Route 17: A ride around Terni, Umbria

Mountains, historic towns… and the occasional home comfort

Terni, the capital of Umbria is a good distance from the UK. Not that we don’t have same very British weather on the way in - the only real rain on our tour. Frankly, by the time we’re in dry kit and heading out from our hotel to find an evening meal, a bit of home comfort would be welcome… so discovering a Ronnie Scott’s for dinner is the perfect tonic.

Next day, rested and refreshed, we’re ready to get to grips with the amazing riding round here. The skies are slowly brightening and the roads are grippy: brilliant. We head out through the historic town of Amelia, on winding roads that climb into the hills. We grab a coffee in a tiny cafe in Civitella del Lago, the terrace overlooking the lake far below.

It’s not just the weather; this motorcycling does remind me of the best bits of Britain - the Peaks, perhaps, or the Dales. Not so much the views and definitely not the vegetation, but the relentlessly twisting roads that flow over the gentle hills. But in the UK there’s always too much traffic - and when the sun breaks through the clouds, it does’t seem to get any warmer.

Swooping down to Bolsena with its broad lake and turreted castle, we couldn’t be anywhere but Italy - especially when we stop to order coffee… potent black espresso. It’s a bit like what you get at home but much richer, more concentrated, more satisfying. Exactly like the riding…

MAPS AND DOWNLOADS FOR A RIDE AROUND TERNI UMBRIA

Map of a motorcycling route around Terni, Umbria, Italy

Route 1 (our route): start/finish: Terni. Distance: 200 miles. Riding time: 7 hours. Suggested stops: AM coffee: Civitella del Lago, lunch: Lake Vico, PM coffee: Trevignano Romano
Route one map, Route one GPX file

Route 2: Distance: 195 miles. Riding time: 6.5 hours. Flowing roads into higher hills around Monte Cervia
Route two map, Route two GPX file

Route 3: Distance: 220 miles. Riding time: 7 hours. Flowing roads out to Lake Compotosto and the mountains
Route three map, Route three GPX file

Route 4: Distance: 215 miles. Riding time: 7 hours. Adventure-bike route, narrow roads in the Gran Sasso
Route four map, Route four GPX file

Please note: This page contains the route files for The RiDE Guide to motorcycle touring in Italy which came free with RiDE magazine in July 2015. These website page are not regularly updated, so please check all critical information before you travel. All route files are in .gpx format. Garmin and BMW users can download the main file, which contains all the routes and our recommended hotels as separate waypoints. TomTom users can download the individual routes and use the Tyre software to convert them. For many routes we also have Google Map links. However, as Google Maps will not plot routes over seasonally closed high Alpine passes (such as Stelvio) when they’re shut, these may not work for every route all year round.