Day 9 - Bolzano to Trento - Wobbling Over the Alps - Tandem Tour - September 2022 - CycleBlaze

September 12, 2022

Day 9 - Bolzano to Trento

Back to the car to finish

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Our last day of riding!   A little sad, actually.

The hotel breakfast at the Stadt Hotel Città was amazing.  We’ve had a ton of great breakfast buffets on this trip but this one might have been the best yet.  We detected a lot of American English in the breakfast room, which was new for us on this trip.

We checked out and the same helpful young man took Rich down to the basement to retrieve the tandem.  It’s so much easier carrying it upstairs with help!

As we were setting up the bike outside the hotel, we realized that the Americans we had seen at breakfast were part of several large groups of bicycle tourists who were headed the same direction as us.  This section of then Adige river bike path must be the most popular of them all.

We rolled out of Bolzano on beautifully maintained bike paths that wound along the riverside park.  Lots of bike commuters coming the other way.  This is how bike paths should be done!

Build it and they will come
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Once out of town, we turned downriver and basically followed a pristine bike path through stunning scenery for 60 kilometers.  It was so easy!   And fun!

Along the Adige in the morning sun
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The bike posing on a bridge
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Just perfect
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Scenery along the way
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Lots of others out enjoying this amazing place
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Scott AndersonThis really is an amazing bike path. I hope we get to ride it again ourselves someday.
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2 years ago

Right at the 40k mark, we came to the “bicigrill”, right along the bike path.  We stopped and split a sandwich and had a great conversation with some other American bike tourists.  They were on rental e-bikes and were riding from the Brenner Pass to Lake Garda.

The bicigrill
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Lots of customers!
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The food was really good, too!

Refreshed, we continued along down the valley.  The changing terrain and valley walls kept us engaged, and the perfect bike path meant that we  didn’t have to worry about anything except keeping the pedals spinning.

I’ve run out of superlatives
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River crossing on a dedicated bike bridge
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Gradually, then suddenly, we were back in the city.  And there was the AutoSilo where we had left the car!  It seemed too soon, but within a couple of minutes we were putting the bike into the car.

Back to the car
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Bike trips always seem to end so abruptly.  One minute you’re rolling along with the usual bike touring thoughts, and the next you’re driving away in the car.  It’s very weird to us every time it happens.

We didn’t stay in Trento for the night.  Rich had reserved a hotel in Riva del Garda, so we drove the hour or so over to Lake Garda.  It was amazingly busy for a Monday afternoon in September!  Bikes and pedestrians were everywhere.  

We navigated the scrum to find our hotel, the Villa Miravalle.  After cleaning up, we went out for a walk down to the lake and had dinner.

Descending toward Lake Garda
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In Riva del Garda
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In Riva del Garda
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Riva del Garda
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After dinner, we celebrated the end of another amazing bike tour with some exceptional gelatos.

Celebration time!
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ann and steve maher-wearyIsn’t it the best cycle route! Well done! Thanks for sharing your excitement of this lovely route, even with your bike issues, you had a fabulous trip!
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2 years ago

I’ll add some closing comments once we’re back home.  But the riding part of this journal is complete.  We’re so grateful for all the beauty we’ve ridden through, the amazing people we’ve met, and our incredible good fortune in keeping the tandem running. 

We are very lucky people.  Thanks for reading!

Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 428 km (266 miles)

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Susan CarpenterGreat trip! Way to power up the Nauders climb. I enjoyed seeing the Bolzano-Trento section of VIA I missed last fall, what a great stretch.
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2 years ago
Rachael AndersonI’m sorry to see your trip end but look forward to the next one.
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2 years ago