The river Po Valley, the Po Plain

Almost 600km, 14% of the whole route of the 45-SouthWest route leads rough the Po Valley.

The Po Valley is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately 650 km (400 mi) in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km2 (18,000 square miles) including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the Adriatic Sea. The flatlands of Veneto and Friuli are often considered apart since they do not drain into the Po, but they effectively combine into an unbroken plain, making it the largest in Southern Europe. It has a population of 17 million, or a third of Italy’s total population.

The altitude of the valley through which the Po flows, exclusive of its tributaries, varies from approximately 4 m (15 feet) below sea level in the Polesine subregion (the delta around Ferrara)[4] to about 2,100 m (6,900 feet) at the river’s origin in the southern Piedmontese province of Cuneo

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3 months to the start

In January we started to recheck the route. In Italy the route changes to some new sections on the water dam’s. Improvement of the cycling infrastructure is going on and gravel sections of the cycling routes get new pavements. It also shortens the route a bit.

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2 weeks left for the registration

Only 2 weeks are left to register for the second edition of the 45-SouthWest.
Start 20th of June in Krakow Poland.

3 finish points:
– Nice, France: 1888km
– Pico del Veleta, Spain: 3952km
– Tarifa, Spain: 4384km

https://45southwest.com/registration-2025/

Photos: Mantua, Italy – checkpoint 2.

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CP3: Mantua, Italy

Checkpoint 3, Mantua is located 1324km from the start.

Mantua was an island settlement that was first established about the year 2000 BC on the banks of River Mincio, which flows from Lake Garda to the Adriatic Sea and is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes, created during the 12th century as the city’s defense system. The cultural value of Mantua is outstanding, with many of Mantua’s patrician and ecclesiastical buildings being uniquely important examples of Italian architecture. Just to mention Basilica di Sant’Andrea which holds a vile of holy blood that was identified as authentic almost 1000 years ago. Built way back in the 15th Century this beautiful basilica took over 300 years to complete!

Mantua has been the setting for several of Italy’s most beloved works of art and artists. Mantua influenced Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and Romeo and Juliet, and was the birthplace of Virgil. Over the years, famous visitors to the town such as Peter Paul Rubens, Giulio Romano, and Petrarch enriched its history, and their traces can still be seen in Mantua today.

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Venice Lagoon to Mantua

Leaving Chioggia in the Venice Lagoon the route follows small roads and cycling routes on the huge dams. The immense water system built in the Po valley to distribute the water for agriculture is still used today. Till 5 floor high water dams are part of the route and riders will gross a pontonier bridge.

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3 weeks left for the registration

Only 3 weeks are left to register for the second 45-SouthWest.
Start 20th of June in Krakow Poland.

https://45southwest.com/registration-2025/

Photos: Chioggia, the little Venice, where the 3th ferry arrives is a little town at the end of the Venetian Lagoon crossing of the route.

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Venetian Lagoon

The next highlight after checkpoint 2 is certainly Venice. Cycling trough the city of Venice is not possible and would not be much fun. But even better, the route leads over the lagoon islands Lido and San Pietro in Volta. Three short ferry connections are part of the route that offers a welcoming short relaxing brake on the water. And you get a nice view to the city of Venice from the south. You will be able to recognize the Marco tower and other landmarks.

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2025 route changes: Úbeda, Spain

A fixed road that was not passable two years ago allows us to bypass Úbeda in Spain. The new 20km section offers spectacular views and a nice downhill on a winding back road trough olive fields.

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2025 route changes: Alessandria, Italy

Since January we are back on the roads in Italy, France, Spain and Morocco for the 45-SouthWest, Iberica-Traversa and Morocco-BikeAdventure. Beside all the small updates realted to changes on the roads, for the 45-SouthWest we have 3 major route changes.

New for this year, we bypass Alessandria. Coming from east to Alessandria there is only one bridge crossing the Bormida river where all the traffic passes without any reserved space for cyclists or pedestrians. Trough Alessandria we also have not been that happy with the route and in the first edition riders had some difficulties to find accommodation in Alessandria.

A new 31km section bypasses now Alessandria on small roads in the south. And the new route goes in front of a motel with 24 hour reception. The new route is 2km longer but we are sure it’s faster.

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