Trip to Italy

Day 1 – Malacky – Torbole (car); Torbole – Limone sul Garda (bicycle)

We departed from Slovakia around 5 am on Thursday through Vienna, Linz and Salzburg to Torbole – a small town on the northern shore of the largest Italian lake, Lago di Garda. Upon arrival around 1:30 pm we were welcomed by a dramatic scenery of glacier-shapped valley with limestone cliffs rising from the lake shores to hights of 3 – to 6 thousand feet. The weather was great so after unpacking we rode to Limone sul Garda – a town about 10 miles from Torbole. The ride led on a typical coastal italian road – that is – narrow, winding with lots of tunnels. The tunnels certainly added to the feeling of adventure as a segment of the longest one (about 3,000 feet) was not lit. Fortunately some if us had rear bicycle lights which – together with fairly light traffic made the passage possible.

My father in Limone sul Garda

The town of Limone is a pleasant small turist town connected with other towns around the lake via several ferry lines. We contemplated taking a ferry to the other side of the lake and making a loop ride, but due to the ferry schedule decided to ride back on the same road.

The ride on Thursday was short, flat and pleasant as it offered a nice respite after an 8-hour car drive.

Day 2 – Torbole – Balino – Tion di Trento – Storo – Mezzolago – Torbole (bicycle)

On Friday our “expedition” split into 2 groups – a smaller one – with 5 riders (including myself) and a larger one with the rest of the bikers. Our group started riding west to Riva del Garda and from there ascending from the elevation of around 300 feet above the sea level to the Balino pass at 2,500 feet, riding on a winding road offering great views at every turn.

Our small cycle group at the Balino (left) and Durone (right) passes

From there we continued through the town of Carvasto to the Durone pass at 3,400 feet – the highest point of that day’s trip. After a short descent from there we stopped in the Tione di Trento to buy some fruit and snacks at the local supermarket. From Tione we rode south mostly on the main road that was not very busy at some point jumping on a newly-built bicycle path. In Storo we turned east and started an ascent through spectacular Valley of Ledro encountering couple of old limestone and charcoal kilns along the road. The climb ended in a pass after which a nice, broad valley opened up gently sloping eastward toward the Ledro lake. Couple of miles beyond Molina di Ledro the main road we rode on turns left to enter a 3 mile tunnel that leads back to Riva del Garda. We took the old road that starts just next to the tunnel entrance and is open for bikes and pedestrians only. The road was cut into steep cliffs of a canyon eroded by the river that drains Ledro lake, offering spectacular views. The road surface was asphalt for 3/4 of its length – only the last mile or so was mostly dirt more suited for mountain bikes, but this was a minor inconvenience considering the vistas of the surrounding mountains and the Garda lake we got.

Italians love stone and use it as a building material to restore old as well as build new buildings. This house is on the edge of Carvasto.

The old road through canyon connecting the Ledro and Garda lakes winds down from elevation of about 9,000 down to about 3,000 feet over a distance of 3,000 feet.

Day 3 – Torbole – Balino – Tion di Trento – Storo – Mezzolago – Torbole (bicycle)

On the third day of the trip I and 3 other riders choose to climb up to the village of Santa Barbara that sits in a pass about 4,000 feet above the lake. I heard the Giro d’Italia race has had stages in the past running along the same path we took that day which does not surprise me as it offers fantastic views on both sides of the ridge the pass divides. Often during our rides we would climb to the highest point of our route still finding ourselves surrounded by snow-capped 6,500 feet high peaks looming above us. On this route we saw Monte Baldo south of the pass and Monte Stivo to the north. As it was Saturday, we met quite a few cyclists on the way there as well as during our descent to the Sarca river valley.

From Arco we headed north to the town of Dro and after a short but steep climb to Drena. From there along a broad valley to Lasino where we turned south to ride along Lago di Cavedine. This lake is surrounded by neatly maintained orchards and vineyards which, together with the old towns we biked through made up for one of the loveliest segments of the trip.

In Arco we tried to find a restaurant but as it was about 5 pm, everything except couple of pizza places was still closed, so we continued riding on a cycle path leading along the river to Torbole. We had diner in a restaurant there the day before and knew that they were open all day and their food was pretty good. I ordered spinach gnocchi with cream sauce and was not disappointed – that Italians sure know how to make good gnocchi.


On the climb to Santa Barbara we passed this stone-built house. It was surrounded by flat terraced fields. Again Italian passion for stone as a building material was visible also on the walls that made up the terraces.

Day 4 – Walking around Torbole

The day we left I took a walk early in the morning in the old part of the town. The stone-pawed streets with stone walls lining narrow streets and old olive trees growing behind them offered the idilic picture we are accustomed to from italian films. The history and culture of the country seemed to emanate from the man-made artifacts. It was a nice good-bye to the region.

The rooftops and stone-walled streets of old Torbole

This peculiar small house stands in the Torbole harbor. I learned that it used to be an old customs house built in 1766 by order of Empress Maria Theresa