Rivalta - Riva - The Grand Tour - 2023

June 4, 2023

Rivalta - Riva

It rained heavily last night while we were at dinner and again during the night and the weather app predicts more for the day. It's not raining when we are ready to leave, but we have our rain gear handy and our fingers crossed. In the course of our ride we get a few sprinkles but not enough to bother about our rain jackets. A sunny day would have been better for pictures, though.

We continue on the excellent Adige Bike Path with great views if you look up. The highway is almost always close by and there is industry. Everything has to fit in the confines of the valley and it is admirable that the bike path makes its way around these obstacles and is consistently good.

After about 28 km we leave the Adige, climb a ridge and drop down on a steep path to Torbole and Riva on the northern tip of Lake Garda. We are now seeing a lot of touring cyclists, mostly on e-bikes like us and I imagine mostly middle aged Germans. They have that look.

We gasp when we get our first view of the lake spread out below us. It's beautiful. My pictures are very unsatisfactory. Not only is the light bad but I made a mistake with the settings on my camera. I'm posting them anyway.

Spring vacation in Bavarian schools always means a massive German migration to either Lake Garda or the Adriatic coast. In Riva Germans dominate the tourist scene, we only occasionally here Italian spoken in the streets. We have about five kilometers to our B&B along the shore and the path is teeming with cyclists and walkers. I am wondering why I didn't book in Torbole where the path first reaches the lake. But when we get to Riva I am happy that we are here. The historic center of Riva is where you want to be with its old buildings and views to the lake.

Checking in to our B&B we for the first time are asked to carry our bikes down a flight of stairs for safe parking. Down isn't easy with these heavy beasts but up will be worse. Janos balks, says we must go elsewhere, this won't do. Considering it's a holiday weekend and prices in general in Riva, I think this isn't such a wise idea. Our host is patient and with a bit of persuading and the generous helping hand of our host, Janos accepts the situation. He also helps carry our bags up to the 3rd (in the U.S 4th) floor.

By the time we take a stroll before dinner, the skies have brightened and we have a mild evening for sitting outside for an excellent meal. As opposed to Peschiera a few days ago, the streets of Riva have room for the crowds milling about. We see many families with children, lots of young people having fun on their mountain bikes that have probably never seen a mountain, and numerous outdoor restaurants that serve meals before seven. They have adjusted to the preferred eating hours of the majority of their customers.

It's been another good day on our bikes.

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 1,162 km (722 miles)

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Scott AndersonBeautiful! If we hadn’t had such a fine day ourselves I’d have been sorry we didn’t stick with the plan and meet you there.
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11 months ago

Rachael AndersonWhat a great place!
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10 months ago