geeteetravels

Another day of beautiful lakeside riding, hard to describe and to capture in photos, you just have to be there I’m afraid.
We first rode to Varenna and then hopped on a ferry to Bellagio, giving us a tour of Lake Como by water. When we docked in Bellagio it looked a lot like Stresa; lots of grand hotels, restaurants, and shops lining the waterfront. It didn’t look much like the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas to me.
We rode up the hill above Bellagio to our hotel, a steep climb but not too far, and were treated to the most breathtaking view yet. The hotel terrace looks out over the town of Bellagio which is on a promontory on Lake Como. You can look out over the entire area, it feels like you are flying above it, quite an amazing location. The hotel is a popular choice for those who want to climb the Madonna di Ghisallo shrine for cyclists, something we will be tackling tomorrow.
Later we had a look around the town and the Melzi villa and gardens.
Our supper was on the terrace of our hotel with Lake Como below us.

Tags: 2014

Today’s ride took us along the shorelines of Lake Lugano and then Lake Como. We have now been to all 3 lakes in the area and into and out of a corner of Switzerland. The lakes are surrounded by mountains and have many villages and towns built on the slopes. As well there is a considerable amount of tourism. Today we saw people sailing, kite surfing, wind surfing, water skiing, rowing, cycling and many campers. Switzerland was considerably more expensive in all respects but also a very clean and efficiently run country.
Tonight we are staying at the North end of Lake Como, nothing too special, mostly just a half way point on the way to Bellagio, but a relaxing and scenic spot none the less.

Tags: 2014

After the rigorous and wet day yesterday we didn’t get moving too early but there’s too much to see to waste much time. First up we took a bus downtown to catch a very small train. They’re a bit hoaky but we’ve found the little tourist trains which are in most major cities are a good way to get a quick overview of the city.

Lugano is set in a beautiful bay with mountains all around, and in particular a small mountain on each end with a funicular railway to take you to the top. Get the view without the work; we were all over that one today.

We cheaped out and bought a one way ticket to the top because a) there is a bus to take down which runs close to the summit and, b) because everything is at least double what it costs in Italy! The trouble was that we were not synced well with the bus schedule so we started walking. As we did we discovered a network of trails that took us down the mountain way quicker than following the road. I’m sure we beat the bus.

Tags: 2014

We left the hotel bright and early hoping to catch the ferry across the lake and save ourselves 15 kms on the bike as it was already a long ride at 74 kms. The woman in the ticket office wasn’t optimistic that the captain would allow 2 tandems on so we decided to just get on the bikes and ride. It was an easy 15 kms and we got there about the same time the ferry would have.
From there we rode along the lakeshore all the way to Locarno passing through the Italian – Swiss border with just a nod from a Swiss border guard.

The scenery was stunning and an easy ride with rolling hills, no big climbs.
After Locarno we began our climb over the pass to Lugano. George had found a shortcut to save us 7 kms of ascent so we started up the small rural road. After about 1km it got seriously steep then after another 500m we were on cobblestone which wasn’t rideable, only walkable. At this point we discussed turning around and taking the regular route up but decided to keep going, how bad could it be? Very shortly after this decision the road quality worsened and then after that it began to pour. So now we were half way up a steep, wet, uneven cobblestone path in cycling cleats, pushing our tandem bikes fully loaded in heavy rainfall. We had no choice but to carry on. It took us more than an hour to get back to the road via the “short cut”. When we finally got to the road it was still pouring and we had 20 kms to go and possibly more climbing. We were soaked and chilled. We started down the road but before we had gone 5 kms Rob and Katharine got a flat tire! I was beginning to wondering if someone somewhere was testing us.
Anyway the tire got changed Presto and we were back on our way.
There wasn’t much more to climb and other than navigating a busy city during rush hour we didn’t have any more troubles except for being very wet and cold for the rest of the ride.
We clocked 93 kms and climbed 750 meters and rode for 8 hours. We definitely earned our supper.

Tags: 2014

We hopped onto a big motor boat this morning for a trip to Isola Madre, one of three islands close to Stresa on Lake Maggiore.

It’s a small currently uninhabited island with English gardens and a palace that was the home to royalty and the ruling class in the past. It’s development dates from the 17th century and it was one of Napoleon’s hunting grounds. The only animals we saw were various birds and ducks. One type of interest were white peacocks strutting about and making a lot of noise as well as pheasants and budgies in cages.

The gardens were quite spectacular and featured trees and bushes from all corners of the earth.

After returning to Stresa and finding lunch George opted for a ride up to the top of Mottarone aboard a cable car for a view of the whole lake area. The sky had cleared so the view really was good. He checked out the ski hill on top too, and found a bob sled to ride in so life is good.

Tags: 2014

We were all looking forward to this day since we planned to begin one of the trip highlights – the Italian alpine lakes. First we would have to ride through some rain (not great) but with much cooler temperatures (finally a break). As usual I planned the straightest shortest route so there would be hills before arrival at Lago di Maggiore but mostly just a gradual climb to the higher lakeside elevation. We started riding in the rain and were caught in one really good shower but it was virtually done by lunchtime. In fact we all noticed we made better time due to the cooler temps. This is really the first time in 4 years that we have had any significant rain, so we are still OK about that.
The lake is truly beautiful with hills and mountains coming right from the lake. The shoreline road wasn’t too busy to navigate with new vistas at every turn. Once in Stresa it reminded us of the Riviera somewhat with loads of foreign tourists and old grand hotels lining up. Copious shops, restaurants, and gelato places, along with the tourists, makes for a busy but pleasant stroll.

Tags: 2014

After a nice breakfast we were packing up our bikes when an elderly gentleman began scolding us in Italian for parking our bikes where we were told to. Apparently we were misdirected by the young lady who checked us in, however it was mostly a problem for the old man who was a caretaker of some sorts and seemed a bit senile. We gave him something to do for the day I think however I felt sorry for his wife who had to deal with him after.
The ride out of Torino was fairly straight forward but it is a big city and it was close to 15km before we saw “country”. The intersections in Torino are big and the traffic lights don’t seem to totally be in control so you need to be really alert. It’s good there are two of us watching. Also what do you do at a green light and a stop sign?

At our usual morning market stop we chatted with an elderly bike rider who was totally fit and kitted out well in cycling gear. This being Saturday there are many cyclists on the road, it’s a very popular sport here.

Today the temperature finally broke so only 27° by the time we stopped, and it could rain. Our stop today is just a truck stop kind of location because we needed a half way point between Torino and Stresa on Lago Maggiore. Not much to see but a decent hotel and restaurant anyway.
Actually, speaking from an after supper point of view, it is a very good restaurant, and since the clouds are clearing there is a view!

Tags: 2014

Our sleep the night before was not ideal due to the heat and lack of air conditioning. I had forgotten how important it was to look for that when searching for hotels in these areas. However I guess it’s better than the cool wet weather at home.
We started out with a city tour aboard a double decker bus with English commentary on the sights around the central part of Torino. The city was and remains an important site for royal and governmental residences, palaces, gardens, and business. There is also the usual abundance of churches here as well as what used to be a Jewish synagogue at the end of the 19th century but it has been transformed into a national cinema museum. It is called the Mole Antonelliana and provides a spectacular view of Torino if you ride the elevator to the top, which we did.
We also spent a few hours in the Palazzo Reale looking through the lavishly decorated rooms where the Savoy dynasty was housed until it was sacked by Napoleon’s troops then inhabited by King Carlo Alberto and Queen Maria Teresa. In front of the Palazzo was a large piazza which displayed some delightful sculptures by a contemporary Chinese artist named Xu Hong Fei all depicting a full bodied woman enjoying different activities and just life.
The guys then opted for a trip to the car museum while Katharine and I went back to the hotel for a clean up and siesta before supper.
The Museo nazionale dell’automobile proved to be worthwhile, telling the history of the car from an Italian and European perspective (a lot of FIATs), and a good motor racing section as well. On the way back to the hotel we took the metro which was sleek, fast, and modern. Nice to be in a city that has recently spent a lot of money on upgrades for the Olympics!

Tags: 2014

Asti to Torino was expected to be a steady climb, Torino being closer to the Alps. I also planned in a good hill at the end just ’cause and of course so we could get the view. The road was quite busy with lots of trucks but for the most part everyone behaved. At one point there was quite a traffic jam but we inched our way up the shoulder passing everyone who had gone by us the previous 20 minutes. Unfortunately the view coming down the hill into Torino wasn’t as good as it could have been due to a heat haze obscuring the Alps, and lots of forest close to the road also blocking the view. Torino is a big city, and has been prosperous for hundreds of years which means lots of tall fabulous buildings and lousy GPS reception… so we struggled a bit finding the hotel. Then they had no record of our Venere.com reservation but still found us rooms for the same price but suspiciously without air conditioning. It is still seriously hot here so sleep was not easy. Tomorrow will be a visit the city day so we better go figure out what to do.

Tags: 2014

Another very warm day, already in the mid 20’s at 9:30 am when we started. The ride began with a steep climb up to Monticello D’Alba on a road with many switchbacks to decrease the steepness. We are certainly getting our fill of climbing again on this trip, George looks for the hilliest places to ride.

Once we reached the top we mostly stayed there and followed a ridge where you could see down both sides into the valleys below. Again a very scenic area with hilltop towns, castles, and vineyards. 

At the end of the ride we finally descended into the city of Asti, famous for Asti Spumanti, except we weren’t able to try any. The bar we found didn’t have any so we settled for prosecco instead. We also found a good museum/gallery to look at and then supper on a big piazza before calling it a day. Thankfully our rooms were air conditioned as the temperature hit 35 degrees that day.

Tags: 2014