Day 8 (Italy): Trento - Salo

today’s distance: 104km
total distance: 906km
riding time: 5h +

Left Trento via the gorgeous center and soon encountered Emil, who approached me in German. When I asked him why he started to talk to me in German, his reply was simple: “It’s mostly Germans that ride here with heavy packs” and so he had given it a shot. He’s an 83-year avid cyclist and former POW in W II. He was keen to tell me some stories , warning me of the countries ahead where he had fought. It made for interesting conversations to say the least.

Aided by the wind, I was soon turning to Lake Garda, up a short valley with a bit of climbing to do. The scenery was breathtaking and a feeling of truely being in Italy set in. Slight knee issues made for some slow going, but they will go away I’m sure. After visiting posh and upscale Riva di Garda, I turned south on the eastern side of the lake, having been warned that the western side had a lot of traffic in addition to many tunnels.

Figuring that having traffic only would be better, I made my way down the lake against strong headwinds for most of the afternoon and eventually got in touch with Guido who lives on the other side of the lake. I was able to take a ferry though and missing the first by about 5 minutes, I eventually grabbed a salami and cheese sandwich which was just about the right local specialty to have then and there.

The rest of day involved a bit of riding to find Guido’s house, practicing my meager Italian along the way and hanging out with Guido and Paolo who teaches Chinese and consults with companies doing business in China. He has lived in Shanghai for five years and gave me some good pointers.