This summer I had the opportunity to ride with my gravel bike from Graun to Riva del Garda through Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

My ride started in the small, beautiful Italian town of Graun, on the edge of Lake Reschen. The first stage involved crossing first to the Austrian border and then to Switzerland via beautiful gravel roads and quiet paths to finish in Scuol. Here, the fourth official Swiss language, Romansh, is spoken.

The second stage led through moon-like landscape and high gravel mountain passes to Livigno. This was definitely the toughest stage of all as I collected a lot of elevation gain along the way. But every meter was worth the effort. Livigno is a beautiful ski report with a cool scene so for those who still have a bit of extra energy, I would suggest a visit to the center of the village. As Livigno lies at 1,816 meters, it is quite chilly here in the evenings and mornings.

The next day I rode via the Passo Foscagno and Passo d`Eira to a beautiful gravel pass that came out at Laghi di Cancano. If you love switchbacks, then this is your place! The dam across the lake was also stunning and the following gravel trail that seemed isolated from civilization was one of my favorite parts. This led me to the direction of Bormio, but before entering the town the route turned left back onto gravel until the destination of the day: Santa Caterina.

Located on the way up to Gavia Pass, Santa Caterina is a beautiful pass that made up the first part of day 4. I would recommend avoiding riding this pass on the weekend as motorcycles enjoy this climb just as much. Once at the top of the climb, a coffee at the restaurant was just what I needed. Then, an amazing descent followed, though it was impossible to go fast as I literally stopped on every corner to take a picture. Too beautiful not to let it soak in.

Back down in the valley, another climb lead me up Passo Tonale to a chocolate store that has chocolate running down a wall inside. Yummy! After a sweet treat, an equally sweet gravel downhill gravel section followed to the stage's final destination in Mezzano.

Another beautiful ride that started with a long gravel section through the forest on the next day. The beginning was so steep that I lost the traction of my tires, but the gradient became shallower higher up. At the top was a ski resort that had just that coffee I needed. After the proper caffeination, I followed first a paved road, then a gravel road along that quickly became an unrideable singletrack.

Hike-a-bike is part of the game. Luckily, it wasn’t that long, and I was quickly back on my bike to head up the final climb of the day. It weaved itself through the forest until it ended up at a mountain lake. It was beautiful but I also knew what is ahead of me: another 200 meters of elevation gain by foot. The next section was so steep and rocky, so it was impossible to ride. But it was worth pushing it up because the top offered an incredible 360-degree view of the mountains. Although there were a few hikers around, it still felt so far away from civilization. Another treat was the 16 kilometer descent to the stage's destination: Ponte Arche.

Over the last few days, I had been eating at the restaurant, but on this day I went into the supermarket and made a hotel picnic. I didn’t mind at all as it meant I could just relax in my room. The time flew quickly because the next day was already the final stage to Riva del Garda. Although this day was shorter and with less elevation gain, it didn’t miss its beauty along a cliff wall, across a moon-like landscape and past turquoise lakes to reach Lake Garda.

These were six days full of adventure and discovery while staying off the busy roads. It was the perfect time to take the time off the daily hustle and make for a great energy reset.