, white bearded sages on Triumphs, long-legged damsels on Streetfighters.
Most riders just mill around in small groups. Many walk around checking out all the steeds.
There’s only one gastronomical option. I suppose any contenders might have been presented with an offer they couldn’t refuse. But the monopoly functions reasonably well. The pastry and sandwich choices are modest, but the ladies behind the counter deliver caffeine probably 3x faster than anywhere in Florence or Bologna.
It’s fun.
Italy is pretty strictly regulated when it comes to the fuoristrada (off-road), something I was warned about by an Italian who decided to start a ride company in Malaga, Spain instead. This isn’t as true in Sardinia and Sicily as it is in the north where you really do need a local guide to make the best of it.
A rare kilometer of a public off-road in the west hills.
Three weeks into our stay in Bologna I put probably 700-800 km on the odometer riding through the hills without much dirt to show for it until I picked up a gtx on a local Italian enduro website: iviaggiditaddyegloria.it
The gpx finally got me on a short 3-4km track running alongside the river around the village of San Clemente, well over an hour out of the city.
On the way there I made a couple other discoveries, like this one.
Spin this 360 around, it defaulted to rider view for some reason.
If you’re pressed for time, cut to the chase and just download tracks from a reputable provider like Taddy (site I mentioned above). Wikiloc didn’t have much to offer. If you have a LOT of time to waste, the best options I’ve personally chanced upon were all on the east side, a decent hour away from the city.
Wrapping it up with a couple more videos below.
A quick peek up a dirt road without any Via Privata signage, pretty rare.
A gem of a road far out east, possibly for residents only.