Cycling to Lake Iseo

Living far from the sea, for those who are growing on a gulf rocked by the waves, it’s like live without breathing. Baki in Cremona has been holding his breath, he trained to resist without her oxygen, the Sea of ​​Marmara, but the lure of the water was stronger. So he took his bike and once again started. Following the course of the river Oglio, 90 miles, has pointed north, toward a body of water sinuous: Lake Iseo. To contend for its charm glacial are the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, where he insinuates basin foothills. The eastern shore is Brescia, the Western Bergamo

“Ses abordes sont doux et frais comme une églogue de Virgile,” wrote the French author George Sand in Lucrezia Floriani. That is, its surroundings are sweet and fresh as eclogue (bucolic poetry) by Virgil.

“When I arrived at the lake – tells Baki – it is as if I had come to the sea. Hearing voices and seeing the gulls circling has filled that sense of nostalgia. “A friendly place for cyclists – with some changes – but also to make excursions, surfing and sailing. 

A hit Baki have been the sweetness of natural dell’Iseo, its clarity, fig trees – with figs and he is a bit ‘like a bear with honey – the olive trees of its shores, that reveal the climate Mediterranean. “They seem to have protected this lake, which the industry has not affected this part of Lombardy.”

The path runs along the coast for 62 km the entire basin. To the south is Clusane, a fishing village known to gourmets for tench with baked polenta. Then, proceeding on the west bank is the turn of Paratico Sarnico, Predore, Bergamo Tavernola, Riva di Solto and Lovere, the last town of the Bergamasco. Inaugurating the side Brescia there is the ancient medieval village of Pisogne, and the way to Toline, Fleece, Marone, Marasino and Sulzano.

Feature of this bike lane on the east side, are the many galleries, not prohibited to cyclists, but they require a little ‘extra attention and a bicycle with proper lights. For people who fear the tunnel Baki recommend the headlights just to ride safely, avoid traffic periods, but most of all stay well away from the gallery Trentapassi. “I like the galleries – confesses Baki – but those in the stone, not concrete.” A clear reference to the gallery-nightmare of cyclists, often finished in the news pages. “I do not have to enter the” Trentapassi. “It is very busy and long almost 2 km in the dark. Officially it is not forbidden to cyclists. But it is very dangerous. “For him, the journey in the dark for a unclear signage, it was an inevitable error, which he filmed with his  videocamera.

Treat paths to intercept, there are, as the Toline-Fleece. And as an alternative, to avoid panic by darkness and bad accidents, Pisogne Marone you can load your bike on the train or on the boat.

The last part of the track, which comes from Marone in Iseo, has three wonderful surprises suspended in the water: Loreto, Monte Isola and St. Paul. These are the three gems of the lake. Two of these, Loreto and San Paolo, are inaccessible because private property, while Monte Isola – the largest lake island in Italian – not that you have to choose the ferryboat to ride safely. Because motor vehicles are banned here.

Baki this time he chose to sleep in a park on the shore and watch the stars, to Marasino, before resuming the path of Cremona and start the training of apnea. In two days has covered 237 km, driven by the lure of fresh water dell’Iseo.

Silvia Ricciardi & Baki Berk Kayalar

Foto di Baki Berk Kayalar