Whilst the majority attending the January planning meeting opted for a shorter centre-based cycling trip, Mick and I were keen to undertake a longer tour in the summer instead.  Our preference was for the Innsbruck to Trento tour and although both David and Vanessa were going on the cycling trip to Normandy the week before, they also wanted to join us. So, at the start of March when I was able to commit, detailed tour planning started. It quickly became apparent that finding accommodation along the route would be the principal limitation and would determine the length and difficulty of each day’s ride. In particular there was a lack of available accommodation along the route in the high Alps and Dolomites and we were very fortunate to secure hotel bookings there. To complicate things further, I wanted to extend the original tour route to include more of the Munchen Venedig Radweg by starting from or closer to Munich. As I was the only one willing to take my own bike and with a lack of suitable bike hire options in Munich, we compromised by starting in Innsbruck, hiring bikes there and taking a train back along the route into Germany.

We fly into Innsbruck from Gatwick on Tuesday 18^th June and take the shuttle bus from the airport and then the tram to the Hotel Bierwirt where we are staying overnight.  Later that afternoon, we will pick up the hire bikes from Crazybikez and probably have a quick bike tour around the Innsbruck Aldstadt. The next morning, we ride to the station and take our bikes on the train from Innsbruck to Kufstein at the German border, change there for Rosenheim and finally change there for the train to Holzkirchen. We start the tour proper there, cycling along the eastern section of the MV Radweg to Gmund on Tegernsee before riding across to historic town of Bad Tolz on the River Isar, taking in the historic Aldstatdt before continuing on the western section of the MV Radweg to our overnight stop at the Landgasthof zum Papyrer in Lenggries - Day 1 - Holzkirchen to Lenggries route

Next morning we continue on the MV beside the River Isar to the next lake, the Sylvensteinsee. The MV skirts around the lake on a series of trails through the forest, but we will take a shorter route on the main road that runs along the lake edge and pick up the MV again at the end of the lake. Shortly after, we cross back into Austria and follow the MV as it runs beside the River Ache to Achenkirch then along the very edge of the scenic Achensee and into the town of Maurach. There we will leave the MV for another shortcut on a  secondary road that drops 400m in three miles into Jenbach where we pick up the Inn Radweg that follows the River Inn through the historic towns of Schwaz and Wattens to our overnight stop at the Gartenhotel Maria Theresia at Hall in Tirol, another historic town with a picturesque Aldstadt - Day 2 - Lenggries to Hall in Tirol

Leaving Hall in Tirol we skirt the edge of Innsbruck and start the climb up to the Brenner Pass on an alternative route via the Romerstrasse through Ampass and Aldtrans to Igls that is slightly easier, though a longer climb than the MV route on the busy main road out of Innsbruck. Picking up the MV at Igls we continue climbing on the main road to Patsch where the gradient eases off and at Matrei through Steinach to the Italian border at the top of the Brenner Pass. The valley narrows and we ride close to the impressive Autobahn viaduct that runs on the other side of the valley. After the pass, the MV runs downhill to Gossensas and to Sterzing where we stop overnight at the Hotel Brenner - Day 3 - Hall in Tirol to Sterzing

From Sterzing the MV follows the valley of the River Eisack downhill to Franzensfeste Fortezza at its junction with the River Rienz where the EV7 splits with the other leg heading down the valley to Bolzano and Verona whilst we continue on the eastward leg as it gradually climbs upstream to Muhlbach, Ehrenburg and the larger town of Bruneck. After this the gradient steepens in the upper reaches of the river as we approach our next overnight stop in Monguelfo at a traditional Alpine ski hotel, the Hotel Hell - Day 4 - Sterzing to Monguelfo

Leaving Monguelfo we continue on the MV to Toblach and keep climbing as we head south on the gravel surfaced former rail line for the next 17 miles that runs through the heart of the Dolomites with spectacular views of the jagged peaks on every horizon [provided it is not raining!] At Durrensee we come to the viewpoint for the famous Drei Zinnen [Tre Cime di Lavaredo] mountain peaks.  Once over the Passo Cimabanche after the Durrensee it is downhill all the way and as we approach Cortina d’Ampezzo  we are back on a tarmac surfaced cycle path.  Once through the ski resort we continue down the Valle d’Ampezzo to our next overnight stop at the Hotel Belvedere Dolomiti in Pieve di Cadore overlooking the Lago di Centro Cadore - Day 5 - Monguelfo to Pieve di Cadore

As we leave Pieve di Cadore we descend rapidly on the MV down a series of hairpin bends to the valley bottom then ride on the cyclepath beside the River Piave to Soverzene where we cross the river and leave the MV behind as we skirt the town of Ponte nelle Alpi. We follow the cycle route into the larger town of Belluno for some sightseeing then continue on the SxPiave cycle route that wends its way through the countryside to the south of the river and on to our next overnight stop at the Hotel Doriguzzi in the town of Feltre - Day 6 - Pieve di Cadore to Feltre

From Feltre we ride on some larger, but quiet, roads to Fonzaso [although there is an unavoidable short section on a main road]. From there we continue south west again on quieter roads towards Arsie and the spectacular Lago di Corlo that we ride beside for the next 5 miles.  This lake was formed by an arch dam across a steep sided ravine and this scenic route crosses over the lake on bridges with extensive views. At the end of the lake, we will divert down to look at the dam before continuing. After Incino, there is a steep descent on a twisty narrow road with numerous hairpin bends down to the river Brenta in the Valsugana. This road is cut into the cliffs in places and is closed to motor traffic - too narrow, blind bends and no crash barriers with steep drops down to the valley below - but great fun to ride down. At Cismon del Grappa we cross the river Brenta on a pedestrian suspension bridge to pick up the Valsugana cyclepath on the other side. The first section passes through a deep ravine with the cyclepath cantilevered off the cliff on steel supports. After this the dedicated tarmac cyclepath heads up the valley through Borgo Valsugana to our overnight stop at the BellaVista Relax Hotel in Levico Terme - Day 7 - Feltre to Levico Terme

In the morning, we continue on the Valsugana cyclepath around the edge of Lago di Caldonazzo to Pergine then ride on roads, sometimes busier ones, then a steep descent on quiet back roads into Trento to arrive at the station in time for the Railjet train to Innsbruck that leaves at 11:59 – we have the tickets and our bike spaces are reserved- Day 8 - Levico Terme to Trento The train heads up to the Brenner Pass where we will get off to ride downhill to Innsbruck and our overnight stop at the Ibis Hotel next to the train station and to return the hire bikes - Day 8 - Brenner Pass to Innsbruck

After some more sightseeing in the morning, we take the shuttle bus to the airport for our 12:10 flight back to Gatwick. Overall the route we will cycle is 353 miles with 5414m ascent [and 6703m descent because we are letting the train take the strain at the beginning and end]