A Roero gravel loop among rocche and vineyards

Everyone goes to the Langhe. Few cross the Tanaro and climb the other hill, the Roero, and yet it is there that wine-country Piedmont still keeps a rough, untouristed face. The same landscape of vineyards and hazelnut groves, the same great wines, but with a geological difference that changes everything: the Roero is a land of rocche, walls of sand and clay carved by erosion into dizzying badlands, wooded chasms that suddenly appear between one row of vines and the next. It is a photogenic, wild territory that mass cycle tourism, stuck on the other bank, has almost forgotten.

The loop among the villages

The ideal loop is drawn among the ridge villages. You can set off from a town like Canale, capital of Arneis, and climb towards Montà, Monteu Roero, Santo Stefano Roero and Vezza d'Alba, linking the most spectacular rocche via secondary roads and gravel tracks. The wild heart is the protected area of the Rocche del Roero, where paths and white roads run along the edge of the badlands and through dense woods that give shade even in summer. Villages like Bra or Pocapaglia can serve as gateways, and everywhere there are wineries where the white Arneis and the red Roero can be tasted without impossible reservations and without the inflated prices of the more celebrated towns.

The route

It is an itinerary designed for the gravel or mountain bike. The surface alternates the asphalt of quiet country roads with gravel tracks and vineyard roads that after rain can become clayey and slippery: the Roero's clay, when wet, is treacherous, so it is better to wait a few days of sun after a storm. The profile is never flat: the Roero is a constant up and down, with short but steep pitches that test the legs more than their length would suggest. Do not expect great passes, but reckon on an accumulated elevation gain that makes itself felt, spread across dozens of short ramps. It is a medium effort, suited to those with a minimum of fitness who do not fear a few abrupt changes of gradient.

Getting there is simple: the Roero is a stone's throw from Alba and Bra, both well connected, and Bra itself has a convenient railway station. Once in the area you move only by bike, because the distances between one village and another are short and the network of minor roads is extremely dense.

When to go

The right moment lies in the shoulder seasons. Spring, roughly from April onwards, brings vineyards of a tender green, woods in flower and temperatures ideal for the climbs. The other golden window is autumn, around October, with the grape harvest, the colours of the foliage among the hazelnut groves and the rocche glowing with yellow and red. In both cases you avoid the crowds for a simple reason: those who visit this part of Piedmont tend to stop in the famous centres of the Langhe, and the Roero remains a 'pass-through' territory that few actually cycle. Even on harvest weekends, on the white roads of the Rocche it is easy to meet no one for hours. Summer is rideable but hotter, and it is best to make the most of the shade of the woods and the morning hours.

A practical tip: plan the day around a stop at a winery, but do it at the end of the ride or at least after the hardest climbs, not halfway through. The Roero wineries are often small family businesses where it is worth phoning ahead to make sure someone will be there to welcome you, especially off-season. And bring tyres with a bit of tread and a spare inner tube: on the gravel of the rocche, far from inhabited centres, mechanical assistance is not around the corner, and self-sufficiency is part of the pleasure of cycling in a Piedmont still waiting to be discovered.

Practical guides for Como

• Where to stay in Como
• What to see in Como in 2 days
• Where to eat in Como
• How to get to Como