Are you familiar with the Aida? No, it's not Giuseppe Verdi's opera, it's the cycle route that connects France to Slovenia and the Istrian peninsula, in a two-wheeled journey that can be traveled in both directions, giving a sense of freedom and movement for more than 900 km.
This is a FIAB Onlus initiative, born in 2016 from the idea of two friends with the aim of connecting northern Italy, from Susa to Trieste, on existing bicycle routes that are marked and safe to ride.
The origins of the project
The rationale behind the project, based on the idea of joining and exploiting existing trails instead of creating new ones, lays the foundation on a frequent and uncomfortable condition in which cyclists often find themselves. In many cases, in fact, dedicated bike routes run exclusively on the territory under the jurisdiction of one municipality, breaking off at the border with the adjacent municipality.
To resolve this nonsense and bring the idea to fruition, a successful fundraiser was launched, which was useful in adopting 1 km of the cycle route, and contextually generating jobs, induced income, and stimulating responsible tourism on the area, connecting the cities and routes.
The campaign was helpful in creating the complete GPS map and geolocated images, making the markers, taking care of their maintenance, and contributing to the development of communication.
The individual regions crossed collaborated in the project, in the figure of coordinating representatives who presided over the implementation of the plan with their knowledge of the area and their presence on the ground.
The joint goal they had set was to respond to the cycle-tourist demand and local mobility demand by also using the cycle route to cross the cities touched by the route, such as Turin, Milan, Verona, Venice and Trieste, from which it is possible to start riding.
Upon completion of the authorization process, the route was recognized by the Ministry of Transport and included in the Bicitalia network, where it is now navigable as a route BI20.
What can you find along the Aida?
This long route, which includes the Francigena Valsusina and several other trails, connects nine Unesco art sites and runs on bike paths and roads with little traffic. Its level of difficulty is medium-low, it is mainly on asphalt and partly on dirt roads, and the months we recommend you do it are spring and fall.
Represents a great idea for strapping on your bike and setting off immediately and without delay from your city, but if you want fixed points on which to plan your bike trip, theOfficial App comes in handy for knowing in advance where to sleep, what locations to reach, and downloading offline the map to follow so you don't get lost along the way.
Valuable water points and repair shops are also marked, and dot the route along with hidden places to visit.
All that's left is for us to leave you to consult the elevation gain and define the stages; now you really are ready to put on your helmet and gloves and set off for your ideal destination.
