Lakes, Passes and Vineyards: Riding Italy

Garda is Italy's largest lake. Its southern end opens onto a wide flat plain, but the northern tip is long and narrow, pushed in between mountains that rise like cliffs on both sides. Riva del Garda and Arco at the northern tip are among Europe's best-known mountain bike towns, with plenty of bike rental shops, workshops and hotels that store bikes.

The signature route leaves the lakeshore and climbs onto the cliffs on the west side. You ride up the old Ponale road, cut into the cliff face in the 19th century, watching the lake drop away below, loop around Lake Ledro high above, and then come back down to the shore. There is a lot of climbing for the distance, which makes it tough on a regular bike, but on an e-MTB you can ride it in a day if you spread the battery out.

On days with energy to spare, add Lake Tenno north of Riva or the castle at Arco. The wind here often blows from the north in the morning and from the south in the afternoon, which has made the lake famous for windsurfing. If you ride along the shore in the afternoon, plan for a headwind.

The Dolomites are a range of huge pale limestone peaks rising above forest and meadow, listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2009. At their centre stands the Sella group, ringed by four passes: Gardena, Sella, Pordoi and Campolongo. The loop over all four is a ride many cyclists hope to do at least once.

All four passes are above 1,800 m, and between each one the road drops to a village and climbs again. On a regular bike it takes all day; on an e-MTB you can do it in a day if you keep the assist low on each climb. Asking to charge while you rest at a pass-top restaurant or village café also helps.

In these valleys people speak Italian, German and an old language called Ladin, which is why village signs often show two or three names. Climb a pass around sunrise and the rock towers glow pink while the roads are still quiet, so many riders set off at that hour.

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y and is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. Steep slopes run right down to the water, and colourful houses, old villas and gardens fill the narrow strip of land between. Bellagio, on the point where the lake's three arms meet, is where this route begins.

About 10 km of climbing south of Bellagio brings you to the Madonna del Ghisallo. It is a regular climb in Italian bike races, and the small chapel at the top is known for its patron saint of cyclists. The view down over the lake from the chapel is lovely too.

The lakeside roads are narrow, with many tunnels and heavy traffic in summer. Skip the busiest stretches by taking a ferry that carries bikes, and enjoy seeing the lake from the water as well.

Chianti, between Florence and Siena, and the Val d'Orcia south of Siena are the classic Italian countryside. Vineyards, olive groves and rows of cypress trees line the soft hills, and a stone village sits on almost every hilltop. The Val d'Orcia is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its landscape alone.

Many of the country roads here are strade bianche, 'white roads' of pale earth and gravel. L'Eroica, an event where people ride these roads on vintage bikes, began in Gaiole in Chianti, which shows how closely these roads are tied to cycling. A fat-tyred e-MTB rolls up and down the gravel hills with ease.

The hills are short, steep and never-ending, so there is more climbing than the map suggests. Villages are close together, which suits a slow pace: two or three stops a day, lunch in a square and a visit to a winery.

Finale Ligure is a small town on the Ligurian coast west of Genoa. Limestone hills and woods rise straight up behind the beach, and a dense network of mountain bike trails on those hills has made it one of Europe's favourite mountain bike destinations.

Most trails are rocky dirt paths, so this is the most technical of the five regions. In return, the fun of climbing a forest road to the top on an e-MTB and riding back down through the woods with the Mediterranean below is hard to beat, and the motor saves enough energy for several laps a day.

Being by the sea, it stays fairly mild even in winter, so you can ride here when the Alps are under snow. After a ride you can rest on the beach, then have dinner in an old walled village.