On the other side of the lake, and to our right, matching 1500m mountains rise almost vertically from the water’s edge. Beyond, the horizon is lined with the jagged white peaks of the Alps: the roof of Europe. Monte Baldo’s Rifugio Graziani café must surely be one of the most spectacular cycling cake stops in the world.
We, and the handful of other bike riders – both Lycra-clad roadie and baggy-shorted mountain biker varieties – have certainly earned a pastry or two to go with our gently steaming coffees.
It was over an hour and thirty-odd hairpin bends ago that we left the bottom of the Valpolicella vine-covered floor of the Adige Valley. Running north-south to the east of Lake Garda, this valley serves as the main north-south access route to the Alps and Switzerland beyond, and the motorway, railway and river all run down it.
Thankfully, the valley is wide and our road quiet and deserted, so our guide for the day, Nicola Verdolin, whose family owns the EnjoyGarda bike hotel in Peschiera on the southern end of the lake was able to point out the sights.
Up ahead on the right, a barely-perceptible track of tarmac appeared up the eastern side of the valley – the infamous Perri Fosse climb that climbs 900m in 9km and often features in Italy’s own three-week cycling grand tour, the Giro d’Italia.
But our way out of the valley was up its left flank, following an improbable, tortuous ledge of tarmac seemingly chiselled out of the valley wall above the little village of Madonna del Pieve.
The following hour of climbing, with hairpins, tunnels and shady straights – not to mention regular stunning mountain views of steep, wooded ravines and still snow-dusted peaks above – was simply unforgettable.
As you climb the landscape and vegetation changes too: from the evergreen belt with a typical Mediterranean feel by the lakeshore, to oak and chestnut woods at around 400m, then ash and pine at 800m. Above 1000m beech forests take over and then birch above 1600m – after which nothing much but grass grows, with a craggy, ‘bald’ rocky top capping off the mountain to give it its name.
This means the climb is sometimes intimately shady, sometimes exposed, occasionally steep but always peaceful… not to mention unrelentingly ‘up’. The only thing better is the awesome descent down the other side after our cake stop, which soon takes us past the top of the cable car from the lakeside at Malcésine.
Cable car? Yes, if pedalling up 31 hairpin bends and 1500m of ascent is not your cup of tea you can always ‘ride’ the cable car to the top instead with your bike. Many cyclists do, especially of the knobbly-tyred variety, as the roof-of-the-world single-track riding from the 1800m cable car station is just as incredible as the skinny-wheeled road biking.
Monte Baldo might be great for cycle sport but on the lakeshore riding bikes is simply a way of life. When we do roll out onto the lakeside road it’s as if we’ve ridden into the middle of a mass participation bike ride with thousands of fellow riders. Despite an intermittent stream of motorised traffic, the road is buzzing with cyclists of every taste and tribe – gangs of Lycra-wearing roadies all decked out in their hotel cycling kit looking like cycling clubs, posses of mountain bikers emerging all dust and grins from side tracks off the mountain, and tourists and locals on shopping bikes with wicker baskets.
Minutes later we’re sitting on the decking of a café terrace that projects over the water's edge, soaking up the late-afternoon sun and enjoying the traditional post-ride treat of café y gelato – coffee and icecream. It’s fair to say, we’re all agreed: we’ve found cycling heaven.
Five of the best things to do at Lake Garda
Mountain biking
There are several well-marked downhill, ‘all-mountain’ and cross-country trails on Monte Baldo itself and between the top of the cable car and Malcesine on the lakeshore. There is a good list of trails with downloadable (gpx) routes for satnav devices and smartphones at 360gardalife.com. Local companies such as xtrememalcesine.com also organise guided excursions with qualified instructors, as does Gardabikehotel.com, who cater for both on and off road cyclists.Hiking
Apart from great walks around the lake through its historic ports and villages, there are many routes for all abilities on Monte Baldo too. These range from short loops from the cable car station to the café we visited, to more technical climbs up to Mount Altissimo (2h 40 minutes), the Bocca di Navene Refuge (1 hour) or the Telegrapho Refuge (3 hrs 30 mins).The official website for the cable car also has a great list of trekking routes from the top of the mountain-top cable car station. funiviedelbaldo.it
Canyoning
Several local companies offer canyoning tours, predominantly in the rivers and streams that feed the northern end of the lake during the summer. See gardatrentino.itWatersports
Pretty much every water sports is practiced on the lake – with the windy northern end of the lake being hugely popular for windsurfers and kitesurfers. Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding are popular too, and courses and rentals can be organised through wwwind.com, easykite.it in Malcesine, europasurfandsail.com in Navene and stickl.com in Val di Sogno.Gran fondos
These organised mass participation bike rides are mostly for committed cyclists, but many now have other easier route options and as much fun as sport. The long and mountainous Granfondo Charly Gaul in June is for serious road cyclists charlygaulgranfondo.it, while the Colnago Cycling Festival, which now takes place on the first weekend in May in Desenzano del Garda has a variety of routes. These range from a Baby Bike ride, to a leisurely Family Ride and a 145km race around the lake colnagocyclingfestival.com.Our trip
We stayed at specialist bike hotel Enjoy Garda Hotel in the historic moated town of Peschiera del Garda on the southern end of the lake, whose bike service gardabikehotel.com provides everything from airport transfers to high-end carbon hire bikes, and expert guides.
For more information: enjoygarda.com
