Lake Garda - recommend good climbs & cycle hire?

DonVincenzo · 10-03-2012 06:32PM #1

Hi Folks
I'm gona be heading to Lake Garda at the end of April for week or so with the missus, before bambino No.1 arrives on the scene in a few months.

I'll defo be taking the opportunity to get some decent spins in while I'm over there.

For anyone who has been there before - I'd really appreciate a steer on:

If anyone has come across a good bike hire place - preferably where I can rent a cool italian lump of carbon, with shiny components!
Any ideas on climbs nearby (are the Dolomites closeby OR any famous climbs?)
What town would be good to base ourselves in? (i.e. good place for my wife to hang while I'm out on the bike)

All I've done so far is book flights in & out of Verona & we've got 10 days.

Thanks in advance
DonVin

lennymc · 10-03-2012 09:28PM

not sure about your specific questions, but there is a town called sirmione on lake garda which is a lovely little town. Its kind of like a castle on a wee island in the lake linked by a bridge (iirc). Lovely place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirmione

MarkG1975 · 10-03-2012 10:10PM

I stayed in Limone its 10k from Riva at the north of the lake, there is a mtb festival end april/may in Riva and its a real mtb area, loads of bike rental including good road bikes in Riva, i raced the Rocky mountain marathon here last year it was a great buzz, lovely area.
http://www.bike-magazin.de/festival/riva/?id=1&L=1

ieoinu · 10-03-2012 10:11PM

Malcesine is a must. Town on the lake with nice food, places to stay. Has a cable car to the mountains behind it which are used for skiing in the winter and mountain bike in the summer. One of the best places I've been to on holidays and would go back in a flash. For mountain biking it looks the town with the best set up on the lake. Your mrs will love the small streets and shops. IIRc there's a bike hire place on the way up to the cable car. They also do paragliding from the mountain top down.

DonVincenzo · 11-03-2012 10:59AM

Thanks folks
Sounds like I may have to dust down the mountain biking skills & partake in a bit of that action.

I'm sure many of the mountain bike rental places will have road bikes too?

Cheers
DV

Ardennes1944 · 11-03-2012 02:15PM

heading there start of september, looking forward to sussing out the routes there!

puppetmaster · 11-03-2012 02:38PM

if you want some climbing, have a look at Tremosine, up the west hills over the lake, you can road climb or there are plenty of off road tracks. Would be a good tough cycle. But worth it in the end, fantasic little village (and many on the way) with amazing views over the lake below

I did this little trip, loved it.

http://www.google.ie/maps?saddr=Largo+Dante+Alighieri&daddr=25010+Tremosine+Brescia,+Italy&hl=en&ll=45.706659,10.777588&spn=0.277155,0.617294&sll=45.607013,10.535116&sspn=0.034706,0.077162&geocode=Ff7otwId1o6gAA%3BFSdrugIdBjCkACkjDyK4pxiCRzFwF2cuAngGBA&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=14&t=m&z=11

Herc · 11-03-2012 11:10PM

Fabulous area and some lovely villages / towns around the lake - cycles depend very much where you are basing yourself for your holiday I suppose. My own suggestion would be somewhere around Riva - especially if looking to do some climbing. Main reason would be trip one could be around the lake itself (loop road relatively flat but if you go off the loop then looking at some pretty vertical climbing in parts) and then trip 2,3,4 would be directly north out of Riva to any one of a number of villages - Arco, Dro etc they'll advise you locally but good winding roads up into the hills and fabulous viewing also even away from the lake itself

DonVincenzo · 11-03-2012 11:20PM

Magic - thanks
Can't wait - we are going to stay in Malcesine for around 4 days & head north to Riva after that - should be class!

coastwatch · 12-03-2012 12:18AM

I was there 4 or 5 years ago on a non-cycling holiday,stayed in Torbole a small town on the lake, a few kms from Riva and joined by a bike path! Either would be a good location. Remember browsing around this shop in Torbole. They do rentals and should be able to recommend good routes. As mentioned above, MTBiking is much bigger, so I'd be inclined to do that too, but there are stunning climbs all over the place.

If you want a sneak preview have a look at the cube website for the 2012 range, more photos on the photographers site here.

kennyb3 · 12-03-2012 04:15PM

Stayed in Desenzano (south of the lake) for non cycling holiday 2 years ago. Lovely spot.

Would love to cycle around the lake some day, roads are pretty good too. Reckon it would take (at least) a full day though.

As others have said anything up the north and east is pretty hilly once you leave the main road. Plenty of nice cycling to be done. Around Riva is particularly hill and its a gorgeous little village.

Riva and Sirmione definitely the highlights for me.

I was there in July and there were scores of people out cycling everyday. Desenzano had a bike shop so im sure most of the towns do. Cant see it being an issue.

I thought the west side of the lake was quite drab.

One thing i'd say is to make sure you get a light for the back of the bike as there are plenty of tunnels on the way around the lake, not all are lit so be careful!

dingdong1234567 · 12-03-2012 07:59PM

stayed in Rival del Garda. last September and it was amazing. Done mtbing mostly. There are loads of guided tours, i went with www.gardabikeshop.com/index.php for my day trip to Ledro. Service was good and the prices where the same as any other. The day itself was brilliant. As above says there are cycle paths to Dro, absolutely amazing villages and the people are more friendly than some around Riva del Garda that's for sure.

on_the_nickel · 09-04-2013 09:05PM

Anyone got anything further on the above.

Staying in Peschiera del Garda at the end of May, looking for a place to hire a decent road bike and some climbs within reasonable distance (have 3 kids, can't abandon herself for more than 3 (4 maybe?) hours in the mornings.

Raam · 09-04-2013 09:07PM

Punta Veleno. Let me know how you get on.

Punta%2BVeleno%2B2%25C2%25B0%2Btent%2B005.JPG

Raam · 09-04-2013 09:23PM

For what it's worth, I did a lap of the lake a few years back. Not enjoyable really. Lots of long, dark tunnels which we didn't know about. Scary as fúck with no lights on busy roads. The south end was quite busy. Bound to be loads of nice hills off the north, east and west of the lake. We stayed in the Dolomites and just dropped down for the day when it was chucking it down in the mountains. Started at the north end of the lake and went anti-clockwise. A club mate rented an MTB in Riva del Garda. Says there are loads of trails up that way somewhere. Punta Veleno is off the north east side. I'm glad that I didn't know it was there at the time cos we would have been tempted to have a go.

on_the_nickel · 09-04-2013 09:23PM

Oooh, I'm intrigued. Have you done it?

Raam · 09-04-2013 09:25PM

on_the_nickel wrote: »

Oooh, I'm intrigued. Have you done it?

Nope, didn't know it was there until a year or so later. I would have a go if I was ever in the area again. It was on the Giro del Trentino last year. Not sure if it's on this years route. Race is on again shortly.

on_the_nickel · 09-04-2013 09:31PM

Cross-posting, thanks for the information. Will look to map out a ride to it.

If I can do the climb in an hour.....

Raam · 09-04-2013 09:35PM

Doesn't look like it's in this year's race: http://www.girodeltrentino.com/EN/1/1/Stages.htm

on_the_nickel · 09-04-2013 09:56PM

http://app.strava.com/segments/1253271

Hmm, try as I might, I'm just not sure I can get there and back without causing a row. I really don't want to put the wife out. Jeez, what a shame.

chester3455 · 09-04-2013 09:57PM

Try strava for info on climbs i.e. length,gradient.

brayblue24 · 09-04-2013 11:12PM

When cycling at Lake Garda be aware first hand that, contrary to popular belief, you will receive extraordinary courtesy from motors!

(sits back and waits for opposite experiences)

fazer1 · 10-04-2013 01:12AM

I Staying in Peschiera del Garda last year. This shop www.highroadbike.com was across the road from where we stayed, rental road bikes from what i've seen were entry level. Really nice shop though! We rented a few tourer bikes for a day and cycled to Sirmione. I didn't tell the wife how far it was, she wasn't to pleased about the cycle back! As some of the other posters have said the better climbing roads are north of the lake.

brayblue24 · 10-04-2013 09:29AM

OP if you're staying in Peschiera Del Garda and interested in getting a bit of gear when I last stayed there (in 2010) there was a guy in the market had any amount of it. Market day was Monday then so presume still the same.

Mefistofelino · 10-04-2013 10:32AM

+1 for Raam's comment about lapping the lake - seems like a great idea looking at a map but the reality can be horrible. Sunday mornings tend to be worst as the local lads bring out their big motos and hoon around the place - not unusual to have fatalities, particularly in the tunnels. The road from Rovereto through Mori to Riva isn't pleasant at rush-hour either

There are some nice climbs North of Riva itself - there is a little hairpinned climb running east from Arco over to Santa Barbara, which the Giro went over a few years back. Others are up around Lago Di Ledro, Lago Di Tenno - typically 2-3 hour spins rather than full days out.

If you're interested in bigger climbs, head East towards Folgaria - not too far but a bit more "verticality"

As well as the Carpentari shop mentioned previously, Francesco Moser used to have two shops in the area - one in Torbole, the other in Arco - don't know if they are still open

GlennaMaddy · 10-04-2013 02:10PM

I'll be at the south end with the family in May for a week, I'll try get out on at least one day and have found this segment on Strava.
http://app.strava.com/segments/1211140

If I can find an Italian lump of carbon to hire

on_the_nickel · 10-04-2013 03:00PM

GlennaMaddy wrote: »

I'll be at the south end with the family in May for a week, I'll try get out on at least one day and have found this segment on Strava.
http://app.strava.com/segments/1211140

If I can find an Italian lump of carbon to hire

Ah ditto, that looks like it would fit within my range limit. When you going? I'm there from 30 May for a week.

Got an Italian clubmate generously looking around for the best rental option.

GlennaMaddy · 10-04-2013 03:33PM

on_the_nickel wrote: »

Ah ditto, that looks like it would fit within my range limit. When you going? I'm there from 30 May for a week.

Got an Italian clubmate generously looking around for the best rental option.

15th - 22nd, I'll warm up the bike for you

on_the_nickel · 07-05-2013 08:59PM

@Glennamaddy, you found anything? I emailed http://www.highroadbike.com with no reply.....

GlennaMaddy · 09-05-2013 02:24PM

I found this crowd up the road in Sirimone
http://www.ilciclistadisirmione.com/Bike-Rent---Fahrradverleih.html

I haven't made contact yet.

Peterx · 09-05-2013 02:45PM

http://www.biking.ie/italy

Irish Company, they may have info for ye.

Lake Garda - recommend good climbs & cycle hire?

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