I have 3 days in Malcesine at the end of July, with a permission slip for half a day on a (hired) mtb

Plenty of threads on here already but with me having such little time to sort things out once I’m there, I figured I’d ask the collective

– which shop to hire from? Looks like Bikeextreme May have gone (their website has anyway)
– which trail(s) to ride?

Figure once I’ve sorted hire and waited for the cable car I’ll have enough time for one run. I’d love to do the 601 but not sure if that’s a good idea on an unfamiliar bike & on my own!

Any other slightly easier but still rocky & fun trails that ppl recommend?

Ta

Ric

I did this last year. I would be careful about the bikes they give you. The brakes are the wrong way around

Is Bikextreme the one at the bottom of the cable car?

Not bad last time I used them, they seem to have better bikes (the riding is very technical, the more travel the better!)

Get a leaflet from the cable car company as only 1 uplift an hour is for bikes.

You may struggle for time if you only have a half day if you want to do the 601 – you have approx. 300m of climbing to do from the top of the cable car (last May when I did it there was loads of snow to slow me down, should be quicker now)

If you can take your bike I would as the brake thing is difficult to get used to.

Enjoy!

If you have a GPS enabled something or other, most bike shops will transfer GPX files on to it; so that you can navigate / access trails more easily as some of the path / trail marking is non existent. It should avoid the opportunity to get lost given your short time frames.

Thanks folks 🙂

Already aware of the brake issue- will ask them to swap the levers round

Good idea re the GPX file but I thought most of the trails were clearly marked?

I lived nearby until last year, excellent riding, I would thoroughly reccomend a guide with gardaonbike in Riva. Can’t remember matey’s name but when I went back on holiday without the bike I went to them and really enjoyed it. Takes you on a load of secret natural runs, right to the top with a van then back down. We even descended a path people were climbing up with helmets and ropes on! I got a proper dual crown DH rig for the day.
If you prefer to spend less or just want to get out on your own then i can send you a couple of my gpx files for a couple of good local rides up from Riva. And direct you to some cheeky singletrack I found!
yes most trails are clearly marked and maps are available, the issue is just finding the start and knowing which are good to ride plus the fact that missing a marker in the alps on your own can end quite badly

Cheers Chris- mail in profile if you could send on the gpx files 🙂

Getting things wrong in the alps, on my own, is a fairly major consideration in planning the route!

We often got lost on marked trails and found maps not as detailed or accurate as in the UK, we didn’t have gps option, in hindsight a gps with routes overlayed would have been very useful. We were recommended Compass maps, but I wasn’t particularly impressed with them (see above). Even tho I’m pretty good with maps, it really spoilt the flow of a few rides, having to constantly scrutinise an inferior map (on one occasion completely wrong).
We relied mostly on routes from Tourist Info and Gardamtb.com, one or two were very good, but towards the end it got a bit much the same, single massive road climb, followed by single massive descent on very similar terrain. I’m sure there was some better stuff off route of the standard stuff. We stumbled on one or two tracks that weren’t detailed, but were better than the standard stuff offered by local TO or Gardamtb.com.
If your time is limited, I would def recommended local knowledge ie routes from the likes of chrishc777 or local guided rides.
I got a lift out of Torbole up to the DH descents, which I really enjoyed (on a hardtail), only had to bypass at one or two spots.

I’ve stayed in and near Malcesine a couple of times, and there are some great routes to be had using the cable car and a great track (route 6) that drops you back down to Navene, a couple of miles north of Malcesine, with a cycle path all the way back.

I eventually struck upon the loop below, which is now one of my all time favourites:

http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?lnk=http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pdw/cycle-routes/gpx//20110818-baldo-navenne-mk2.gpx

There’s only a limited number of cable car trips that takes bikes, and they do fill up, so it’s worth booking a space at least an hour or two before you go.

The network of hiking trails is reasonably well marked, although often only with a bit of paint on rocks, but they cross loads of other trails so there are plenty of opportunities for getting lost. As banana says, the quality of the local maps leaves something to be desired – we’re really spoilt with OS maps here.

If you’re on a time budget, I’d definitely go armed with a GPS and GPX route. I’ve got some navigation notes for the route above, if you’re interested.

Route 6 sounds perfect- was it easy to follow? Start point at the gondola top station?

Getting quite excited now 🙂

Route 6 is just the last bit – the descent to Navene, 5 miles dropping 1000m 🙂 easy to follow once you’re on it but…

Here are the notes that I wrote at the time (I was planning to put the route on a website, but never quite finished it off).

From the cable car station, there’s a fast gravel then tarmac road descent followed by a road climb to Rifugio Graziani. From there, start on the gravel track that climbs behind the restaurant towards Monte Altissimo, but bear right at the fork. Follow this track to where it passes through a yard, and then follow the beautiful singletrack on the other side.

The next few turnings take a bit of care. The first is signed, and you need to turn left, carrying your bike for a few metres over a rocky crest. The next is a vague T-junction where you need to turn left onto a trail that starts out pretty vague. Then you need to turn left where this hits a double track trail. This is not a hiking trail, and as such isn’t obviously marked on some maps , although it is the most obvious track on the ground (my GPS track goes a bit wrong at this point). The next turn is easy to miss – a singletrack trail heading off to the right – but it’s not a big deal because the double track ends abruptly at a reservoir about 100m later, and when you look back at where you’ve just been, the right trail is obvious.

A bit more climbing, and a down-and-up across a shallow valley and you reach a junction with the 601 from Monte Altissimo. At this point you descend, either following the gravel then tarmac switchbacks on the road, or straight down on the 601, repeatedly crossing the road. If you take the 601, take care to rejoin the road before the junction with the trail to Navene which is shortly after a right-hand hairpin on the road.

Follow this trail for 5 miles to the lake shore at Navene, then cross the main road and turn left to follow the cycle path back to Malcesine.

Will send them with some descriptions and pointers when I’m off work later in the week! Might be able to dig out some maps too