"The Dev'Hill": what a strange name... Who knows how it came to be! Well if you really want to know the name is a fusion of two words "devil" and "hill", however "Dev'hill" does not refer to a demon but rather the small village of Deva found on a hill in the area. Mystery solved?
There is another reason why this name has a reference to the “devil”: this tour is short but really tough. Stuff for cyclists trained to conquer very steep climbs and simultaneously face technical descents that few can tackle without ever putting a foot on the ground. Let’s say it is a wonderful tour, not long but rather spicy...
Leaving from the Bike Info Point in Torbole, you need to reach Arco and from here there are two choices: the cycle path, easy, paved and completely flat alternatively turn your wheels towards Parco delle Busatte and go up to Nago. It is true, there will be more climbs to do but if you are already worried, it is better if you consider doing a different tour as for now this is just a warm up...
Having arrived at Nago’s roundabout, we go down a track that begins directly opposite a Mexican restaurant and then cross the main road that leads down to Torbole. At this point the view over Lake Garda is really awe-inspiring: we recommend you make the most of it. Now the track turns down towards Arco and it is easy and enjoyable for all. On our left we can see Monte Brione in its entirety and below the River Sarca flows smoothly and calmly; soon the descent comes to an end and we find ourselves surrounded by fields of apple and plum orchards and vines in the Prato a Saiano area. We pass through admiring the skill used to take care of the countryside in these parts, and if we are in the right season we will be able to enjoy the scent of grapes that farmers are getting ready to pick...
In short we are in Arco’s historical centre and going through the eastern gate which opens through the remains of its ancient city walls, we start to pedal upwards.
Leaving to the right the road that leads to Làghel we go straight on to the so-called "olivaia"; we will indeed pedal through a beautiful olive grove to then find a singletrail, which is an unexpected yet welcome surprise.
Past this and after a short stretch of uphill track, a very short and steep descent acts as a “launch pad” for the following climb: our advice is to prepare your gears at once (small front ring!) because what faces us is a wall with an average incline of 21%!
Fortunately it is only a few hundred metres long but you will still feel it in your legs, in fact the least prepared (including in uphill technique) will probably need to put their feet down. Not to worry, we all have to learn...
After a few minutes of gritted teeth the incline subsides and we come out on the road that leads from Varignano to S.Giovanni. Here the incline is fixed at around 14% but compared to earlier it will seem flat! We will pedal up towards Padaro and once here we can catch our breath in the shade of a tree where there is also a providential fountain to drink from and fill up our hydration packs. In the height of summer this stretch is particularly hot because it is always in the sun, we therefore advise you not to attempt it during the hottest times of the day.
After Padaro we still have to "suffer" slightly because, in around 7-8 minutes, near to a large bend to the left we will see on our right the start of our path. We take it and go up off-road not before having unlocked and adjusted the bike’s front and rear suspension: getting past this stretch will in fact require the wheels’ best traction and road holding (as well as a very good uphill technique) otherwise the bike must be pushed from very early on.
Having arrived at a huge electricity pylon, we will stop because it is time to put on our protection, tune the suspension to fully open and put the saddle down into the DH position. The path starts off "nasty" straight away and discourages those not feeling up to it (we will probably find several fallen trees, blown over by strong gusts of wind that they will be blocking our path, we will therefore be forced to climb over them to continue) however for the very talented this trail is really remarkable: sharp bends, small drops, rocks to pass over with trial bike abilities, bends in compression... There’s a bit of everything, shame that it is a bit short. Always keeping to the left, at the end of the path we find ourselves on the hill of Làghel. Continuing on the left we pedal upwards for a while and then we sling ourselves into descent along the path that leads to Ceniga. This trail was once really spectacular and tough but then terrible decisions, in our opinion, have seen it distorted and modified for long stretches with senseless cemented sections. This has made it more dangerous than before also because the risk of crashing into someone coming up is significant not to mention when it is wet and slippery. The most demanding part is now the last stretch: a steep and tortuous singletrack with many unstable stones to the side that make things more difficult. You always need to stay on the track otherwise you “slide”..!
Having arrived at Ponte Romano the tour should go on to Arco and then gently back to Torbole along the wonderful cycle path beside the River Sarca, but if you haven’t had enough then you could always head north towards Dro and the Marocche area... Good luck! We’ll be waiting for you in the square in Arco, drinking a cool and well deserved beer...
INFO TRAIL
Total distance: 39 km
Difference in height: 110 m
Length of longest climb: 3km, average of 13%
Difficulty rating: *
Start/finish: Bike Info Point in Torbole
Best period: from March to November.
Route: Torbole, Busatte, Nago, Pratosaiano, Bolognano, Arco, Padaro, Ponte Romano, Ceniga, Arco, Torbole.
Recommended bike: All Mountain with full susp. or XC with front susp.
