Food and mountain biking find their heavenly match in Liguria, Italy
“Buon
giorno!” Antonio greets me heartily as he looks up from watering his plants,
smiling. Our host and chef at the agriturismo "A ca Vegia" doesn't
speak a word of English — the norm for most people of the older generations in
Italy — but I can tell by his gestures towards the green valley bathed in sun
that he is admiring another perfect-weather day in Liguria.
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| Downtown Finale Lirure is beautiful. |
Our
hilltop retreat at A ca Vegia overlooks the township of Finale de Ligure, one
of the many towns along the Italian Riviera. Finale is the first stop on
Big Mountain Bike Adventures' Bella Rivera DH, a week-long downhill mountain bike
tour of the Ligurian coast shuttling some of the country's finest trails, and
gorging on arguably the best home cooking in the world.
Mountain biking has existed here since the early '90s with many of Italy's cross-country
racers using the hills surrounding Finale as a training ground. But after
Canadian freeride pioneers Brett Tippie, Wade Simmons and Richie Schley
(namesake for Whistler Mountain Bike Park's "Schleyer" trail) visited
Finale to film for the Kranked film series in 1999, the local mountain bikers
began to put shovels in the dirt to build their own downhill-centric descents.
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| Guide extraordinaire Louise. There's no one better to show you the trails, and more. |
"(The
Kranked crew) rode XC trails jumping from one side of the trail to the other,
playing around and having so much fun with their bikes," said Allesandro
Molini, a born and raised Finale local and guide for
Big Mountain Adventures.
"It
was an explosion. After that (the locals) started to build trails just for
fun."
Finale
de Ligure has since become a popular destination for British and European
mountain bikers looking for easily accessed trails and reliable, sunny weather.
Trails range from berm-filled downhill descents, jumps and stunts to the 2013
Super Enduro course, all with views stretching along the beaches of the
Ligurian Sea.
With
as many shuttles as our group can handle, for two days we sample trails that
finish either in the town or on the beach, the locals barely noticing trains of
riders donning full face helmets and body armour. Bikers are welcome here,
providing much needed tourism after years of declining mainstream tourist
visits to Italy.
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| Mid-descent. Yes, that's Finale Ligure way way down there on the Med. |
A
new destination is on the cards tomorrow, requiring a send off from the
hospitable folks at A ca Vegia. Glasses of Prosecco clink as another gargantuan
four course meal emerges from Antonio's kitchen.
Good
thing we don't have to pedal uphill tomorrow.
The Witching Hour
Driving
west along the coast and turning up the steep Valle Argentina, we soon arrive
at the tiny crow's nest village of Triora. A dark history permeates the alleys
and cobblestone streets, testament to the brutal witch trials held by the Holy
Inquisition in the late 16th Century. Today the locals celebrate the morbid
legacy of putting the witches on trial and burning witches by selling
wart-nosed witch dolls and Halloween decorations year round, as well as
celebrating several witch-themed festivals throughout the year.
The
steep walls of the valley meant most paths were originally built to traverse
the hillsides, used by hunters stalking game and peasants harvesting the
numerous chestnut plantations. But the trails are not without their challenging
sections; rocks and roots protrude out of the soil and the exposure off to the
side requires disciplined braking and line choice. Ancient medieval bridges and
simple stone shrines honouring the Virgin Mary are just a few of the historic
treasures we pass by as we descend towards the valley floor.
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| Nice spot to be at the end of the day. |
We
break for lunch in Triora's town square, the iron sculpture of a hooded witch –
complete with cauldron and broomstick – overseeing our four courses of
bruschetta, meats and cheeses, pasta and tiramisu. I order a double espresso to
shake off the afternoon fatigue, but our first ride after lunch turns out to be
a spectacular wake up call.
We
descend directly from the restaurant in Triora to the satellite village of
Molini, bikes buzzing down the vacant stone walkways. Riding through the town's
deserted cobble-stoned alleys with cats scattering into the shadows, you can't
help but feel that the souls of those "witches" haunt the place
several centuries later.
The
hills have their share of history as well. During World War II the area was a
staging ground for the guerrilla attacks against Italy's fascist rule, the
roads that provide such convenience for shuttling mountain bikers were refined
by Nazi Germany to move troops and armour faster inland from the Mediterranean.
Now the majority of traffic is relatively peaceful with shuttle vans and
motorcycle groups.
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| A SUPER fun trail deep in Europe's largest beach forest. |
The
Santo Spirito Hotel is our dinner and bed for the next two nights, and its
chefs have been hard at work to give our hungry group of mountain bikers the
meals of our lives, which after Antonio's magic will not be easy.
Two
more days of riding and eating lay ahead of me. Without a single hill to climb
on this
mountain bike vacation, I'll be needing an endurance of a different
kind.
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