A TALE OF THREE TOURS
A trip to Northern Italy gave Pete Walden an idea for a tour of the Italian Alps. That was in 2014, and he’s now just back from his third tour of the region. What keeps him going back?
WORDS AND PICTURES BY PETE WALDEN
A tale of three tours
In May of 2014 my wife, Suzie, and I spent some time in Verona before setting off by train to Brescia and changing trains for the little line up the east side of Lake Iseo to Pisogne on the northern tip of this lake. During the next three days, we spent a day criss-crossing the Lake for seven euros each on a day rover, visiting most of the idyllic villages, and travelled by train up Val Camonica to the terminus at Edolo, within striking distance of some of the major passes in the Italian Alps. Our hotel in Pisogne had a battered old mountain bike for hire, and in spite of a slow front wheel puncture, I was able to crawl up the amazing switchbacks above the village, with ever more startling views of Lake Iseo, the unsung gem of Italy’s great lakes. Back home, on discovering the nearness of Bergamo airport, bike tour planning instantly began, and sifting through the usual options, I decided not to hire a car, but to travel ultra light, and prebook an 11-day tour, staying two nights at only two places. This formed tour number one. In 2016, tour number two differed in being clockwise and going further north-east nearing the Italian/Austrian border at Vipiteno, returning via the northern tip of Lake Garda. Tour number three, just completed, went directly to Bormio, where I stayed for five nights, giving more opportunities for
36
ArrivéeWinter/Spring2018
riding an unladen bike, and returned for two nights in Pisogne. This whole region has become, for me, one of which I don’t seem to tire, with endless nooks and crannies of discovery. The common factors of all three tours are: tough, but manageable long climbs – for example the passes of the Stelvio, Bernina, Croce Domine, Maniva, etc – and the consistently warm welcome by the Italians. “Complimenti!” is the usual reaction when you explain which passes you’ve crossed to arrive at the guest house, instead of the incomprehension which often surfaces in our own country. Maybe
my carbon Dedaccai frame built in Milan, or the pair of Pete Matthews’ Piani wheels, are also helpful. Also “Puo mettere la tua bicicletta in camera”, (you can put your bike in the bedroom) was not uncommon. The contrast of sunny lakeside roads and freezing descents presented a terrific variety of views, and the changes of weather made a selection of what to take in a small saddlebag, the Carradice Super C, crucial. Logistics abruptly failed at the beginning of tour number one, when I had planned to assemble the bike from its flight bag on the airport concourse, leaving the bag in left luggage until my return. Late July found the small Bergamo Seria Airport mobbed, so plan B was to do all this outside. However, a torrential storm (wettest July in 20 years!) led to plan C, and an expensive taxi ride for me and the bike bag to the unique “Due Sili” Guest House, about seven kilometres away. I rectified this situation on tours two and three by taking the bus into Bergamo
