When Weeble the photographer and I arrived at our B&B above the bakery on the Maniago town square, there was some kind of celebration taking place. Stage, sound system, rows of benches with locals eating food from a truck – a great taste of authentic Italian life, we thought. But when we went to join in, we saw the food from the truck and thought better of it. Instead we went to the pizzeria on the square where I had a pizza that was so good, I’ve returned twice since – and the pizza’s been just as good on every visit.

 

Maniago is a bit off the beaten track for the usual Dolomite trip. It's on the south-east edge of the mountains and is a fair ride away from the famous passes between Cortina d'Ampezzo and Canazei. It’s still a great destination (not just for the pizza) as there are some truly brilliant roads within easy reach… and because it's a bit out of the way, they’re far quieter than the more-well-known routes.

 

Now I’ve done a couple of trips to the area, I was struggling to decide on the best route around here, so I enlisted the help of a local rider… who’s had time to vet both my efforts and (with the odd refinement he suggested) they’ve both been labelled “molto bene”. Which is good enough for me.

 

So it’s a double dose of daytrips for this week’s Route of the Week: a laid-back day that hops into Austria and back over epic passes; or a longer, more-esoteric Plan B loop that mixes fast-and-flowing roads with one or two tighter, more surprising ones. You'd better book a couple of nights in town so you can ride them both – and I bet I know where you’re going for dinner…