Riding Around Langa on a Bike
There are many places to go by bike. Each place has its own peculiarities and features. What I’d like to talk to you about here, is how wonderful it is to ride around Langa on a bicycle.
In fact, even after having been far and wide, when I get on the seat and take a ride around our hills, I’m always amazed and happy and quite honestly I can never get enough.
After all these years, I’m still not tired of riding up to Bossolasco and then coming back down towards Dogliani, admiring these hills of ours.
It’s a mixture of landscapes, scents and colors, but it’s also the unique itineraries that, in my opinion, make a bike ride a must in this area
The Landscape
Nowadays everyone is talking about the UNESCO hills, and perhaps you may not know, but not all the Langhe form part of this area. Well let me say, it’s a real shame. Not because the Barolo or Barbaresco hills aren’t beautiful, but because one the most fascinating features of our land is its extraordinary variety.
The Bassa Langa, with its vineyards and its castles, once owned by illustrious families, that guard the valleys from atop. The Roero, with its steep hills and narrow valleys.
And the Alta Langa, with its woods and wildlife, where you can begin breathing the scent of the sea, where only ruins remain of the castles. And then there’s the hidden strongholds amongst the rivers, the hazelnut groves and the majestic low stone walls that enclose the hills.
It’s beautiful to be able to go from Monforte’s orderly vines to the Pedaggera woods just by moving from one hill to the next.
The Langhe are like the wines that are made from this land, every hill produces a different wine and at the same time it has its own unique landscape.
Furthermore, with respect to the mountains, where the panorama is flattened and the horizon is narrow, here in the Langa you can enjoy an ample view, full of breath.
When you’re at the top of the hill (when you go Langa, as we say here), you can enjoy a 360° view: the surrounding hills, the valleys that open wide at your feet and the perfect Alpine arch, which on clear days can be seen for hundreds of kilometers on the horizon.
And sometimes, if you’re in the right place and the right time, you can even see the sea, far in the distance.
Put together your bike!
Choose the size, the pedals, the accessories and you’re ready to go for a ride!
The Hills
Another aspect that shouldn’t be underestimated is the pleasure of the excursion. In many places, like in the mountains, there are few options.
Either you’re in shape and you have the right (physique) or your bike holiday becomes too demanding: a lot of effort and little lucidity to appreciate the place in which you are traveling.
Here in the Langhe, if you like difficult itineraries, you can climb up one of the “Champion’s Hills”, sweating and toiling away. But if you prefer to enjoy your vacation, the trip and the landscape, you can choose from a range of paths that require little effort, with short climbs which within a few kilometers take you to fascinating places with a scenic beauty that is simply remarkable.
Basically there’s something on offer for everyone…
Both for those looking for a difficult challenge and those who instead want to simply breathe in some fresh country air and appreciate the beauty of this unique landscape.
