Yesterday, we packed up and left the campsite in Arco. John and I found it stressful avoiding small children while emptying our waste tank and toilet, and filling up with fresh water, mainly because all of these facilities were in different places on the campsite and required a lot of manoeuvring. Then we took a wrong turn on the way to Lidl. Thankfully, all went smoothly after that and we soon parked up in an aire in Riva del Garda, next to Dan and Jackie.
Finally, we set off on our bike ride along the Ponale Road (built in 1848) then uphill to Lago di Ledro. The Ponale Road is of historical importance because of its position at the border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire (to which the Garda Trentino area belonged at that time) and the Kingdom of Italy. It’s now a cycling and walking path with tunnels and galleries, and wonderful views over Lake Garda.
The sun was shining and the beautiful waterfront at Riva was busy. We had to wind around pedestrians and other cyclists until we reached the Ponale Road. This turned out to be a rough dirt road leading uphill. It was very rocky and my gravel bike, Ruby, bounced around, so I was scared of hitting something and falling off. Dan and Jackie were fine on their mountain bikes, and John wasn’t bothered by the roughness of the trail. However, I had a meltdown, worried that the whole 30-kilometre bike ride would be like this. The others left us to our ‘discussions’. I wanted to go back, but John wouldn’t go on without me. Therefore, when I calmed down, I compromised by saying I’d go as far as the bar and waterfall at Ponale.
I put my big girl knickers on, gritted my teeth and put Ruby’s motor on to red to help me have plenty of momentum to cycle over the rocks and up the hill. After what seemed ages to me, gripping the handlebars, we arrived at Ponale… phew. I noticed the next section was tarmac road so I agreed to carry on further, more steeply uphill around some hairpin bends.
After a while, we had to turn back onto the gravel trail but the terrain didn’t seem as bad, with just occasional sections of rough rocks…maybe I was getting used to it. The trail was steep, but I think I coped well with that, digging deep and breathing heavily as I peddled hard. I only had to walk once, which I was pleased about and, finally, we reached pretty Lago di Ledro, nestled between the hills. Hurray!
John rang Dan to see where they were and somehow we’d passed them. It seems we’d taken a short cut! He and Jackie soon arrived though, and we had a well-deserved beer.
The afternoon went much better for me. We had our packed lunches by the lake then cooled off with a dip in the blue-green water of the lake. I’d been worried about the journey back down to Riva, but John took me and Jackie down the road, while Dan took the gravel track. We just coasted all the way downhill to the bar in Ponale, hands on the brakes to avoid getting carried away! Easy!
After a drink in the bar, I suggested Dan and Jackie went ahead so I could take my time on the difficult section of rough trail. Also, I hadn’t taken any photos on the way up so I wanted to get a few on the way down. I was clinging on to my bike and tense all over, but there were no mishaps and we all arrived back at our campervans in one piece. Phew! What a day!
PS I’ve since read that mountain bikes are recommended for this bike ride, and most people were riding them. I feel pleased with myself for managing it with with Ruby’s thin little tyres ☺️
Ramblings 
Looks like it was worth persevering!
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It was indeed ☺️
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