North west side of Lake Garda

DTH

Hi
We are cycling form Innsbruck to Venice and at one point we are going alongside Lake Garda. We are joining the lake at Salo heading north and staying at Tremosine. We then head north to Riva del Garda, then across to Monte Grappa.

There seems to be lots of Tunnels alongside the lake. Some of these seem to be over 1km in length. Are these open to cyclists?

We have a support crew to follow us, and there will be 7 of on bikes.

Cheers

Dave

andymiller

SFAIK they will be open to cyclists [edit: just to clarify - I mean there's no general ban on cyclusts using tunnels, but there are roads where cyclists aren't allowed]. Under italian law you have to wear a high-viz gilet. Personally I would also advise carrying and using both a front and a rear flashing light (I speak from experience - this morning I was in a tunnel and some @rse decided to ignore the 'no overtaking' signs and overtake as I was coming on the opposite lane).

But why are you even considering taking that route if it involves tunnels that long? Fill your lungs with petrol and diesel fumes and no view of the lake - what's the point?

There is well-established cycling route (a variant of the Via Claudia Augusta) that goes down the east side of the lake. I can't rememmber who publishes the route maps (an Austrian or German publisher) but you can buy detailed route maps from campsites and bookshops along the route.

The Via Claudia Augusta is a good route that will take you all the way to Venice. The official route doesn't go to the Lago di Garda but there's a clearly signposted variant..

If you are going to Bassano del Grappa (and on from there to Monte Grappa) then the ciclabile di Valsugana is the route to take - although personally I would turn off and either follow the VCA via Arsié and Feltre (it's a nice route) or go via the Lago di Corbara (there's a signed route - the Anello di Grappa)

Be aware there are some long tunnels in this area that you really don't want to go down - so make use of the cycle routes. The signed cycle routes are the routes that local cyclists use.

Cakegirl

Hi DTH

As Andymiller suggests, the east side would be far preferable. Mr Cakegirl and I have cycled in that area for 5 years. The tunnels on the west side were used by the Giro this year if you saw any coverage, they are not at all pleasant. The last tunnel down into Riva would require a big loop climbing away from the lake first. It is not officially open to cyclists, you are supposed to use an mtb path (big boulders, with a road bike you would have to walk some 4k+). We have been through the tunnel with a support vehicle following, however it is very dark, 6km, steeply downhill. We were doing 35mph in the dark with a following van blocking traffic and it was pretty terrifying. If someone punctures, or hits something, you could have a very nasty situation on your hands.
On the other hand, if you go up the east side, the views are great, the longest tunnel is probably about 400yds and open/galleried on one side; and there are plenty of nice cafes to stop at, plus spectacular views over to the other side of the lake. As I expect you know, the lakeside is always busy, if you can avoid weekends it would be better, but no problems with the drivers and a constant stream of bikies.
Hope you have a great time.

cycladelic

It's now 6 years since I rode up that side of the lake, but the road won't have changed.

Yes, the tunnels are scary. The worst thing is coping with the tour buses that zip along; the road is quite narrow, so there's little room for error.

Certainly take lights and wear whatever reflective stuff you have.

The views are really wonderful, though - so you do have something to look forward to.

Here are some snaps from my lakeside ride...
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page ... 43186&v=E2

dilemna

You will be carrrying lights anyway? So use them and a reflective gilet which takes up next to no space and which you may well wear when cycling at home in the UK anyway.

I would try and avoid the tunnels as although some are open so you can see the lake and more importantly breath some clean air, some are not so suffocation by diesel and carbon monoxide poisoning is a real possibility so riding through them would not be high on my list of priorities when cycle touring. Also the road surface inside can be VERY bad - lots of big potholes and mini rivers and rocks where the road has suffered greatly. I would take a very bright front light such as Exposure Max D, an Airzound and several very bright rear RSP Astrium 1/2W LED lights if you find you are sucked into riding these tunnels. The East side of Garda is safer but the cycling is more boring although less chance of dying.

andymiller

Have a look here, for possible alternatives:

http://www.piste-ciclabili.com/regione-veneto

The site is in Italian but there is the option of a Google translation -and the maps ofcourse don't need translations.

Another option for getting to Bassano del Grappa would be to climb up to the altipiano di Asiago, cross it, and then go down the other side and pick up the ciclabile from there.

DTH

Guys

thanks for all the advise. We are now going to stay on the east coast of the lake for a night.

Anyone stayed on the north east side, we are expecting to pay about 60-70 euros a night for half board.

Cheers

andymiller

Dave - to answer your question about the hi-viz: the law also requires cyclists, outside urban areas, to wear hi-viz at night or in poor visibility. The Italian law is pretty similar to the french law but with the bit about the tunnels thrown in.

How actively it's enforced - I don't know. I suspect very few cyclists would be on the open road by choice after dark. Personally I have put on high-viz when I've been riding early in the morning and it's been a bit misty. I figured that with drivers rushing to get to work/nor fully awake/not expecting to see encounter cyclists then i should give myself every chance of being noticed. Riding in a group is obviously a bit different. i've also used it when it's been raining heavily.

On the subject of riding in a group, on the routes popular with club cyclists you'll often find groups of cyclists on Saturday or Sunday mornings - and possibly summer evenings, so motorists will be used to seeing them around. However, in the weekday rush hour it's a bit different, and I would advise being cautious - I've seen people taking some really silly risks overtaking on twisting narrow roads, presumably because they don't want to be late for work.

As for accomodation, I find booking.com useful but for Lake Garda you might want to go to visitgarda.it and use their booking service/portal.