Bike Mike in the Puster Valley
Bike Mike visited Olang for the first time in 1978 and spent his annual skiing vacation at Kronplatz. From then on, his passion for biking never left him. He originally started riding a racing bike, but for the past two to three years he has dedicated himself to filming his tours on an e-bike. On his YouTube channel, Bike Mike is dedicated to the fascination of e-bikes and pleasure cycling. “This channel is not aimed at freaks, but at normal people like you and me who enjoy being active in their free time.”
If you would like to download the GPX data for his tours, you will find two codes in his videos. You can enter these codes on his website to get the data for your own planning and tracking.
Tour 1: Prato Piazza
This magnificent circular tour takes you from Olang via the Pustertal Valley cycle route and the long Dolomite trail up to the fairytale landscape of the Plätzwiese at over 2,000 m above sea level.
Tour 2: Fanes hut
The tour leads from St. Vigil in the south of Kronplatz into the legendary Fanes-Sennes-Prags Nature Park. The first few kilometers lead along a slightly ascending forest and gravel path to the Pederü refuge at 1,200 m to 1,548 m altitude. From here, the view opens more and more and the gigantic, picturesque Dolomite giants, some of which are over 3,000 m high, become increasingly visible.
Tour 3: Lake Braies
Here you set off on a fabulously beautiful cycle tour to perhaps South Tyrol's most beautiful lake - Lake Braies! You start below Kronplatz, in Olang, and first ride a section of the magnificent Puster Valley cycle route in a westerly direction. From now on, the route climbs noticeably, but Lake Braies is located at an altitude of 1,494 m and you must reach it first. You pass Schmieden, the only village in the middle of this fairytale landscape, and then change to a gravel road that is easy to cycle on.
Tour 4: Around Kronplatz
Today's tour first takes you a few meters from Oberolang to Gassl, to the valley station of the Olang Mountain cablecar. There you start a 12-minute “ascent” that takes you and your bikes up to Kronplatz at an altitude of 2,275 meters. Up here, far above the tree line, South Tyrol presents itself with a panorama that is second to none. The tour begins up here and takes you clockwise around this colossal mountain. And so, the 2 1/2-hour drive past mountain giants, alpine pastures, castles and the South Tyrolean way of life flies by.
Tour 5: Rodenegg Castle
This magnificent tour starts in Oberolang and takes you down the valley to the imposing medieval buildings of the Mühlbacher Klause and Rodenegg Castle. Thanks to the Pustertal Valley Railway, this tour can also be designed as a leisurely circular tour. You start in Oberolang and cycle leisurely down to the old railroad line of the Pustertal Valley cycle route. Embedded in the deeply incised Rienza Valley, you reach Bruneck through several former railroad tunnels. At the end of the western Pustertal valley, the colossal medieval Mühlbacher Klause fortress and toll station was built, where tolls were collected from travelers for centuries.
Tour 6: Into the Val Fiscalina to the Sesto Dolomites
This magnificent circular tour starts at the train station in Olang and takes you to the unique dream world of the Sexten Dolomites. From Innichen you cycle steadily uphill into the initially very narrow Sesto Valley. After a few kilometers, the narrowness widens and reveals the first magnificent views of the colossal mountain scenery. During this fairytale landscape. This is the end of the tour, as the path is now blocked by mountains over 3,000 m high. With images flooding your mind and camera, you return to San Candido and set off on the Pusteria Valley cycle route.