81km Vasto’s hills and headlands
Between the mountains and the sea
Ride overview
The rolling in-land hills of the Vastese, bring together the best of coastal Abruzzo; Super mountain views, a mesmerising sea, along with some quiet roads holding ridges and dropping down through vineyards on gravel tracks to grassy valleys. The route combines three separate linear routes promoted by the Trabocchi Coast Cycling Network (Rete ciclabile dei Trabocchi - (1C, 8 and 9) to create a superb day-longs ride. There’s one of the tallest lighthouses in the world, stretches of wild and unpopulated Adriatic coast, the promise of the region’s best brodetto combined with a chilled glass of one of Abruzzo’s oldest vine varieties. And of course, there’s the allure of a dip in the sea at the end of the ride.
In spring, the route is as green as you would wish for, with fields of rippling grain and grass, meadows filled with wild flowers. In summer and autumn, we call it the ‘badlands’ for although you are never far from the coast, the summer heat gives a harshness to the landscape. Bleached cornfields, greys and browns of the earth. It makes for a very different sort of ride, but one that is in its way, very rewarding. Winter has its own sparse magic.
The loop is easily accessible by both car and train. The latter is particularly advantageous as bikes travel for free and without reservation. Free car parking is available at all the stations along the way.
Ride practicalities
This adventure day ride is best suited for a gravel bike.
START/FINISH: The station, Casalbordino-Pellutri DISTANCE: 87km TOTAL ASCENT: 1000m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: mixed surfaces including rough farm tracks through the vineyards, many winding back country lanes, a short section of busy road (SS16) and the beautifully smooth traffic-free cycleway of the Via Ciclabile Adriatica FOOD AND DRINK: Vasto; Hostaria del Pavone, Piccolo Bistro, da Ferri ACCOMMODATION; Vasto; Casa Ocra MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Casalbordino-Pollutri Torino di Sangro, Ortona, LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Rete Ciclabile dei Trabrocchi, The Abruzzo Coast, Winter on the Trabbochi Coast, Abruzzo’s hills and coast
Ride notes (Routes 8, 1C and 9)
The route is signed in its various sections as 1C, 8 and 9, although depending on them for navigation is perilous, particularly around San Salvo. Follow the downloadable map and you’ll have an easier navigational time of it.
Leaving the station of Casalbordino-Pollutri, or having parked the car at Lido di Casalbordino, there’s a gentle warm up over a coastal plain before riding up into the hills. The route follows the Valle di Sinello on quiet roads. The 11km climb to Casalbordino and beyond, is undemanding through a gentle agricultural countryside. Olive groves predominate for the first few kilometres before giving way to vines, and once the ridge is attained, there are distracting views; a perfect blend of sea, vineyard-clad hills and the sea. The 11km climb to Casalbordino and beyond, is undemanding through a gentle agricultural countryside.
As you approach Casalbordino-Miracolo, the roads become busier with pilgrims going to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Miracles (Santuario Santa Maria dei Mirocoli). Legend states that in 1576, the mother of Christ appeared in a field before a farmer named Alessandro Muzio. A chapel was built, and over the centuries his field has been transformed into a huge basilica with all the associated paraphernalia of modern day pilgrimage; coach car parks, cafés and shops.
Gravel and farmtracks through the vineyards
The upper old village of Casalbordino is a much more sedate affair and as the road weaves its way through town, it becomes progressiely quieter again. At a crossroads you leave Route 8 and join up with 1C which holds a new ridge with superb views across the Sangro Valley towards the Apennines. The roads twists and turns, traffic is near to non-existent, the surface is good.
The gravel section through vineyards is a straightforward section and takes you down to a strange valley. The road is a mix of gravel and tarmac. You feel very far away from anywhere amongst the silent grass fields until further up the the valley is a the huge concrete bio-digester which is used to produce methane from organic waste. The gas is pumped a power station which converts it into electricity. Along the road are various gas taps and pipes, incongruous amongst the fields of grass and grain.
The long luscious descent to the sea
There’s a long and luscious descent on a wide road to San Salvo. In town, the route follows the narrow high street and a curious mixture of architecture ranging from the medieval to the modernist. There’s a short stretch of busier-than-ideal roads until a segregated cycle path is reached which heads downhill to the Pista Adriatica Ciclabile. On this splendid traffic-free 60km cycle path, you ride past collections of condominiums overloooking the sandy beach and the sea. In summer its full of bronzing bodies and sunny umbrellas. Riding towards Vasto, you could stick to the coast and ride alongside more hotels, condos and beaches or head up the hill into the old Roman City. The town is made wandering; old Roman ruins, gracious brick houses and palazzi. The view from the balcony along the broad sweep of coast is also very lovely.
Maiella from the Coast of Punta Aderci
Back onto the traffic-free cycle path, you ride at first on a short section of the busy SS16 to the Port of Vasto and Punta Penna. Three things mark out this place; the lighthouse, the restaurant da Ferri and the beach. The lighthouse is 70m high making it one of the tallest traditional lighthouses in the world. Two hundred metres from the lighthouse is the restaurant da Ferri, for whose brodetto people travel from as far as Pescara to enjoy. Brodetto is a fish stew, for which the Adriatic coast is famous. Each region has its own way of realising it, and the Vasto version sprnkled with basil and peperoncino (chilli flakes) is best enjoyed at da Ferri. Having had lunch, drift down the Via Punta Penna, past the port to Spiaggia di Punta Penna, one of Abruzzo’s great beaches. The beach often appears in tourist brochures advertising the wonders of Abruzzo; pristine, golden sands that stretch for kilometres, backed by cliffs and coves. The water is clear and warm (in summer), and it is spared the typical crowds of more commercialised beaches.
From the lighthouse, over the Regional Nature Reserve of Punta Aderchi, using the very rideable gravel track and down to the Lungomare Casalbordino is one of the treats of the Adriatic. Not a condominium, disco, beach concession, nor raucous bar to be found. Rather, this wild coast has spectacular coastal views, a trabocco and at Casalbordino, a beach of shingle bleached by sea, salt and sun. The shingle which borders the path is covered with improbably surviving flowers. From the couple of nearby bars, you may wish to pick up a cool glass of Pecorino, a local Abruzzi wine, grown on the hills that you’ve just ridden. Pecorino is one of the oldest varieties of vine grown in Abruzzo and full of the aromas that you’ve been inhaling on the ride. Unless its high season and a weekend, there are few people about and it is a splendid place to linger, swim and relax before heading back to the car/train.
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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