Garda Sarca Ring

I spontaneously decided to do another round and didn't regret it. It was about 42 km of steady uphill. Sometimes there was a 20% gradient and sometimes it was almost flat. The tour goes through the Sarca valley, surrounded by rocks. It was nice that we rode on quiet roads and the Euro cycle path up to the Ballino Pass. There were plenty of opportunities to replenish our fluid levels. The last few kilometers were fun. From the Ballino Pass onwards it was all downhill with lots of curves. A great round.

We've done the tour the other way around before, it was more fun, at the top of the Passo Balino we met a former top Italian cyclist Claudio Chiappucci (stage winner Tdf+Giro, winner Milan San Remo etc.) and of course took a few photos together.

Today we drove north to Lake Garda to recall a few Marc revival spots! Marc knew so much to tell about every corner and mountain that it was at the expense of the cut! 😂 But the descent at the end was the bomb! More compensation for the way up the pass is not possible.... in simple words: A very cool tour!

Cycling through the Sarca Gorge – Elevation gains, humor, and heroic bridge constructions! The hardest part of an excursion? Not the elevation gain or the headwind, no! It's the moment when you sit down and try to write a "witty" text. Added to that is the epic task of finding the few out of 73 sweaty, blurry, and sunscreen-drenched pictures that neither cut off half of the bike nor turn your face into a strange expression somewhere between "I'm enjoying the view" and "I'm about to die." But I'm doing my best. Really! Today was another bike ride – after all, my bike has seen more dust than asphalt lately. So: where to? Back to the riverside road, which is more suited to adrenaline junkies with a death wish? Or would you rather follow the Sarca River north again – only to have your hair ruined head-on by the "Ora," the local hairdryer with a personality disorder? 🤣😜 The solution came just in time: Sarca Gorge! It sounds a bit like a bad pun – but it's a real insider tip with a view. While it has steep double-digit inclines that briefly make you mistake cycling for a leg press, you'll be rewarded with magnificent panoramas and climbers seemingly effortlessly climbing vertical walls while you try to open your water bottle without falling off your bike. Since I wasn't traveling alone, the delicate art of touring psychology was also on the agenda: consideration, motivation, offering a shortcut – and then, quite "accidentally," quickly over the Passo del Ballino because: "Oh come on, it doesn't look that bad from down here..." 😇 Spoiler alert: The Passo del Ballino is worse than it looks. But it ends. And that's its most beautiful feature. A stop at the confidence-building Ponte Balandin bridge, whose asphalt surface shines with the charm of a disused tank road from the 70s, gave us a moment to ponder. But it held two weeks ago – so it won't plunge into the Sarca today either. After all, hope is also a means of transportation. After the pass, a quick glimpse of the turquoise-blue Lake Tenno, and a rapid descent (with the wind in our faces and a few "whoops" moments in the bends), we finally reached Riva del Garda – windblown, but happy. My companion's conclusion: Very beautiful, worth seeing – and with less gusty winds, the descent would have been even more beautiful. My conclusion: If you don't consider altitude a personal affront, this tour is perfect for you. And if you don't believe it – just come along next time. But bring nerves for bridges, legs for climbs, and a sense of humor for the follow-up. Because, as I said, writing afterward is almost more exhausting than the pass.

.. that was a very nice racing bike tour from Riva del Garda today ~ worked through most of the vertical meters on the first 18 km 😅 mostly in the shade and when there was none, we had a cool breeze that was blowing slightly 😎

"Preheat the oven to 230 degrees" - when you do that and open the oven to put the pizza in, the draft feels a bit like the headwind at the end of the tour 😀 The Lago has - still - water, even if everything is very dry here and the Sarca is more like a wide stream than a river. The Lago di Tenno has about 1-2m less water than usual and the small island can be reached without wet feet. No laundry was washed at the village fountain in Ballino today, instead every cyclist - whether racing, E, or MTB - put their heads down and filled all their bottles. In Ponte Arche near the bridge of the same name, gelati for cooling off and refreshment. Why does everything taste better here than here? 😀 After the impressive old road (now a cycle path) to Sarche, then past the mighty wall of the Che Guevara via ferrata - today is definitely a perfect day for it (...) - not 🤪😅

We started in Torbole and cycled about 4km to Riva on flat roads and/or bike paths. Here begins the 10km climb along the SP37 towards Pranzo up to Lago di Tenno. Very easy to ride. Once at the top, a view of the lake is definitely worth it. The water's gorgeous color. From here, it's another 4km of gentle ascent, then the highest point of the tour is reached. After that, only small hills follow. The ride continues towards Fiavé, Vigo Lomaso, and Ponte Arche towards Sarche. Great route with an impressive gorge. From there, we follow the Sarca River via Dro and Arco back to Torbole. Shortly before Dro (about 4km), there's a cool biker rest stop right on the bike path with excellent food 👍

Super nice tour, easy to ride as it is mostly on cycle paths and far away from traffic, the long descent to Riva is great and you have a fantastic view of Lake Garda. In Riva you have to ride along the lake at walking pace because there are quite a lot of pedestrians. Unfortunately, komot took me to the original start even though I had entered something different 🤷‍♀️, the 5 km have to be deducted from the route 🙃