Munich to Venice on a tandem, 2016: Trento to Lago del Gardo, Riva del Garda

We got our first good rainage today, with huge thunderstorms and downpour all the way from Trento to Riva del Garda. But it was nearly 25 degrees, so who really cared? Maybe the rain even felt good if I'm an optimist.

We had a great dinner last night in Trento – pizza Calabrese, which they say was first made in Trento.

Our pizza proprietor, waiting for business

Pizza Calebrese

And a great start of the day in Trento with a nice breakfast at B&B Malvasio, including a home made cherry jam that was to die for. We set off in the torrential rain and it continued for a several hours, at times approaching ridiculous. We were drenched but not cold. We stopped for coffee in Sacco and tried to dry off a bit but not so much. But the coffee did the job, so we continued on. At a hydro project on the Adige the road was closed. Oh Oh. A Dutch couple rode up to us and we chatted. They were heading to Verona, we to Lago del Garda. They said, “Oh, we can show you the way but doubt that you can help us.” So they rode with us to show us the path correction. No photos since it was crap rain, but a very nice couple of souls. Typical Dutch.

We found a nice bike path from the VCA toward the lake, and it was pretty much downhill. The rain actually stopped. At least for a bit.

Then we came around a corner, and about 300 m down a steep hill was the lake.

Down to Lago del Garda

The lake, looking south

The bike, a bit worse for wear and in need of some mechanical work. Tomorrow, for sure...

Piazza in Riva del Garda

The harbour

Lago del Garda is a huge and very popular lake that lies at the border but sudtirol and the Dolomites. It is a very popular tourist destination and it is easy to see why – the area is beautiful and the weather (this time of year) is very nice. We rode down the hill (all the time while Lorie was wondering “how the heck are we riding out of here?” and I was saying, “don’t worry, that’s two days from now.”).

There are several small villages at the north end of the lake. We are staying at an AirBnB place in Riva del Garda on the west end. This area is like the Riviera – tons of tourists but for all the good reasons. We picked our way through the villages Weand eventually connected with our AirBnB guy, well, actually his papa since the owner was working. We got tucked into our place and hung up all our wet gear. Lots and lots of wet gear. Then out on the town to get stocked up: tomorrow is a rest day. Yeah!

We had fun exploring the village, which has tiny narrow streets lined with shops.

Typical street

We were looking forward to a nice, home cooked dinner (since we have a kitchen). The owner of the place dropped by as we were making food and he told us about all the good things to do, including hiking up the ancient road along the west side of the lake – a steep climb but well worth it.

We chowed down, had some great wine, and decided to make the hike. What views!