We woke up to a beautiful day, looking out our front windows.

We had over 100 km to ride today and including navigating busy Brescia to get to our destination of Roina, on the shores of Lake Garda.

This was to be my third visit to Lake Garda, but this trip we will be exploring more of this famous lake loved by many.

As we headed out we rode through Lovere, where Hannah, Roey and Willow were staying, but would be leaving for Lake Maggiore. I was thinking what a shame they were staying up a hill that had cobbles ha ha….rounded the corner and heard a shout!

There they were seated roadside at a cafe, deliberately positioned. So I got to hugs my girls again, and Roey 😊❣️

We did not stop for as many lake photos today, having taken plenty the day before but there were a few.

At the town of Iseo we were to turn away from the lake. One last view of the lake that has been my favourite so far this trip.

The next stage of our ride today was nicer than I had envisaged, riding through the famous franciacorta wine region. The traffic was not so bad and it was scenic with surrounding vineyards and wineries.

We had stopped to take a few photos and an Italian cyclist came to a screeching halt to talk to me. He wanted to know where we were heading, our route and implored us to change route to head through his home village.

He spoke little English, and I spoke little Italian. I had no idea how I was going to extricate myself from his passionate ideas to change route. I was unaware Tony snapped a few photos., cackling to himself.

So Elia (the Italian) told us to ride to Gussago (we were going through there on our route) but to then change direction and head through his home town (has one street only) and I needed to remember the name Nave. We had to go to Nave. From there we would climb 500 metres and later have a big descent. We were not to go to Brescia. Well that is my understanding.

I still could not get Elia to draw breathe so I suggested a photo (unaware Tony already had some) and he was happy to oblige, calling me a Bella Donna ( hoping he did not mean the deadly plant) as he finally bid us farewell.

We could see him ahead on the road for some distance, and I did say to Tony do not catch him as he will probably lead to his village!

Through some villages including Gussago!

We stuck to our route and traffic got busy as we hit the outskirts of Brescia.

Brescia was a pain in the butt. Why did we not listen to Elia ha ha. We had to get off and push our bikes through a busy street market.

We found a few quieter piazza’s. In this piazza is the Duomo and the old cathedral built circa 12th century.

We were glad to be back on the road. It was quite warm now, around 26c.

I think this is the roundabout of the day promoting a nearby car museum.

Finally Lake Garda was sighted, as we began our descent.

On the shores edge.

Our accomodation was up a 13.5% hill, of course, in the small village of Roina.

The bikes are in the foyer area of a small establishment.

After showering and washing our clothes we walked down the hill to another village Bogliaco in the search for food.

We found a waterfront restaurant opening at 6 pm so we wandered around before eating.

Walking back to our accomodation I was curious about these rocks that jut out from the old rock wall. Many have quite large holes in them like drink holders, many are badly placed at head heights in your were walking too closely to the wall. Any idea of their purpose?

Another day done. Around 104 km.

Thanks for reading 😊❣️

Today I ticked a ride off my must do list.

In 2018 I spent a night at Pisogne, Lake Iseo during the 2018 Giro d’Italia. As we were transferred to accomodation I really liked what I saw, and further research showed that a lap of the lake is around 64 km cycling.

The weather had improved, and no rain was forecast so off we headed in a clockwise direction.

The first two photos are the view from our well positioned accomodation. I could sit and stare out our window all day.

Riding through Lovere and then Pisogne, there was lots of traffic, so a bit of hopping on and off our bikes with red lights and narrow spots.

Pisogne has an interesting piazza- Piazza Mercato. The town goes back to medieval times, and the water edge used to be right up to the tower, so a fair bit of land fill has occurred.

The tower, constructed in the 13tha and 14th centuries, used to be used by the local bishops to punish those who had not paid their taxes. You would be put into a cage that hung from the outside of the tower.

In 1511, eight women were found guilty of witchcraft were contained within, tortured by the Vicar of the Inquisition and later burned alive in the square.

The waterfront included a shared pathway so we hopped onto that as we headed out of Pisogne.

Views along the lake.

The shared pathway was brilliant along this section. One imagines this may have been part of the original road. Cars are travelling through tunnels higher into the rock. The rock wall is enshrined in mesh to minimise rocks falling.

There are multiple shorter tunnels.

The path does take you back onto the main road in villages.

There is an island in the middle of Lake Iseo, Montesola boasting a population close to 2,000. It is the largest inland island in Italy, as well as South and Central Europe.

Isola di Loreto is the name of the little island you can just make the features out from being zoomed in. It is privately owned and no amount of money will persuade the current owner to sell.

George Clooney tried to buy it in 2010 for the girlfriend of the day and failed.

A borrowed photo from an Italian tourism article (Found in Italy) shows what the island looks like closer up. It does look quite fancy.

On we rode.

The town of Iseo is a reasonable size and was quite busy, particularly as our route seemed to dissect the local market that had started selling a range of fresh food and arts and crafts. Back to walking and pushing the bike.

We moved through Iseo, back on the main road and a small climb to skirt around some wetlands and vineyards before riding again near the lake.

There has been a lack of obvious toilets, so we stopped at this cafe to buy a coffee and use their loo. Nice spot.

We were predominantly on the road but a small selection of bike path on the home run. Generally speaking, this side of the island was quieter traffic wise, with less villages and we found it most enjoyable.

This section of the lake is magnificent. There were people walking, riding bikes, taking photos. Magical.

We came across a group,of cyclists spread all over the road, quietly confident no cars were coming? As I had a better look, I recognised the jerseys were that of Italy Bike Tours whom I travelled with in 2018 for the Giro d’Italia and acted as an ambassador back in late 2019/20 until Covid hit. I can highly recommend them for a Giro experience.

I did stop to chat, but none of the team I knew were present but I do know that they are working in this year’s trip. If you are interested, contact me for more info and I will point you in the right direction.

We headed off as there was more good things to imminently happen.

Back at our unit by 12 noon, this is what happened. This little munchkin turned up. Here she is in her travelling chair, with our wonderful view behind her.

My daughter Hannah, partner Rory (Andrew, Roey) and granddaughter Willow rocked up. Planned as our trips intersected. Amazing really as we both planned these trips independently of each other, not knowing where either group were heading or dates.

When we later compared itineraries it was an ‘ooh’ moment, and this afternoon was our ‘ooh’ time.

They had a car, so we all jumped in and went up to Riva di Solto for coffee.

Then to the town of Lovere, where their accomodation was. We then walked back down to the lake.

We looked to eat earlier, given Willow needed to be in bed around 7 pm. We were given a massive menu at one place that took us ages to decide. We went to order and were told the kitchen was closed and they only did snacks not on that menu. The look on our faces….

Looking around the room, other patrons were going through the same menu. Anyhow, we left. Nothing in the town opened until 7 pm, so we found some fare at the local market and ate it by the lake, followed by gelati!

Finishing off a wonderful day 😊❣️

The rain had stopped, it was overcast but no rain!!!

This is Lake Garlate, our backyard overnight.

At the end of the lake we followed a river. It was quite swollen, the gravel path had decent puddles. We thought these were decent but it got worse.

The river had broken its banks and I was shocked to see Tony riding through what was about 100 metres of flooded river, 30 cm deep. I was sure I was going to fall off and be dumped unceremoniously into the water. I should have worn my bathers!

Unfortunately there are no photos as Tony has the camera and he had a few words to say after that section. We ploughed on looking for the first option to get to a sealed road.

We found it up someone’s steep back yard. At the top, the bike wheels were caked in thick, blobby mud, and our bike shoes were totally caked.

We found layby and some wire and started cleaning our shoes so we could cleat in.

As we had deviated from the mapped route, we wound our way through a few villages as we needed to cross the river. We stopped at this little town and grabbed a coffee. We wanted to sit outside as we were grotty looking, but the lady insisted we could not, and made us sit inside with our muddy looking shoes.

The traffic got quite busy as we headed to Bergamo, a larger city with over 120,000 residents, the fourth largest in Lombardy. We were heading to Citta Alta, the historic centre in upper Bergamo.

It is quite a steep climb up to the base of the historic Venetian walls and defence system. There is a narrow cycle lane.

Once in the old city proper, between the steep cobbled narrow alleys, the tourists wandering all over the road, the occasional car trying to sneak through, we pushed our bikes.

This is an ancient laundry.

We sat outside in this piazza, and enjoyed a nice cold fruit smoothie. Tony checked the weather radar and there was a red weather warning in place a few hours earlier than previously, so we needed to get moving as we still had over 40 km to ride.

Leaving the city we descended back towards the modern city area.

The next part of the ride was not enjoyable, but one of necessity. Getting out of urbanisation took maybe 20 km of busy traffic.

Eventually we turned towards Lake Endine and Val Cavallina. This last section was the most enjoyable of the day.

The rain jackets were back on with 20 km to go. The thunder was seriously loud, booming around us, but no signs of lightning. Sitting in a metal structure during a lightening storm is less than ideal.

Fortunately for us, it was all noise and no show for the last 20 km.

Given the local flooding we had witnessed these campers must have been confident the water would not rise. Either that or they had floated off during the night!

Lake Endine is a pretty area. The main arterial road is on the opposite side of the lake, and we quietly went through a few small villages before joining a well formed bike path.

Looking back up Lake Endine

The skies are getting darker, but this is one of my favourite images for the day, played to the deafening symphony of booming thunder.

As we descended to Lake Iseo we stopped at this welcoming statue on a hair pin bend.

Lake Iseo I visited in 2018 during my Giro d’Itali tour, spending a night in Pisogne. It struck me as a beautiful lake and I vowed to come back – here I am!

Whilst we waited to checkin Tony changed the brake pads on my bike, and both bikes we cleaned up.

Something interesting happened as we settled in. It was pouring with rain outside and a lady wandered past indicating she had a question. I opened the door and she asked if I spoke English.

I asked her if she was Australian. Yes she was, so here we are, here is Sherelle from Dubbo in NSW. She is staying in the unit next door. Amazing just how small the world is at times.

I walked in the rain to a little village grocer, purchased items to cook up a fresh dinner in our unit. That was nice. I love the little village stores, looking at the type of product on offer. Not surprisingly, fresh and dry pasta was prevalent.

Another day is done. One of our trip highlights is tomorrow. Stay tuned! 😊❣️

It happened! The meteorologists were right! Damn them!

I lay awake in bed overnight listening to the rain hoping it would stop. It didn’t.

I contacted the Zwift Italy group for their thoughts about a possible ferry from Bellagio to Lecco. Most thought it would be ok, space permitting for the bikes.

So we donned our thermals and wet weather gear and headed off in the rain.

It is about 15 km to Bellagio. The cars were not that frequent until we got closer to Bellagio. There were a couple of short climbs that we welcomed as it helped to warm the large leg muscles up.

The lady at the ferry station told me the ferry would be at 12 noon, take 90 minutes, but could not confirm that the bikes would be accepted until the ferry was there and the captain confirmed.

We were not sitting around for 2 hours in the rain getting colder on a ‘might be ok’ scenario.

Another option was to take a different ferry across the lake then a train to Lecco.

We decided to ride on but take a shorter route than originally planned meaning we would miss out on the Museo del Ghisallo.

The photos below, it is pouring with rain, but you just can’t see that in the photo. At that time, according to the weather reports the rate of rain was in excess of 5 mm per hour.

Leaving the waterfront we saw this old painting of the area.

Steep alleyways. We actually ended up riding above this alley on our climb out of the city.

The closer we got to Lecco the more it rained.

Our chests and arms were dry, but we were wet everywhere else. Tony had to wring the water from his gloves numerous times as he had long fingered gloves on, but I stuck with my open fingered gloves. There is less glove to get satched!

We knew that there were two long tunnels on this route and could tell from strava that it had heavy bike use.

When in the tunnels we lost satellite contact for our bike computers, hence the dead straight lines, but you can see the tunnels either side, Galleria Melgone and Galleria Pale.

Melgone is 2200 metres in length, and two lanes wide. Pare is about 1600 metres long. They are both close together so we had quite the adrenaline rush.

The sound inside the tunnel is huge as it reverberates. So a single car can be deafening, let alone a truck.

I think both are ok for cyclists if sensible. We had our rear red Garmin radar light flashing, plus we had our front lights flashing too. The tunnels are reasonably well lit.

The huge bonus of the tunnels? It did not rain on us for 4 km!

Popping out at the end is the sight of Lecco and surrounding geological formations.

We had arrived in Lecco at 11.30 am, so 30 minutes before the ferry was even leaving Bellagio. What to do in the rain ? Check in was 3 pm.

We found this large undercover area and parked the bikes. No one was sitting in the outdoor restaurant, but I did wander over to see what food I could buy.

I checked our emails and noted a message from Fabio at our accomodation asking what time we planned on checking in. I explained our situation and he responded shortly after stating that we could check in now!

Whoot woo…..but we were glamping! How would that be? We had brought our bathers as there is a beach there to swim from.

We were super cold riding the last 5 km. The puddles were enormous and there was a breeze.

We were delighted to arrive to a warm ‘tent’ complete with bathroom and warm shower. Our clothes are all dry courtesy of the air conditioner.

Huge thanks to Fabio for allowing us in early.

My daughter Hannah face timed us so I got to ‘chat’ with my granddaughter Willow. They are only a few hundred km away at Lake Garda. We get to see them in two days.

The photos below are from the Air BnB listing, obviously taken on a nicer weather day. This is a first for us using a glamping option but we have similar on Elba Island on our last week.

It is better than I expected. The bonus is that they have a bar area with food available, and Fabio’s dad prepared pasta for us and a hot drink for dinner.

Mine was nice, made from a local black pasta with vegetables.

I grabbed this as a treat, opening it to discover I could practice my Italian.

What will tomorrow bring? Seemingly an improvement in the quantity of rain, and we intend to leave here early if that is still the case in the morning. We will find some breakfast in the first 10 km or so, before our first hill climb.