Tour Italy’s Picturesque Lake Garda
A four-day tour around Italy’s Lake Garda is as startlingly beautiful as it is relentlessly tough. From epic climbs to gravel singletrack and swooping downhills, this is an adventure that will stay with you long after the pedalling’s done.
It took us one hour, fourteen minutes and twenty seconds to climb the Cat 1 Prada-Colme di Pravecchio.
It was the third day of our tour, which we’d named the Dads&Lads Giro d’GrandGarda. With a fully laden bike, the average gradient felt way harder than its claimed 6.4%, while the 9% pitches forced some deep digging to keep the bike moving forward – and upward.
June in Italy, and the summer was in full swelter. The temperature hadn’t dipped below 30°C since we’d started out that morning, and we still had another 20km of steady uphill to go, after the big climb, before reaching our overnight rifugio high in the mountains surrounding majestic Lake Garda.
But we wouldn’t have had it any other way.
There’s beauty in tackling a long, hard climb like the Prada-Colme. My 30-old-son Wayde and I, two of a group of five lads and five dads, had devised a coping mantra that kept repeating in my head: ‘Manage your effort.” Going into the red zone would have been disastrous; finding just the right rhythm and effort was a constantly moving mental and physical challenge.
This climb was just part of a day that saw us gain 1 982m of altitude in only 60km – with some pitches that nudged 20% – as we wound our way through the vineyards from Torbole, on the northern tip of Lake Garda, to our mountaintop overnight spot on the ridge of the Monte Baldo range of the Italian Alps.
We knew that this was going to be a big day; and thankfully, the ‘Lads’ – having witnessed the performance of the ‘Dads’, in the preceding two days – had kindly reduced the planned distance by 40km, and the climbing by 2 000m.
Our cut-down tour was based around a legendary cycling loop called the Gran Garda (grangarda.com). The full tour has two routes: gravel and tarmac. The whole gravel route is 350km in length, with 10 000m of climbing, while the black-top version is the same distance with 8 000m of climbing.
“A single climb can take hours to complete. So choosing the right gearing combination is the key to success – not to mention survival.”
One of the Lads had taken on the role of route designer. Using the online Komoot interface, he’d designed a mixed ‘gravel’ route that turned out to be… harder than most of us expected.
I’ll just put it out there: climbing mountains in the Alps is like nothing you will ever experience in South Africa. Yes, even for those who live near the Drakensberg! A single climb can take hours to complete. So choosing the right gearing combination is the key to success – not to mention survival.
In addition, the bikes in our group were loaded up with packs and bags. Even though I’d been thrifty in my packing, it was clear from early on that I’d brought too much stuff.
But the tour was a relative doddle for the youngsters, many of whom had become friends after – it must be said – racing at elite level during their years at the University of Cape Town. Every year they plan a European bike tour; in 2024 they rode for eight straight days, including some days in which the elevation gain approached 5 000m.
This year, most of their effort was to be focused on pushing and pulling (by means of a spare tube!) their fathers up the monstrous climbs…
Click the links below for the various days’ routes and download the GPX files.
> Day 1: Desenzano del Garda – Tignale
> Day 2: Tignale – Pieve di Ledro
> Day 3: Lake Ledro – Albergo Rifugio Graziani
> Day 4: Albergo Rifugio Graziani – Peschiera del Garda
The Details
Flights: Lufthansa, to Frankfurt/Frankfurt to Milan
Bus: Malpensa Airport to Centralo Station, Milan
Train: Milan to Peschiera del Garda
Accommodation
Day 1: Hotel Riviera, Desenzano del Garda
Day 2: Bellavista Hotel, Tignale
Day 3: Garni Enjoy Ledro Hotel, Pieve di Ledro
Day 4: Albergo Rifugio Graziani, Monte Baldo
Estimated cost (incl. flights): R22 000 per person.
Best time to go: Summer!
What I packed
- 2 pairs of bibs
- 2 cycling shirts
- 1 rain jacket
- 2 pairs underwear
- 1 pairs slip slops
- 1 helmet
- 1 pair cycling shoes
- Arm warmers
- 2 x socks
- 1 x Buff
- 1 x casquette
- Toothbrush and small toothpaste
- 1 pair shorts
- Swimming briefs
- Cycling gloves
- 3 x sachets Open Fuel Ultra Fuel
