Amico Stefano and me want to do an easy riding through the italian alps on our going-anywhere singlespeed horses made of steel, in the best case on a mostly flat route, always in the sun, stopping at every bar and trattoria …
Train brings us to Bolzano and we roll to Arco at Lago di Garda. The first little climb teaches us the difference between luggage loaded bikes in the mountains and one-day trips in rolling hills at home.
Next day brings us from Arco to Ponte di Legno, we have to master the first baby, the Passo di Ballino and then going up from the next valley to Madonna di Campiglio. Because we haven’t read the map carefully we have overlooked that there is another pass before Ponte di Legno, the Passo Tonale. This long and high pass gives us the second lesson about reading maps. It rains. We certified idiots need some breaks for Bourbon to go up. We have also overlooked another thing. Unintentionally we are following the route of the Giro d’Italia always a day later: the tarmac is brand new, there are a lot of TV-cars and a lot of empty gel-shots at the roadside. For hours we are the only cyclists on the road, but some car-drivers and all elderly people in the villages cheer us. Italy is a cycling nation.
