Biking Italy: Lake Garda

So I know what you are thinking....this guy needs a vacation after a week long vacation?!? Well.....Yes! Most students here at SAIS actually skipped Thursday and Friday in loo of a longer spring break. I at least showed up to class, but with a beautiful weekend weather forecast, a low load of homework, and the foreboding end to my year in Italy drawing close (only alittle over a month left!) I decided to get out of Bologna for the weekend.

I decided to go to a spot I had wanted to go all year Lake Garda! After traveling to other places in the fall and then the winter not being a good time to visit (too cold & most things are closed), I decided the time was prime for a visit. I decided though not to take the ferries, buses, or a car to get around though. Instead I brought along my bike and spent the weekend biking around the entire lake!

So early Saturday morning I got up and caught a train to the lake and began my ride! The weather Saturday was absolutely beautiful with temperatures between 65-70 and almost no clouds in the sky. The cool thing about biking lake Garda is that you get to bike next to huge mountains but never do much climbing as the road stays next to the lake where the altitude is generally constant! On saturday I did the eastern half of the lake from Peschiera del Garda to Riva del Garda which was 65 kilometers (about 40 miles). Overall it was not too hard of a ride. Despite my frequent stops to take photos and take in the beautiful views, I still made it into town by midday. In town I enjoyed eating at a local pizzeria and relaxing on the beach and reading a book (water was much too cold to swim!). In the evening I stayed at a local hostel and went to bed early so I could get an early start to the next day as the weather forecast was not as optimistic.

Path along the lake early on Saturday

As I get further North the Mountains continue to grow larger and more beautiful!

I stopped to watch people parachuting (probably a more specific name, as this was not normal parachuting), the girl pictured was doing flips and all sorts of tricks high above the lake! Lake Garda is a huge place for adventure sports such as Rock Climbing, Hiking, Windsurfing, and many others!

Riva del Garda (far north end of Lake Garda)

View from the beach

Sunday I was up reasonably early (at least for me) and biking before nine. I saw far fewer bikes on the western side of the lake and after biking I can tell why. Most of the first half of the ride is in tunnels which while normally well lit are quite boring to bike it and often do not have as much space for biking. Once I finally emerged from the tunnels I met many more bikers. I also noticed that the road on the western side of the lake is significantly more hilly. Still despite all this the western road has its moments as the road curves along the cliffs and looks like it was made for a James Bond car racing scene! The weather Sunday was a bit schizophrenic as at times it was beautiful and clear, cloudy and cold, and occasionally drizzling. One constant no matter which direction I went was the wind. I thought I was going into the wind on Saturday, but it was nothing compared to the headwind I encountered on Sunday. This was particularly unfortunate as I had a longer ride on Sunday (I did 85 kilometers or about 50 miles). All the same I finally made it and by then I was very happy to be done!

Road along the cliffs (and a small tunnel)

Road curving along the cliffs and lake

Mountains, still snow capped!

Town along my route

While the ride was definately not the fastest of my life (due to a small, old, italian bike and having to carry my overnight stuff in a backpack) I can say it was my favorite in Italy thus far! The sights were absolutely gorgeous and I would love to do it again some time. Some bikers even do the whole thing in one day (150 kilometers or about 90 miles), which while I have done that distance before I would need to be in a lot better shape to do it now (especially considering my bike!). If anyone is interested in splitting it up or just doing half, I highly recommend the eastern half of the lake as it is much more scenic as the road stays along the lake more and rarely has tunnels. Overall though the entire lake is a great ride that I would highly recommend to any biker!