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Lavena Ponte Tresa: A Family Week On Lake Lugano

Lake Lugano, 3 October 2013
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A family week at the end of September 2013 at Lavena Ponte Tresa, where Italy meets Switzerland on a bridge over the Tresa. Two rides: a climbing loop up into the Valganna and over Alpe Tedesco twice, 52km and 1,305m, and a flat 56km lap of Lake Lugano through both countries.

Lavena Ponte Tresa is a border town on the south-western arm of Lake Lugano, and from 27 September to 3 October 2013 it was our base for a family week. The ride notes are as short as they come, "Holiday ride. Lovely area..", but the photos tell more.

Lavena Ponte Tresa And Lake Lugano

Lavena Ponte Tresa is a town of about 5,700 people in the province of Varese, in Lombardy, right on the Swiss border. Across the river is Ponte Tresa in the Swiss canton of Ticino; the town grew up round the bridge over the Tresa, built around 1846, and the border runs across it. Lake Lugano itself is shared between the two countries, its shoreline zig-zagging in and out of Switzerland and Italy, which is why a lap of the lake crosses the border several times.

Inland, towards Varese, the hills rise into the Valganna, the valley through Ganna and Ghirla, with forest roads climbing to passes like Alpe Tedesco. This is home ground for Stefano Garzelli, the 2000 Giro d'Italia winner, who is from Besano just to the east, and the climbs round here carry boards with his name and their profiles.

Italy Italy Cannobio Porto Maurizio → Dolcedo The coast path Cipressa The Stelvio

Ride 1Into The Valganna, And Over Alpe Tedesco TwiceTuesday 1 October 2013

Start & finish: Lavena Ponte TresaAlpe Tedesco, 760m (twice)GannaGhirla
Ride 1, from my GPS track. Green: Lavena Ponte Tresa. Up to Alpe Tedesco (red), down to Ganna and back up, down to Ghirla and over the last climb, and home. This ride on Strava →
52.4kmDistance
1,305mClimbing
791mHighest point
278mLowest point
2h 52mMoving time
11:16–14:44Out on the road (3h 28m)
18.3km/hAverage moving speed
114 / 169Heart rate, average / max (bpm)
1,758Calories
13°CAverage temperature
Six13Bike (road)

How The Day Went

11:16 – 12:31
Up into the hillsLavena → Cavagnano → Alpe Tedesco

15.5km280m → 759m+479m

12:31 – 12:48
Down to Gannathe Valganna

5.7km−311m

12:48 – 13:18
Back upGanna → Alpe Tedesco

8.4km+314m3.7% average

13:21 – 13:31
StopAlpe Tedesco

10 min

13:32 – 13:40
Down to Ghirla

5.6km−311m

13:40 – 14:02
The last climbGhirla → the top

4.9km+318m6.6% average

14:02 – 14:44
Home→ Lavena Ponte Tresa

11.6km−483m

A grey, cool day, 13°C, and the best climbing of the week. Up through Cavagnano to Alpe Tedesco at about 760m, down into the Valganna to Ganna, straight back up to Alpe Tedesco, then down the other side to Ghirla and up the steepest climb of the day, nearly 5km at 6.6%, before the long descent back to the lake. Three climbs, 52.4km and 1,305m.

A small stream running down mossy rocks beside the road
11:53: a stream on the way up.
A road sign for Alpe Tedesco beside a quiet road through the woods
12:30: Alpe Tedesco.
A route board map showing numbered climbs around Ganna, Alpe Tedesco and Cuasso al Piano
12:34: a board mapping the local climbs, numbers 7 and 8 among them.
Climb profile boards for climbs 7 and 8 with Stefano Garzelli's name
The profiles, with Stefano Garzelli's name on the board.
A brown sign reading Valganna with a green sign for the mountain community
12:35: into the Valganna.
A winding road through the woods with a stone wall and bollards on a bend
12:41: the road down to Ganna.
Blue road signs for Boarezzo and Alpe Tedesco and a brown sign for Monte Poncione
12:46: Boarezzo, Alpe Tedesco and Monte Poncione.
Bright green moss on a rock by the road with autumn leaves
12:54: autumn in the Valganna.

Ride 2A Lap Of Lake Lugano, Two CountriesThursday 3 October 2013

Start & finish: Lavena Ponte TresaRiva San Vitale (Switzerland)
Ride 2, from my GPS track. Green: Lavena Ponte Tresa. Round the shores of Lake Lugano through Switzerland and Italy. This ride on Strava →
56.3kmDistance
209mClimbing
181mHighest point
152mLowest point (the lake)
2h 11mMoving time
11:20–13:51Out on the road (2h 31m)
25.6km/hAverage moving speed
39.8km/hTop speed
103 / 153Heart rate, average / max (bpm)
1,171Calories
12°CAverage temperature
Six13Bike (road)

How The Day Went

11:20 – 13:32
Round the lakeLavena → the Swiss shore → Riva San Vitale → back into Italy

50kmflat

13:32 – 13:38
StopCuasso al Lago

6 min

13:38 – 13:51
Home→ Lavena Ponte Tresa

6km

The last day was flat and easy: 56.3km and only 209m of climbing round the shores of Lake Lugano, in and out of Switzerland, as far as Riva San Vitale at the southern tip, at an average of 25.6km/h.

A wooden jetty on Lake Lugano with a lamp post and trees, mountains behind
12:18: a jetty on the lake.
An old villa among palm trees beside Lake Lugano
13:24: a lakeside villa.

That Week

A view over Lake Lugano from the hills
Lake Lugano from above (28 September 2013).
A road sign for Marzio in the hills above Lake Lugano
Marzio, in the hills (29 September 2013).
Me and my family with ice creams on holiday near Lake Lugano
Ice creams (30 September 2013).
A lakeside restaurant terrace on Lake Lugano
A lakeside lunch (2 October 2013).

Where It Is

Lavena Ponte Tresa (marker) on Lake Lugano, with the Valganna and Alpe Tedesco to the south-east.

Source: my Strava files for 1 and 3 October 2013; photos from the rides, timed against the GPS tracks, plus four from the same week, dated. Top speed left out for ride 1: the 2013 GPS file shows an implausible 80km/h.