Yesterday morning a guy from Modena called me. He is about to leave for Tarvisio to travel the Italian part of the Alpe Adria cycle path but he is rather perplexed. On the official websites of our favorite route he found the news that the cycle path ends in Dogna.
Fortunately, the boy is very picky and has taken the trouble to check the maps from the official site with those of OpenCycleMap noticing the numerous differences.
The same goes for the descriptions of the route: both the institutional website (www.alpe-adria-radweg.com) and the one managed by Promoturismo FVG give out-of-date news.
Discouraged by this disheartened situation, he was about to opt for a cycling holiday somewhere else.
Luckily he found our site and after a long phone call in which I described the current situation of the cycle route, he convinced himself to come to Friuli to cover it from Tarvisio to Grado (I obviously suggested that he continue at least up to Monfalcone along the cycle route of the Adriatic Sea).
But let's go back to the “official” sites that tell about our Alpe Adria cycle path.
The institutional website created with funds from the European Interreg Italy-Austria project (www.alpe-adria-radweg.com) was completely renovated a few months ago. The Austrian part of the site is precise, detailed and flawless (as always!) While that relating to the Italian part is summary and contains outdated information. It would appear that the site editor has been provided with information that is at least 6 years old.
I highlighted in the maps (which you can find in the photo gallery at the bottom of the page) the discrepancies with the current state of affairs, also trying to indicate the year in which the Alpe Adria cycle route was modified (I hope that memory has not betrayed !).
As you can see, the map does not take into account the conversion of the former railway site into a cycle path near Valbruna and Malborghetto (open to transit in 2015!), The recent changes in Pontebba and Pietratagliata, the opening of the Resiutta-Moggio section Udinese in 2017, the shift of the route to the left bank of the Tagliamento between Venzone and Gemona del Friuli (in 2015), changes to the route in the municipalities of Osoppo (in 2017), Tricesimo (in 2016), Tavagnacco (in 2016) and in Mereto of Chapter (also in 2016).
As already mentioned, the descriptive part of the stages reported on this site (for the Italian part) is incomplete and superficial as well as reporting the errors described above.
Even as regards the altimetric data of the Italian stages, some crazy values are reported! From Tarvisio to Venzone the site reports 1398 meters of ascent (in reality they are about 230 m), from Venzone to Udine 541 meters (real 180 m) and 312 meters for the stretch of plain that descends from Udine to Grado (real about 25 m).
A similar situation is also found in the site dedicated to the Alpe Adria cycle path managed by the regional agency "Promoturismo FVG" (https://www.turismofvg.it/ciclovia-alpe-adria-route-completo). The descriptions of the path are certainly the same information (not updated since 2015) given to the company that manages the institutional site.
As if that weren't enough, from the Promoturismo website you can still download the RoadBook created in 2012-13 thanks to the Terra dei Patriarchi project. But the information on this roadbook is largely out of date and can create even more confusion in those who consult it. In my opinion it should be removed or at least specified that the information contained in this booklet is out of date.
I have reported these inconsistencies several times to the Region and to Promoturismo FVG but no one has yet taken steps to remedy these errors. I hope that making these issues public can be an incentive to correct these errors.
It is regrettable that the lack of interest in completing the still missing infrastructures not only to complete the Alpe Adria cycle route (FVG 1) but also the remaining 9 cycle routes of regional interest is also found in the lack of care in the management of these sites which should represent a showcase for enhance and make known these routes dedicated to cyclists.