Como?

[majorpat]

Yes, I already did some searches here but I will throw this out for some suggestions.

I will have about 10 days available at the end of September after some duty in Germany. Going to have my wife fly over (not a cyclist) so we are knocking around some ideas. Her family has friends in Como, one of whom is an experienced rider and will give us a place to stay. Riding is not the goal, it would be a bonus. As stated above, I have noted many ideas from the previous threads on the area. Will the first week of October limit any plans to try some passes in the mountains?

Alternatively, would anyone suggest heading to France or Switzerland or wherever instead? Maybe stay in Germany?

Your thoughts are welcome, thanks.

Pat

[kgreene10]

What? Oh, Lake Como. I thought we were finally going bilingual on the forum.

[Climb01742]

I don't have personal experience in the Lake Como area but by all reports, it's gorgeous. But one place in Italy I do have personal experience with is a hill town outside of Venice named Asolo. Both my wife and I fell in love with it and the area. We'd go back in a heartbeat. Just another option. Wherever you go, enjoy!

[makoti]

I've been to Como, and it's very nice. No riding while there, but the town is great & an easy train ride to Milan. Almost anywhere in Italy is worth the trip, imo.

[Gsinill]

I would just use the place you got as base and explore the area.
I spent a lot of time around Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como and Lago di Lugano and find it one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to.
Fantastic scenery, great roads, good food and the weather is fairly stable all year round; as a matter of fact, when I lived in Bavaria, this was were we escaped to over the weekends when we got rained or snowed in north of the Alps. Temperature should still be in the mid 20s (Celsius), maybe a little cooler by the end of October.

You can make day trips to Lugano, Locarno and Milan, all within about an hour; Venice is less than 4h and the Ligurian Sea (Genova) is 3h. Trips will be costly though due to the expensive toll roads and gas (get a diesel if you rent car).
If I were you, I would try to find a hotel in Cinque Terre (look it up) and stay there for 1 night, you could even squeeze in a trip to Pisa from there. Maybe another similar approach for Venice, the wife will thank you ;)

$$ might be the biggest downside overall because nothing’s cheap in that area (especially if you head over to Switzerland) but you don't need a hotel which is a big plus and the alternatives you mentioned are not cheap either.

[uno-speedo]

Madonna_del_Ghisallo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_del_Ghisallo)

[mdeeds71]

Sent you a PM.

[chismog]

Wife and I did Como a few summers ago. Riding around Como itself was pretty cool, you can do Ghisallo, Sormano, Lugano, etc.

We also were able to scoot up to Bormio for attacks on Stelvio and Gavia. Leaving Varenna by train to go to Tirano about 7am, then getting a bus for the last bit, we'd get to Bormio about 10:30.

Stelvio basically starts and finishes in Bormio. I guess you could ride back down the valley to Tirano for the train back, but we didn't do this. We just got one of the awesome bike-oriented hotels in Bormo and stayed overnight after Stelvio.

We DID do Train/bus from Varenna to Bormio, ride up to Gavia, then down the other side to Ponte di Legno/Edolo/Aprica, finishing back in Tirano. Wound up being an all day adventure, but we were able to get the train back to Como for an all in one day adventure, no hotel in Bormio required.

Ping back if you need more details. No idea about weather over the big passes in October.

[Beldar77]

I cannot give you any better cycling options than the others have already done. My wife and I spent a week in Como for part of our honeymoon in mid September and the weather was still warm. Wife is not into cycling as I think you mentioned your wife isn't either.

Take a ferry to either ( or both) of Varenna or Bellagio. Awesome little Italian towns with great food. Bellagio was kind of cool in how the town basically rises vertically with such narrow streets.

It is also very easy to get down to Milan from there. While not as historic as Tuscany or Rome it is an interesting city of course. We actually went to an AC Milan soccer match. It made my wife a soccer fan.

[brando]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Juan_José_Cobo_Vuelta_2011.jpg

[kayten]

A group of us will be cycling in and around Como end August. We were there last year, and it was a blast. Last year we stayed in Bellagio, Ghisallo and Muro is right at the doorstep. We also drove to Bormio and did Stelvio, riding from the peak into Switzerland, before climbing up the notorious picturesque hairpins.
This year, we are based in Cernobbio, and maybe explore that side of the Lake up to Lugano.

[MadRocketSci]

A lot of the local climbs are out of Argegno.