CYCLE THE ALPS – DAY 5

Trento to Malcesine, Lake Garda

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More Climbing over to Lake Garda – Leaving Trento was sad for me, but once we reached the river I felt back into the routine.

Still following the River Adige with fruit trees and vineyards for company, the mountains were beginning to lower and show less snow.

Just after Rovereto at Mori we turned right (west) towards Riva del Garda. This took us away from the main cycle track which went on down to Verona instead we headed over quite a steep hill towards the top of Lake Garda.

Up into the woods the track was getting steeper. This was nothing like our first two days, but it was tough after 4 days of riding.

The apple trees were gone now and were replaced with olive trees, oranges and more grapevines.

Going round the corner to see Lake Garda for the first time was amazing, stunning; what a great site. The vantage point was high and we could see a long way along the lake.

A steep hill took us down to the road that followed the lake to the south side. This was different to what we had been used to. There were paths now and then but most of this journey by the lake was road, and it felt a bit dangerous compared to the fantastic cycle paths we had so far.

Still, the traffic wasn’t too bad and the views were great. There were a few small towns along the way that were a bit commercialised – nothing like as bad as some of the places I have been to, but different to what we had been used to on this trip.

We reached the Hotel Stella Alpina tired and hungry. The outdoor swimming pool was welcome for some, but I was happy with a beer, a shower, and a rest.

The walk along the lakeside was lovely. We stopped for a drink to soak up the views, then we wandered to find a restaurant. Yet again we found a great place that looked after us all really well. Buongiorno Buonasera in Malcesine.

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