One (of several) items off the bucket list: Como and Ghisallo

[sfscott]

I was fortunate enough to have a long-overdue vacation, and in the process, I was able to check a few items off of the bucket list, including a trip to Lake Como and a ride up the Ghisallo.

The day started with a short ferry ride from Tremezzo, where I was staying, across the lake to Bellagio. There, I was picked up by Casey, of Comolago Bike, who, along with her Italian fiance, Luca, manage the shop. Casey is from Virginia, and she and Luca could not have been nicer and more helpful.

At the shop, which is about 1/4 mile up from the official beginning of the Ghisallo climb, I was able to rent a newish Bottechia carbon bike equipped with Ultegra and Fulcrum wheels. Once I got over the shock of having to use Shimano in Italy on an Italian bike--and remember how to shift a Shimano rig, I was off with the bike, a borrowed helmet, pedals and Garmin for my ride.

I opted for a fairly easy 40km loop which went down the hill from the shop, followed the lake for about 15km before heading up a climb known as the Onno and then up the back side of the Ghisallo. So, technically, I did not climb the "real" Ghisallo, but I'm not splitting hairs. At the top, there is the famous chapel which is chock full of memorabilia add photos. Next door is the cycling museum, which, of course, has a nice espresso bar. It has many cool items on display, including one of Eddy's bikes, autographed maglias rossi from most every winner and some very cool swag for sale. There was even a Rapha van parked at the top, which I figured out was there to wait for a group coming up on one of their tours.

The loop takes you through many small towns/villages, each tremendously picturesque, and the town right below the Ghisallo is really nice with houses and views to match.

The weather was perfect, and unlike anywhere at home, cars are deferential to cyclists and easy to coexist with. There is something hard to verbalize about riding in Italy and seeing others on the road who "get" it.

Comolago bike runs various tours and will escort you on road or MTB excursions or set you on your own. I'd highly recommend them, and their tariffs are very reasonable for rentals. They toss in a souvenir water bottle to boot.

Separately, while walking around Milan, I stumbled on the the Giro trophy on display. That photo is on a separate device so stay tuned for that and some shots from the other bucket list item....front row seats on a boat and hotel suite for the Monaco GP. Yes, a great trip, and I am still grinning.

Enjoy the slide show, which thanks to Photobucket, runs a bit slow.

http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/sfscott/slideshow/

[Mr. Pink]

Awesome. Thanks a whole lot for the pics and info. Amazing place. I like the idea of coming up the other side. Duh.

[MattTuck]

This is great. Thanks for the pictures, as well.

I'm quite jealous, as my wife and I have been talking about going to Italy for a while now.

[tv_vt]

It's a great climb, and the museum and chapel are definitely bucket list-worthy.

Rode there last summer. Such a beautiful lake and countryside. But there is a lot of car traffic, and the roads are not wide. Bit of a culture shock coming from rural Vermont!

[tiretrax]

What a great experience. Have a great trip, and thank you for posting the pictures. I might have to sneak away this fall and do that, too.

[bikingshearer]

Great write-up. Great photos. Thank you for posting both.

[TomNY]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

It's a great climb, and the museum and chapel are definitely bucket list-worthy.

Rode there last summer. Such a beautiful lake and countryside. But there is a lot of car traffic, and the roads are not wide. Bit of a culture shock coming from rural Vermont!

Can you suggest bike routes from Chittenden / Pittsfield area that does not require riding on RT 100? We took MTB up one weekend to our ski club house which was great. Locals on the trail said they would not road ride because every summer week there was a fatality in the news. True?

TR