Day 4 on the Adige bike path: One giant climb before we end the ride in Verona

Remember the tunnel the train went through as we headed up to Bolzano and beyond? Now we find out how we will will get across that mountain — and it’s not with a bike tunnel.

So a warning: get on the train no later than Dolce if you want to avoid this test of our granny gears.

But my mind is far from that tunnel as we start. It’s an easy ride from the hostel to the Adige bike trail, using yet another bike path.

Verona? Or Lake Garda?

We’re soon biking through vineyards on the way to Verona. Check out the chickens in this one!

Need a water-bottle refill? Look for public water sources like this one:

A bit of up and down; after all, the mountains — cliffs? — keep this valley narrow. But mostly we stay near the Adige. And within sight of the Autostrada di Brennero — the highway that leads to and from the Brenner Pass. One in three, if not one in two, vehicles are trucks.

When we reach a Bici Grill, the sign says 46 km (about 28.6 miles) to Verona. And an e-bike charger (free!) at the bike rack!

Another tiny detour, then we’re in a village. Stop for lunch? We decide to go a bit further. I’m hoping for a winery along the route.

We do find one, one of those big cooperatives. And it’s 11:50 a.m. It closes for lunch at noon. On Fridays, it closes then for the weekend. Oh well. There’s got to be a restaurant in the village.

There is. A family-run hotel-restaurant. They’re hauling in produce for the kitchen. But they say they’re open. No paper menu. I worry about prices, but how bad can it be? (It was fine.) Primo? Secondo? (First courses are pasta, perhaps a risotto. Second courses are meat or fish.) I translate as best I can. Not that the Brit doesn’t recognize names of pasta and some sauces. Non-Italian speakers can get through this. And when I get up, a younger waiter comes over to the Brit and switches to English.

What strikes me as weird is that I’m the only woman customer in the place. Nine other tables and no women? Do they not work nearby? They do, but they go home to feed the kids? I have no idea.

This is the section we’ve had the hardest time getting information about. The waitress assures me that the path to Verona is finished, that it happened maybe three or four years ago. That’s good to hear, because the more local brochure they have, however old it is, shows it’s still under construction. Nor is it clear on Google Maps.

This isn’t what we wanted!

What she didn’t mention is the area around Rivoli Veronese. This is where we go up, up, up. Sometimes 10% grades. (I know, at least it’s not the 20% we went down near the Austrian border.) We reach what I think is the top and a village. 28 km to Verona. Nope, it’s a plateau, then a bit more up.

And then it suddenly shifts to a 10% descent. Narrow switchbacks. Not a time to be a daredevil.

Yes, the granny gears worked, but if I ever wanted an e-bike…

Then it’s 20 km to Verona. 14 km. We’re biking along water again, but it’s not the Adige. A canal? Another river? No signs, and Google Maps isn’t helpful either.

We could have used some reassurance signs. This isn’t South Tyrol and those regular kilometer markers along the path. And what’s this sign for the I1 route that we’ve been seeing on and off since the Bici Grill? The other sign in the photo is for the Adige Sole bike route (Adige sun route) — is that part of Eurovelo 7? Something else? The lack of consistency … I’m feeling Italy in that.

Then we reach Bussolengo, maybe less than 10 miles from Verona. Nothing. We figure that means straight, through the center of town. Yup, we catch a sign on the other side. But now we’re turning on Komoot for guidance. And I’m looking at the stickers on the signposts, recognizing some I spotted up near Mals/Malles and again by the Bici Grill earlier in the day. I figure they’re probably going the same way.

We’re on the road a bit, a path. Komoot guides us through Verona back to the bike shop. We probably biked between 50 and 60 miles.

This last section is the weakest link of the ride. In hindsight, perhaps we could have stuck to the Adige for longer and reached Verona that way, but Veneto (the province) and the greater Verona area is pretty weak on signage. To be fair, that’s my criticism of lots of places in the U.S. too.

We dropped off the bikes at Itinerabike, where we rented them in Verona, and retrieved our luggage. Now it’s time to follow the crowd to Juliette’s balcony. Fair Verona, where Shakespeare lays his scene of those two famous star-crossed lovers.

Missed the earlier adventures? Read about day 1, day 2 and day 3.

Could you do this DIY trip too?

Yes. Absolutely. Without speaking German or Italian. You just need to trust yourself. We too headed out with plenty of unanswered questions.

You’ll find more English speakers than you expect. And when not, there’s always Google Translate.

Bonus: I figure we spent a fraction of what an American tour company would charge, though of course your budget may vary.

You might not want to do the mileage we did. You might not want to do that mountain climb either. I get it.

If you’re looking to bike from the border all the way to Verona, I’d recommend renting bikes from Itinerabike. I’m sure there are other options, but our experience was good. And we were able to leave extra luggage with them.

Had we known we’d arrive in time to get the bikes late Sunday afternoon, maybe we’d have taken the train to Bolzano that night. There’s not way we would have made it to Mals/Malles.

I included plenty of details about the bikes and how we took trains to our starting point in the mountains on the day 1 trip report.

If you feel you can skip our final day, perhaps use Bolzano as a base and do day trips. The city is reachable by train from both Milan (via Verona) and Munich, if you’re flying to a major airport. Of the two, Milan might have more frequent service. We flew to Verona from London on easyjet.

Papin and Suedtirol Rad Bici Alto Adige are two bike rental companies that have rental spots along the route from Bolzano north. Suedtirol Rad’s rental locations seems particularly extensive.

Both seem to let you rent in one place and drop off in another, probably for a surcharge. But it might be worth not having to pay for the bike on the train or bus.

Here are some bare-bones ideas. I bet Tourist Infomation and your bike rental spot have more. You’ll find places to stop.

• Take the train to Mals/Malles and then the bus to the Reschen Pass (remember, no e-bikes on the bus). Then bike down to Merano and take the train back to Bolzano. This is where we lost the most elevation.
• Take the train to Merano and bike back to Bolzano. Easy, just a more gradual descent.
• Take the train to Brenner/Brennero and bike back on that path, or as far as you want, then the train back to Bolzano. If I come back, I want to do this.
• Take the train to Brixen/Bressanone (on the way to Brenner) and bike back.
• Bike from Bolzano to Kaltern/Caldaro and around the lake. This one won’t be just downhill!
• Take the train to Rovereto and head to Lake Garda. True, this also won’t be flat. Back to Rovereto for the train back to Bolzano.