Tremalzo is the premeir trail in nothern Italy, the American equivelent of Porcupine Rim trail in Moab, Utah. It's a spectacular trail, both for the quality of the trail but also for the wonderful vistas.
Tremalzo Trail, with Lago di Garda in the foreground and Lago di Ledro in the distance
Starting from Riva del Garda, on the north western end of Lago di Garda, the trail ascends for a 10km, initially riding along a old gravel roadway above Lago di Garda. This portion of the route provides wonderful views of the lake, allowing you to watch the windsurfers below. The route weaves through the old tunnels, apparently a part of the original roadway along the lake.
Beautiful vistas of Lago di Garda help keep your mind off the 17km/1200m climb that you've just begun!
The ascent turns away from the lake, heading up a steep valley toward Lago di Ledro. As you continue to climb toward Lago di Ledro, you will be riding along both trail and at times paved roads. It's best to equip your mountain bike with a rear safety light, increasing your visibility to the Itallian and German drivers touring around the small, curvy roads. The drivers are very courteous, and mindful of bikes on the road. The trail toward Lago di Ledro runs through a number of small villages, providing the rider with an opportunity to see parts of quaint parts of Italy rarely seen by car. Molina de Ledro is a small village on Lago di Ledro, and provides an opportunity to rest, refill water, and get a bit of gellato prior to continuing the climb.
Small village along the way from Lago di Garda toward Lago di Ledro
Continuing south along Lago di Ledro, the route turns uphill, and the climbing really gets difficult. Another 7km of climbing await, with the trail reaching over 1250m in altitude. The climb works its way up a number of switchbacks, none of which are terribly technical. The difficulty in the ascent is in the effort to climb, not in any particular obstacle along the way. Concouring the summit means you've just climbed 1200m in under 17km! The reward is worth it, both the immediate view of Lago di Garda below, as well as the upcoming descent.
The summit is a great place for a lunch break, as there are a number of picnic spots along the summit trail. Obviously, this is also a great time for photos!
Lago di Garda from atop Tremalzo; 10km descent awaits!
The descent begins! What you've been waiting and working for all day: 10km of technical descent! Beautiful views may distract you on the way down, so it's best to stop along the way and snap a couple photos. That and so much effort goes into getting to the top, it's best to enjoy the view!
As the trail approaches Pregasina, a small village perched high above Lago di Garda, the trail becomes paved road. While passing through Pregasina, feel free to enjoy a cafe' at the small restarant, Kaffee Pregasina. Another 6km of descent await, about half of it down paved roads, the remaining 3-4km desending the gravel path that were ascended at the beginning of the loop. The descent along the lake is particularly fun, as the view is terrific, and the jumps and other fun obstacles on the gravel route provide some entertainment, too.
The old route, now little more than a gravel road. Note the tunnel and the jump ahead!
Back in Riva del Garda, time for some Italian Pizza and German beer; the best part of the Alps is the mixing of cultures, and the ability to have the best of everything Europe has to offer, including trails!
Tremalzo is a "must ride" trail!
Feel free to download the KML or GPX file of the Tremalzo trail.
Italian Pizza and German Beer: northern Italy features the best of Europe!
I’m living the dream. As a lover of mountain bikes, pizza, and great wine, I couldn’t have it any better. Two thousand nine found me moving half way around the world to Naples, Italy where I’d be working the next three years. I was excited to live in Europe, and as a cyclist, interested to find out about biking opportunities in Italy.
il gruppo di Carbonari
Before moving to Italy, I discovered some interesting videos created by a Neapolitan bike group while searching the internet. These videos were created by the Carbonari, a mountain bike club based out of Naples, Italy. Their videos featured Urban Assault on full suspension mountain bikes through the mean streets of Naples. They also had numerous videos of them riding in the mountains in/around Naples, including Mt.Vesuvius! Needless to say, I was excited to ride in Italy.
Without much difficulty, I found the group’s website, and sent an email asking to become a member. Marcello and Salvatore, the group’s founders and organizers readily accepted me. I looked forward to meeting them, and as I began the long process of moving to Europe, I continued to follow the group’s rides through the photos, maps, and videos they posted.
Upon arriving in Italy it took me a few months to get set up, at home and on the bike. During this time I got to explore southern Italy a bit, enjoy the Italian food and wine, too. I got out mountain biking on my own, locally on the volcanic island of Ischia, and further north in the DolomiteMountains around Lago di Garda, and the Alps near Garmisch, Germany. The Carbonari weren’t riding as a group during the summer, to avoid the heat. By late summer, though, the Carbonari had put together their fall riding schedule.
My first ride with the Carbonari was along the Mediterranean coast in Mondragone.We rode for over 7 hours, climbing up and over the mountain twice that day. While the heat and the mountain took its toll, I was invigorated by the awesome view of the Mediterranean Sea.
The first of many climbs at Mondragone
The trails were mostly jeep trails, with one exception: a strip of singletrack about 4 km long that traced downhill toward the Mediterranean below. Oddly enough, the trail was also being used by a boy on a Vespa scooter, despite the rough conditions of the trail. This single track descent lead to the far side of the mountain range. Once there, we took a short break at a small coffee bar. I grabbed some water, because I thought it was better to be safe than sorry, as I didn’t know if we were in for much more riding. And were we ever!
We climbed Monte Mondragone for the second time. We waited for over a half hour for the group to reassemble at the top, giving me an opportunity to try to get to know some of the folks. I had trail mix with me, a simple mixture of dried fruit and nuts that I put together before the ride. As the group started collecting at the top of the mountain, I soon discovered that the trail mix was very popular, as there were quite a few riders in need of an energy boost.
I was able to gain the respect of my fellow riders, not through my ability to converse, as my Italian was still very basic, but instead through positive attitude and good deeds on a particularly hot, hard mountain bike ride. The organizers, Marcello and Salvatore, seemed to appreciate my positive attitude. The beautiful Mediterranean, visible from the various points of our ride, helped keep a smile on my face.
Once the group reassembled, we were off. We continued along some winding trails, many of which appeared to be high altitude pasture, judging by the clumps of dung lying around. We had to cross a series of barbed wire fences, passing the bikes over the top and walking through the small pedestrian gate. Quite the adventure! There was a great sense of community and team work for the entire route!
The final descent back to the trailhead was a mad dash, with the entire group starting all at once. The crowded, fast descent mimicked the automobile traffic of Naples. Needless to say the downhill was fun and fast, and riding in a massive pack heightened the challenge. What a blast!
My second ride with the Carbonari was at Cassino. The mountainous terrain around Cassino was the site for a tremendous battle in WW2, and provided excellent terrain for a great mountain bike ride. The ride was on a beautiful fall day. It was perfect riding weather--a slight breeze brought the scent of sage and pine to the air.
That ride found us climbing for about three hours up pine tree lined gravel roads. As we climbed we passed a series of technical ‘stunts’ that a couple of the riders successfully negotiated. These stunts included ladders and jumps hidden just off the fire road in among the pine trees. Once we reached the top, we took a short lunch break, and pointed downhill into some of the best singletrack I’ve ever ridden. We descended for over an hour on the fast and technical singletrack, twisting our way down the mountain. We eventually started seeing more civilization, riding through small Italian villages--a sign that the ride was coming to an end.
The third ride with the Carbonari was in Formia, just up the coast from Naples. Our course took us through Formia and Gaeta, in the area known as Parco di Ulissi, or the Park of Ulysses. The riding featured singletrack, fire roads, and the paved streets of Gaeta. At the trailhead we started a short climb, weaving through the some great singletrack in the forest. After taking a short break at the top of the hill for the customary group photo, we started downhill toward the Mediterranean coast. Half way into the descent the trail emerged from the shady forest into the expansive green hillside with an amazing view of the sea. My eyes were filled with the expanse of blue in every direction--and all this while riding some great singletrack! Awesome!
Our next stop was at an old Roman port located in the park. The piers and steps are still intact, and we took some photos of the ruins. It was interesting to see that the local Italians that I was riding with were as impressed as I was with the Roman antiquities. After the port, we continued riding through the park on the various single and double tracks that were scattered about. We eventually reached a sheer cliff along the sea, where we stopped at an old Roman fort for another quick photo break.
The ancient Roman Port at Parco Ulissi
After the break, we continued through the park toward Formia and Gaeta. The pace really picked up on the road. Despite what many think about Italian drivers (they are a bit crazy), they are actually very respectful of cyclists. Needless to say our large group successfully navigated the streets of Formia and Gaeta without mishap. Once we passed through the center of Gaeta, we started climbing Monte Orlando, a large mountain in Gaeta that rests on the end of the peninsula that creates the town harbor. As we climbed the paved route to the top we took a couple of photo breaks, taking full advantage of the terrific view of Gaeta and the Mediterranean Sea from the heights of Monte Orlando. We continued on and took a lunch break on the top, where we all enjoyed whatever picnic we had packed. I noticed some of the riders eating traditional mozzarella di buffala and prosciutto sandwiches, which looked a lot more appealing than my peanut butter and jelly. We took another group photo in front of the large circular Mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus, who I later learned was an advisor to Augustus Ceasar. All sorts of Roman history on this ride!
After lunch and the group photo, we pointed our bikes downhill to enjoy the singletrack that lay just off the paved and gravel road that lead us up to the top. We weaved down a couple technical sections, only to head up the mountain again to enjoy a couple more routes. Monte Orlando has plenty of trails, and we explored almost all of them, with the resulting GPS track looking a bit like my favorite pasta. Eventually we wound down the opposite end of the mountain on a gravel fire road. As we rode the switchback downhill, it was hard not to take in the view below of Gaeta, Castle Angioino-Aragonese, and the Mediterranean. As we continued downhill, the landscape soon changed from forested mountain to the old city landscape of Gaeta, with the gravel fire road turning to cobble stone street. Once at the bottom, we took another break: for gelato, the Italian ice cream. I love riding in Italy!
After the gelato, we hit the road back to Formia and Parco Ulissi, where our cars were parked. An excellent ride, and I left looking forward to all the future rides and good times with the Carbonari.
Italians are some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet, and the Carbonari are no exception. I’ve reflected many times on how quickly the group accepted me, a foreigner, into their club. I suspect that a foreigner would not be so quickly welcomed in any social club in Northern Europe or the US. I’ve learned a lot from living and riding with the Italians, and I believe the Italians are onto something by being so loving and accepting of others. While I’ve experienced many cyclists in the US being judgemental about performance, type of cycling, and type of bicycle, it’s interesting to ride with the Carbonari, a cycling group of differing skills and equipment, and to see them all get along, even on difficult rides. It’s clear that Italians focus on enjoying life, and the Carbonari are about having a good time on their mountain bikes. Not only has the Carbonari shown me quite a bit of Italy, but they have reminded me of the basic joy that cycling brings. And that this joy can be shared, even without a shared language.
Be sure to check out the Carbonari’s website for group information, ride schedule, trail information in both Google Earth and GPS files, as well as photos and videos of their exploits at:www.carbonaribikers.com. Even if just to see how great the riding in Italia really is! Ciao!
Today I got to see my first professional bike race, and it was the 100th Anniversary of the Giro di Italia (Ride of Italy). First impresstions: I was overwhelmed with how fast the racers were riding, and equally impressed with how tight of a formation they could hold in the Peleton. There must have been close to 100 riders in the span of the average city bus. What was interesting about the experience, though, was how underwhelming it was... Remember the scene from Indiana Jones (raiders of the lost arc) where an arab swordsman threatens Indy for at least a minute, with intricate sword swirls and such? And Indy just shoots him... All that lead up for a split second, and undramatic finish. Well, ditto for the race. We get off the highway, near our house, and see a crowd formed up where the Poliza have cordoned off the street that they'll be racing on. As time goes by, a number of Poliza cars race by, ensuring the route is clear, and a few vans selling official 'Giro di Italia' t-shirts cruise by. The crowd continues to grow, with an increasing number of the locals buying shirts and such from the 'Giro' vans driving by. To add to the suspense, the crowd down the way starts cheering, just to see an old italian man riding his beater of a bike down the street. Ha! That 'Gotcha' happens a few times. Finally, team vehicles start cruising by, one of the most impressive being the Mavic (French wheel maker) vehicle: an all yellow sports-stationwagon (they don't have these in the States, unfortunately) with all yellow Cannondale racing bikes featuring all yellow Mavic wheels and all yellow seats/saddles. Looked like a chariot of gold. Then more Poliza cars and motorcycles. Then the lead group of cyclists race by, about 20 or so, with the crowd going nuts. About 3 seconds behind the lead group is the main body of the racers. I look frantically for Lance Armstrong in both groups, however my eyes and brain are not able to sort visual data as quickly as the group of cyclist ride by...as all this occurs in less than, oh, 10 seconds. Everyone then hopped in their cars, as the surrounding areas roads had become a parking lot. The area cleared out very quickly; it would have taken at least a half an hour in the states for the drivers to clear the area, but the Italians were able to get back to 'normal' very quickly. Simply amazing to see. Crazy how underwhelming it was, because of the speed involved, and my small perspective of the race. So many kilometers, and I saw mearly a few hundred meters of it. Overall, the experience was great. I'll be there again next year!
Friday, May 29, 2009
I found a couple Italian bike shops. I've been looking for a good bike shop, as my bikes arrived from the US of A in need of some minor repairs. The last shop I found, your standard fare of bike shop, does a great job on repairs. They trued my wheels and adjusted my brakes for about 15 euros, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Interesting thing about the bike shop, was that it took forever to find it. When I searched Google for the shop, it showed me one location, while the shop's website provided yet another location. Both locations that were provided by the internet were about 4 miles off of target! Crazy... I had to talk to locals and call the shop about 12 times to find it. Kind of frustrating, but they do good work, so I made sure to save the location in my GPS so to never lose them again! ...I thought it was interesting though that the bike shop's actual location was so far removed from where the internet placed them. I wonder if the address coding that works so well in the US for locations, isn't quite perfected here. I wonder if parts of the world should be locating business and homes by latitude and longitude. Probably more accurate where the government hasn't spend the time and money to regrid and rename streets for the benefit of GPS direction finding.
Otherwise, the other shop is very unusual, for an American. It's located closer to where I live, and they not only sell bikes manufactured by your standard European bike companies, but they also manufacture and sell their own line of bikes. The shop is pretty small, and they weld frames in the back area. They weld all their bikes out of steel, with a few of the high end road frames including carbon fiber seat/chain stays. I imagine the carbon components are purchased from a supplier and just glued in place. Overall, it's pretty interesting, as they create not only your typical fast looking Italian road bike, but also a slew of other bikes ranging from kids bikes, city bikes, tricycles and large cargo bikes. Pretty cool. Check out their site:
Yep, it's De Rosa bikes. Not the De Rosa you may have seen in the states, though. That De Rosa is from Milano in the north. This is yet another De Rosa di Pozzuoli. Interesting how the European style of manufacturing lives on (vs. American/Mass production), with local craftsmen building product for their local customer base. You'll notice the decal on the bikes highlight the geographic location of manufacture, unlike most products.
