June 29 - Lago di Garda

This morning we left Corvara and headed towards our new hotel for the next 2 nights which is on the shore of Lago di Garda (Lake Garda) in the city of Riva del Garda.  The lake is the largest in Italy and is over 32 miles long, has an average depth of 446 feet and a maximum depth of 1,135 feet; a little bigger than most Minnesota lakes!  We are staying on the north end of the lake.  Much of the lake is very narrow with mountains on both sides which makes the wind conditions on this end of the lake great for sailing and wind surfing.

This hotel is in a much more urban setting than we have stayed at before on this trip as this is a very popular vacation spot for people in Italy.  Below are a few photos I took shortly after we arrived during a short stroll along the beach.  As you can see in a couple of the photos, there were some black clouds in the area and thunder could be heard not too far in the distance so I kept my stroll short.  The first photo is the front of our hotel.  My room is by the second level balcony right by the "a" of Bella and the "A" of rivA.




Today's ride started with cool temperatures and light rain and then improved all day!  At the top of the first couple passes, the temperatures where in the mid-40s.  By the time we reached out hotel, the temperature had risen to the mid-70s.  It was definitely a day to dress in layers.

After doing 2 passes this morning we switched to what Charlie calls "high valley roads".  The roads followed the valley but half way up the mountain rather than at the bottom in the valley.  These roads proved to have less traffic and provide wonderful twisty riding while also providing great views down into the valley.  As the road is following the edge of the mountains, you usually have a mountain wall on one side and the great valley view to the other.  A great combination.

Speaking of gear for both today and yesterday (due to the rain), I thought I would do a quick run-down of the motorcycle gear I brought on this trip.  Some of this is new since my last trip, other pieces I have had for several years.  Starting at the top:

  • I have a Schuberth C3 Hi-Viz helmet that I have had for several years and I really like it. I feel the Hi-Viz helps to make me more visible to other drivers.  I will take all the help I can get on this front.
  • I have a TourMaster Flex 3-piece jacket.  
    1. The center layer is a mesh jacket with protection at the elbows and back.  I wear only this when the temperatures are warm (75+)
    2. The outer layer is the wind and rain protection.  I have been wearing this most of the time as well.  It can easily be added or removed from the mesh layer with 5 zippers.
    3. The inner layer is a thermal layer which I never use and did not bring along on this trip.  When riding at home, if I need an additional layer for warmth, I put on my heated jacket liner under the first 2 layers.
  • For riding pants, I bought a pair of AeroStich Darien Light pants.  These pants fit over whatever pants I chose to wear.  They work great for commuting over my dress pants and also work well on this trip.  First, they are water proof so I never need to add another layer.  Second, they provide another layer of protection both from abrasion as well as impact with pads for both the knees and the hips.
  • My boots are made by TCX and are the X-Cube WR model which are also waterproof.  These boots have proven to be both comfortable for all day riding as well as any walking I choose to do during the day.
  • I bought a new pair of gloves just before the trip, and I am really liking them as well.  They are made by Held and are called "Air and Dry".  They are actually 2 gloves in 1.  If you put in hand in "Air" section of the glove, it works like a mesh glove with good air flow.  If you put your hand in the "Dry" section of the glove, it goes in a Gortex lining that keeps your hands dry and also provides a little insulation. As I received the gloves shortly before the trip, I didn't know how waterproof they would be.  I am happy to report both the Air and Dry pieces have worked very well.
  • I really like the fact that all the gear by itself is waterproof.  Many of the other riders need to stop and add another waterproof layer to their "standard" riding gear.  All I need to do is remove my glove and put my hand in the "Dry" section and I am ready to ride.  Love it!
Tomorrow will likely be a light (1/2) day of riding giving people a chance to relax and enjoy the surrounding area.

Part 2
I had the blog almost complete before we went to dinner; now I have more to add.

We walked about 20 minutes to the old part of the city if Riva del Garda and had dinner.  After dinner we did some walking around and I took some more photos.  Here are some highlights.

Castle on the hill side

Chapel on the hill - Can you see it?
(Center of the photo about 1/3 from top)

Old Riva del Garda

Old Riva del Garda

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India Geography Lesson Today

Image
Today I will start with a geography lesson for those not very familiar with India to help you understand where I have been traveling.  I flew into Mumbai which is on the west side of India. On the more detailed map below, Mumbai is in the top left corner.  After arriving in Mumbai, the next morning we went to Pune (center of map) which is where the Cummins India Office (CIO) building is located.  That is where we have been meeting/working since we arrived. On Saturday I was at Lavasa which you can see on the map to the left and a little lower than Pune.   Today (Monday) I, Priya (colleague from UK), Pati and Sneha (colleagues from India) went to Phalton (lower right corner of the map) to visit the Cummins Mega Site which is currently made up of 8 separate Cummins factories. We got tours of the 2 plants that build the products that we support.  One of the plants is setting up a new assembly line to support the building of new products in India. ...
Read more

June 24, Day 1 of Tour

Image
I was up before breakfast so I went for a quick walk around our hotel area.  Here are some of the photos.  I don't have any details about the castle. As expected, the ride today was mostly about people getting comfortable with their bikes, the roads, and the traffic.  Everyone seems to be adjusting fine.  We went over Schallenbrerg Pass (3,800 feet - not very high) as our first official pass.  Only me, Charlie (the leader) and Charlie's friend have ridden in the Alps before.  Many were impressed with the last loop we did.  It was fun, but I know it will get much better.  The weather was overcast and cloudy for much of the day as you will see in the photos. The last photo is of the restaurant we had lunch at.  It had this impressive string of bells hanging on it.  I saw similar bells on a few other buildings as well.  Tomorrow we are heading to Austria.  The forecast is looking a little wet ...
Read more

June 25 - Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria - Oh My!

Image
This morning started out wet.  We left the hotel at 9:00AM and everyone had their rain gear on.  It was a light rain so not a major issue but it did slow us down at the start of the day.  We stopped at the bottom of our first pass to determine if everyone wanted to attempt going over the pass; there was a very low cloud base and we didn't know what to expect as we headed up the pass.  Everyone wanted to go ahead so we did.  Below is a photo of statue that was in the town at the base of the pass.  Not sure who it is as I have not yet tried to translate the text that was on the base of the statue.  (Update: Saint Gallus - Patron Saint of Wassen – Thanks Keith!) NOTE: I tried to upload pictures and the internet is really slow so I have to limit number of pictures today. Once we made the top of the pass and started going down the other side, the weather was very different with very few clouds and the rain stopped - yeah!  The second pas...
Read more