Highly recommend: Lake Como- Il Perlo Panorama and Como Lago Bike

[Kirk007]

If you want to do an independent yet supported cycling trip in Italy then I recommend you look into this hotel and related shop. The hotel is outside of Bellagio, on the climb to the Madonna del Ghissalo chapel. Family run, the rooms are comfortable, the food good and they cater to cyclists.

The shop is managed by former pro Alberto Eli, who maintains the bikes, both a rental fleet of nice road mountain and e-bikes, as well as guest's bikes. Alberto and others will guide rides, they have a daily group ride or will help you with route planning. They have a massage therapist affiliated for sports massage after riding.

The larger towns are too touristy for my taste, but that makes for an easy espresso or gelato as you pass through. Traffic on the roads around the lake can get busy but so far drivers have been very good.

I was very impressed by the Madonna del Ghissalo Chapel and museum. Fabio Casartelli's Motorola bike is in the Chapel, the fork bent at an odd angle. I remember that day and seeing the bike was impactful. Amazing collection of bikes, jerseys etc. in the museum. Collection of pink jerseys, a special exhibit of Paolo Bettini's career, including his kids bike and some of his race winning bikes.

Big selection of kit for sale, and it seems like all the local riders sport nothing other than team or shop kit; none of this subtle single color with an arm band stripe and plain black shorts! So if you want to ride in Italian style there are plenty of options to increase the weight of the your suitcase for the trip home!

Random photos to follow.



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[Kirk007]

View from hotel and scenes from riding around the lake.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/c75bbd14ee56a8311d30fee27180c60b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/45bd0f27d5d7816a91ca3f6b4dd78b66.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/66c39b1d4bdd62f87e2ccfd6cf93dde8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/1a0aa15717c09cd6e8f277d644cff2ea.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/7f778cc0d858d4cc4a55ca1305588bc8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/2bba24f8c05eaee3a2dc9803ecc56b1f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/474c919c466fda45e8b4bc0d6e92accd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/91daf58488114f7dd69d41bb612266bc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/b8dfcb783fb6647dd48621a4d2f7a974.jpg

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[Kirk007]

The Cathedral and museumhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/5f5e3b29d0da9c5447f15db127d725c1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/1688e02253956d345252a3f04aaa1f46.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/d5ec8fef2df42012f844370a2add6946.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/9cdfb6b7c2cf9d621e7a7d8ab2bce520.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/d02de733573dc143136b05b5e1289c6e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/b378fa432328418cb83c208c57af190a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/b7165385a51dd27a2570edd7f329e579.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/745e48f7867399fa98393d81a4b135d0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180823/3a5fd9e5f46abf5d21fd7ac92fc2682e.jpg

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[Louis]

Very cool. :)

Have fun.

[Climb01742]

Thank you for the tip! Lake Como is on my bucket list. All the photos I’ve ever seen, yours included, make it look incredible. Man, your trip is a best of the best. Enjoy and thanks for letting us tag along.;)

[soulspinner]

Looks amazing. Cheers.

[oldpotatoe]

Spectacular...copy to weisan-'pal'..:)

[Tony T]

Excellent!
Thanks for posting the pictures.

[Buzz]

Thanks for posting! Quite a trip you are on.

[paredown]

Thanks for the share--if you can't go on vacation, it's nice to be a fly on the wall for someone else's!

[rccardr]

Beautiful area. We were there in 2015, stayed in Bellagio. Museum and chapel are definitely worth the visit. Lovely roads, too!

[Ciavete]

Congrats on making the pilgrimage! Bellissima! On a native son built bike no less!

If you're still there I highly recommend visiting with Giovanni Cermenati of Cerchio Ghisallo. They've been making beautiful wood and bamboo cycling rims for generations. Very short distance from the Madonna and museum! He's about 85 years old and hard to keep up with as he tours you around the workshop. It's a fascinating process and the finished rims are beautiful.

Please say hi to Carlo @ Il Perlo for me; great guy who did a tremendous job making Il Perlo into an excellent bicycle hotel.

Ciao!

1697965491

[johnmdesigner]

We stayed in nearly the same room there a few years ago.
It's a beautiful thing to open the shutters in the morning and sit on the balcony.
They had just started construction on the museum when we were there.
I remember a great salumi restaurant in the old town of Bellagio housed in one of the old stone tunnels cut into the mountain.
Have lunch outside along the lake at the nice grand hotel. All the lake fish are delicious.
It's a wonderful place. Hope to go back someday.

[Mr. Pink]

Great pics, thanks. Both times I have been there or close, it was November, and the museum was closed. Incredibly beautiful place. Best dinners I have had in Italy, which, of course, is saying a lot.

Did you feel safe riding some of those roads. Bit narrow, coming up from Como. Where did you climb to?

[coreydoesntknow]

Training camp 2022 is now in the early stages of planning.

[Kirk007]

L Pl

Did you feel safe riding some of those roads. Bit narrow, coming up from Como. Where did you climb to?

The roads were fine but it was a weekday morning. I arrived by car on Sunday and the roads were a zoo. I looped from Bellagio to Como to Mannagio, ferry back to Bellagio, then south towards Lecco and climbed up from Onno to Asso to the Ghisallo and back to the hotel in Bellagio. A really fun 100k loop. Took it easy after that, saving gas for Gavia, Stelvio .....

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[OtayBW]

Definitely gorgeous around there, but from a distance, I would be cautious about riding based on my experiences around Locarno (up the road a piece from Como...). Up in the hills above the lake, just driving on the roads could be a terrifying experience as cars were flying past each other on roads just about 1-1/2 lanes wide. I'd shudder to think how a cyclist would try to squeeze by something like that. Maybe it's better down around Como, but good grief, it was nutz where I was....:eek: