Alpe Adria Bicycle Route: which way and when to ride
The best month for Alpe Adria Bicycle Route is September: 62% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C. In September the wind barely favours either direction — on average 0.0 km/h along the route (ERA5 2006–2025, daytime 9:00–18:00).
Also passes through Italy
Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4% | 21% | 93 | 2 °C | 0% | 95% | 8.9 † |
| February | 13% | 24% | 96 | 4 °C | 0% | 85% | 10.2 † |
| March | 30% | 29% | 111 | 8 °C | 0% | 64% | 11.8 |
| April | 48% | 37% | 108 | 13 °C | 0% | 33% | 13.5 |
| May | 44% | 53% | 172 | 16 °C | 0% | 14% | 15.0 |
| June | 45% | 50% | 150 | 21 °C | 4% | 3% | 15.8 |
| July | 45% | 47% | 145 | 23 °C | 10% | 1% | 15.5 |
| August | 48% | 43% | 157 | 23 °C | 10% | 1% | 14.2 |
| September | 62% | 34% | 155 | 18 °C | 1% | 8% | 12.5 |
| October | 59% | 26% | 145 | 13 °C | 0% | 25% | 10.8 † |
| November | 24% | 26% | 141 | 7 °C | 0% | 69% | 9.3 † |
| December | 6% | 22% | 106 | 3 °C | 0% | 92% | 8.6 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Salzburg → Grado, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Salzburg → Grado | Headwind > 15 km/h, Grado → Salzburg | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | +0.7 | 0% | 0% | either |
| February | +0.4 | 0% | 0% | either |
| March | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | either |
| April | −0.5 | 0% | 0% | either |
| May | −0.5 | 0% | 0% | either |
| June | −0.5 | 0% | 0% | either |
| July | −0.2 | 0% | 0% | either |
| August | −0.3 | 0% | 0% | either |
| September | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | either |
| October | −0.2 | 0% | 0% | either |
| November | +0.2 | 0% | 0% | either |
| December | +0.9 | 0% | 0% | either |
Stages
The route is split into 4 stages of about 100–150 km between towns; each stage has its own page.
| Stage | km | Best month | Tailwind Salzburg → Grado in September, km/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Salzburg → Bad Gastein | 108 | September | +1.5 |
| 2. Bad Gastein → Villach | 105 | September | −0.5 |
| 3. Villach → Udine | 136 | September | −0.3 |
| 4. Udine → Grado | 63 | October | −0.8 |
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.