Advices on bike tours in the Valli del Natisone

I went all over every tour proposed in this site. Some of tours can be found also on other sites or books. Evaluations based on personal experiences can differ from those reported from others. Road status is referred to the date shown on every proposed tour. Below you won't find rules on how to ride your MTB but only few suggestions about the tours and Valli del Natisone. Road conditions are updated to the date reported on every tour. Training: I'am not a MTB athlete. Usually I ride my MTB one or two times a week. All proposed tours are for normal bikers. Water: Valli del Natisone are not a dry place so it's very easy to find water on fountains or springs. Moreover distances between villages are never too far to be a problem for finding water or getting support. Suggested period: excluding higher tours, Valli del Natisone are approachable during the whole year. Some snow can be found during winter time, or at beginning of spring, in some shadowed places.

Roads: almost all tours are on unimportant asphalted roads or unsealed forestal trails. Often the sign reported on the left can be found: it's usually placed at the beginning and at the end of forestal trails. These roads are stated by a Regional Law and traffic is not allowed for cars or motorcycles. By the way, pay attention because some stretches can be in bad conditions, sometimes because of landslides, often because of blackberry bushes on the road.

Maps: old military maps I.G.M. 1:25.000 and 1:50.000 are no longer available but there is a beautiful, new, 1:25.000 scale map for this area: it's the "Carta Topografica per escursionisti - Valli del Natisone - Cividale del Friuli - Foglio 041" printed by Casa Editrice Tabacco. It costs 10.000 Lire (about 5 Euro) and can be easily found in book shops, paper shops, tobacconists, gas stations. Another map is "Friuli-Venezia Giulia 1:150.000". It costs 12.000 Lire (about 6 Euro). GSM Phone: almost all the Valli del del Natisone are covered by GSM Phone Network. Service is provided by three italian providers TIM, Omnitel and Wind and by two slovenian providers SI.GSM and SI-Mobil.

To keep with you: during summer time, more than normal outfit, a towel to dry up after a plunge on a river , and a mosquitos-repeller can be useful. Ticks: to pay attention. In the Valleys of the Natisone the Zecche (the Ixodes Ricinus, Ticks in english, Zecke in german) are rather frequent. Their bite can cause a bacterial infection known as Lyme Disease that can have serious consequences. Therefore, once finished the roundtrip, control all your body and your clothes in order to see not to have some ticks. Greater information on the disease of Lyme and what to make when it has been bitten from a tick can be found here (in italian only).

What not to do: very few things. The Valli del Natisone are full of flowers but it's forbiddend to pick-up most of them. A special permission for mushrooms picking must be asked to Comunità Montana in San Pietro al Natisone. In the Valli del Natisone a lot of places are still wild: let us left them so bringing back our trashes. After the rides: enjoy some relax in Cividale swimming pool. Useful phone numbers: - Medical emergency: 118 - Cividale del Friuli Hospital: 0432 7081 - National Fire Brigade: 1515 - Regional Fire Brigade: 800 843044 - Civil Emergency: 0432 923333 - Comunità Montana delle Valli del Natisone: 0432 727552 Remember to dial +39 before the phone number for calls from outside Italy and from GSM Phones connected to slovenian carriers. Books (in italian only): - Brunello Pagavino, Le Valli del Natisone in Mountain Bike, Roberto Vattori Editore - Roberto Russi, Friuli Venezia Giulia in Mountain Bike, Edicilo Editore - Roberto Russi, Friuli Venezia Giulia-2 in Mountain Bike, Edicilo Editore - Fabio Fabris, Alpi Giulie Orientali e Carso in Mountain Bike, Edicilo Editore - New: Roberto Russi, Le Valli del Natisone in Mountain Bike, Edicilo Editore

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