Hi a quick up-date to thank those who shared information regarding what to expect and and where to go biking in lake Garda.
I was out on a family holiday but managed to squeeze a couple of days biking in. It was a busy 2 days….
The whole area is really geared up for cycling, both road a and mountain biking very popular.
We stayed at a small modern hotel on the edge of Riva and the room included use of town bikes. We hired a kids bike for our son from Carpentari bike shop in Torbole and used these for going to the lake and going out to eat in the evenings etc.
Before I arrived I had posted here, I managed to get the contact details for Micheal cycle who is a brit that spends about 3 months of the year living in the Riva / Torbole area.
He arrived the day after us after he had there from the UK. Within an hour of meeting, he had organised a Liteville 601 bike, 2 days of up lifts, and a deal on a kids bike.
The up lifts were through Torbole Bike shuttle, and the bike through The bike lab in Riva
We set off on the first up lift with a group of mixed nationalities on various types of bike, from full on free ride to super light long stem euro xc. The ever smiling Luca from the shuttle company put my nerves at ease by playing AC/DC pretty loud on the way up! We unloaded then chose a route. There is something for everyone, from near full on DH tracks to fairly gentle woodsy trails.
We did 2 uplifts that day onto Monte Veragna with 2 very different descents. The first through some woodland then onto a very loose rocky path with switch backs. The second more technical through narrow single track then onto the famous 601, which is pretty damn full on!
The following day we jumped on the first up lift this time to up and beyond the other side of the lake to the top of Tremalzo.
The views were spectacular the weather superb and at nearly 2000m its going to be a long ride down.
The route we took was Malga Caset, and for me the high light of the rides out there. Just a superb single track through classic woodland then out to the village at Lago di Ledro for a spot of lunch before more descending down some very steep rocky paths to be spat out on the side of lake Garda with a short road spin back to Torbole just in time for an ice cream and the final up lift…
To yet another area dropped off at santa Barbara to ride back down the “Anaconda” what a finish.
Massive thanks To Micheal for the sorting, guiding, and general good craic.
Big thanks to Luca and crew at Torbole bike shuttle, and the guys at Bike Lab Riva who were more than happy to swap brakes, pedals and made sure the shock / fork / sag etc was correct for my weight.
The Litville was fantastic and although it was more bike than im used to riding it felt superb, and the perfect tool for the job.
A great trip all together 😀