Trentino - Glorious Ride Down the Etsch - Poking Around Europe 5.0

September 9, 2018

Trentino - Glorious Ride Down the Etsch

Bolzano to Trentino

We had a glorious ride down the Etsch today. It was a bluebird day, topping out at 30 degrees and we loved every minute of it. We spent the night in a sweet little apartment in the center of Bolzano which had a washing machine. What a score that was. The apartment was associated with the Hotel Regina and we were there for breakfast. They also offered to supply us with a take away lunch for a few Euros and since it is Sunday that seemed like a good idea.

The Etsch River. We are going down a river! What a great concept. The CN usually likes to go up.

The bike path was busy today with Sunday riders and many supported bike tours as well as independents like ourselves.

Leaving Bolzano on a Sunday the bike path was busy with every kind of bike you can imagine with families with children, roadies, supported tourers, unsupported tourers and mountain bikers. Just when things were settling down there was a road race and the volunteers were valiantly keeping the cyclists from running over the runners. It was fun to watch.

I do some running and was very sympathetic about the uphill grind here.

We carried on until we came to a lovely trail side stop which was full of cyclists. We met a couple from the Netherlands who are out for a month and had a great visit with them. We leap frogged each other all day.

It is beautiful view after beautiful view.

Next up was Newmarkt, which was recommended to us by the friend we met in our hotel in Bolzano. It made a perfect stop for cappuccinos and strudel. With whipped cream and ice cream of course. Imagine our surprise and absolute pleasure when he and his group rolled in to the same spot. We hope we meet again even though we are now branching off in different directions.

Then we just spun for many happy km. The pictures can only give an idea. They never do justice to the real thing. It was such an amazing day.

Lunch was at a shady bench trailside. Keith and I both tried to end the tour ignominiously by tripping on a bike rack where we stopped, first me, then him. I managed to catch myself with minimum drama, just a scare, but he got one ankle caught in the bike rack and for a moment we both thought that could be it. Fortunately he was able to grab a tree and save himself. It isn’t like we didn’t know the bike rack was there! We were having such a good conversation with Bernd and Carmen from Nuremberg, Germany that it blended right into the asphalt I guess.

An ankle catching hazard. How could we both miss that?

Bernd, Marion and myself in the sunshine.

What a ride it was today. After our lunch we just enjoyed the experience and the ride. It felt so good. No navigation necessary, no cars allowed and glorious sunshine. It just doesn’t get any better. All too soon we were in Trento.

Our hotel lobby. The Grand Hotel, with a grand lobby and lovely room.

Our hotel is absolutely full of bike tourers, all that we could see, on supported tours. Companies that we have heard of like Eurobike, and many we haven’t. We counted over sixty bikes in the garage and the tours were still rolling in. Build the bike path and they will come. I wish we could figure that out at home. It is a huge part of the tourist industry here.

We hope we can find our bikes in the morning hehe.

One of the sag wagons with more bikes headed for the garage in the background.

We went for a walk in the old town and had a great dinner outside in the pedestrian zone. Then, walking back to the hotel we discovered an open air concert directly across the street in the piazza. We sat and enjoyed it for awhile, great music, and are now in the room with the balcony door open enjoying it. We don’t imagine it will go on too late, and it is a pleasure to listen to. The musicians are very talented.

Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 717 km (445 miles)

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Kathleen JonesHow wonderful for you - that was definitely a day for the record book. The photos are gorgeous enough I can't think how much better it could be in real life. The way you wrote this I felt your joy and it lifted me up today. And I was in a good mood already.
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesRain has come to Vancouver Island, at least for the next week. Also we made our first fire in the wood stove. You sure chose the right place to be in!
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5 years ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Kathleen JonesThanks Kathleen. Today was a completely different kind of a day...climbing and climbing and not getting very far hehe. I think I will title the day ‘Don’t confuse a short day with an easy one’. We are in the most amazing bike hotel with a pool and happy as clams though. Clams with very tired legs, if clams had legs hehe.
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5 years ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Steve Miller/GrampiesWe are not sure how long this weather will last but Keith is napping by the pool as I write this after we both had an incredibly refreshing swim 😎. I have told him he can go exploring the Dolomites by himself and just pick me up here when he is done...but I don’t mean it!
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Kathleen ClassenOh good. When we were down that way we chickened out of the Dolomites and took a train toward Venice. So we need you to explore and show us what is there.
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5 years ago