Monday, June 27, 2011
Lakes of Italy Vacation, June 2011
Stoker Kim and I traveled to the Lake Region of Italy for a week of tandem bicycling in June 2011. We have made several European cycling trips (Black Forest of Germany, Alsace France, Tuscany Italy, Burgundy France, the Danube River from Germany to Budapest) but this was the first one where we traveled solo.
The service provided by Pietro was great. For example, the hotels he arranged were all fine three-star hotels. But, on the day of our arrival in Cernobbio the rear section of our tandem developed an irritating and repetitive noise that sounded like "iwannaviewofthelakefrommyhotel, iwannaviewofthelakefrommyhotel" and it wouldn't go away until I asked Pietro if we could possibly change hotels to one that had a view of Lake Como. Pietro was able to accomodate us, we changed hotels and the noise went away.
There were other, more serious, problems to deal with and Pietro was critical to their successful resolution. On our first day of riding we sheared all five of the bolts that hold the front timing chain to the crank arm. If you aren't familiar with tandem mechanics this means that the captain's (me) pedals just free-wheel and are no longer connected to the drive chain and are incapable of providing propulsion. This makes the rear portion of the tandem make even louder noises than when it wants to change hotels.
We were in Switzzerland at the time, fifty kilometers into a 100-kilometer ride (another way of saying as far away from home as possible) on a Sunday afternoon and things were looking bleak as I needed a bicycle shop badly. After taking stock of the situation and realizing that there was nothing I could to without a handfull of specialized replacement bolts and nuts I flagged down the next group of bicyclists that came by and found that it was a small group led by Roberto, another guide with Lake Como Cycling. He couldn't do much for us except to provide some advice on where to get a taxi but it was nice to know that someone knew of our predicament. I was also in telephone contact with Pietro so at least we knew we probably wouldn't be allowed to starve on the road.
On Roberto's advice we traveled in the "stoker power only" mode of propuslion for a couple of kilometers back to a small airport at Agno to try to find a taxi back to our hotel in Cernobbio, Italy. We found one right away, broke the bike in half, crammed it into the taxi and were back at our hotel after a very expensive cab ride (the taxi rate for two desperate people and a tandem bike from Agno Switzerland to Cernobbio Italy is astronomical).
Pietro was ready with advice that evening which was critical to saving our vacation. He told me that the bike shops in Italy are closed on Monday and recommended that I taxi to Mendrisio, Switzerland where there was a bike shop that opened at 7:30 AM. I did as he recommended and we were on the road again by 10 AM. There is more to this story that involves fabricating parts with Cadel Evans' bike mechanic and another expensive taxi ride, but the main point is that Pietro's knowledge of the local bike scene was responsible for saving the trip.
Also, even though he was very busy guiding other bicycle tours and we were "self-guided" (i.e., cheap people who want the benefits of local knowledge but not the cost of a full-time guide) we met with Pietro twice and had dinner with him when he gave us our riding brief and route books on our day of arrival. He is a joy and a pure bicyclist who lives on the serious mountain roads of northern Italy. All of his recommendations for sight-seeing and restaurants were exactly right. Please let me know if you find a more friendly and cooperative bicycle tour operator in Europe.
Our rides were great. We covered the shores of Lakes Como, Lugano and Maggiore in good fashion. We were almost always on one of these beautiful lakes with the scenery only interrupted by a parade of small villages that flashed by as we rode.
There is much more to tell, but I don't want to bore the reader. Suffice to say that this is the first trip that I would like to duplicate again in the near future, maybe next time with a few friends.
Our hotel, the Miralago (the one with the view of the lake) is in center of this photo on market day in Cernobbio.
The front of the Hotel Miralago with outdoor dining at their great restaurant.
A traffic jam caused by either a.) too large a truck or b.) too small a road.
The Canyon pro bike team had a photo shoot in front of the Miralago.
We weren't completely on our own, however, as our trip was "self-guided" with the routes, hotels and luggage handling arranged by Pietro Zandali of Lake Como Cycling (http://bicyclinginitaly.com/).
The service provided by Pietro was great. For example, the hotels he arranged were all fine three-star hotels. But, on the day of our arrival in Cernobbio the rear section of our tandem developed an irritating and repetitive noise that sounded like "iwannaviewofthelakefrommyhotel, iwannaviewofthelakefrommyhotel" and it wouldn't go away until I asked Pietro if we could possibly change hotels to one that had a view of Lake Como. Pietro was able to accomodate us, we changed hotels and the noise went away.
There were other, more serious, problems to deal with and Pietro was critical to their successful resolution. On our first day of riding we sheared all five of the bolts that hold the front timing chain to the crank arm. If you aren't familiar with tandem mechanics this means that the captain's (me) pedals just free-wheel and are no longer connected to the drive chain and are incapable of providing propulsion. This makes the rear portion of the tandem make even louder noises than when it wants to change hotels.
We were in Switzzerland at the time, fifty kilometers into a 100-kilometer ride (another way of saying as far away from home as possible) on a Sunday afternoon and things were looking bleak as I needed a bicycle shop badly. After taking stock of the situation and realizing that there was nothing I could to without a handfull of specialized replacement bolts and nuts I flagged down the next group of bicyclists that came by and found that it was a small group led by Roberto, another guide with Lake Como Cycling. He couldn't do much for us except to provide some advice on where to get a taxi but it was nice to know that someone knew of our predicament. I was also in telephone contact with Pietro so at least we knew we probably wouldn't be allowed to starve on the road.
On Roberto's advice we traveled in the "stoker power only" mode of propuslion for a couple of kilometers back to a small airport at Agno to try to find a taxi back to our hotel in Cernobbio, Italy. We found one right away, broke the bike in half, crammed it into the taxi and were back at our hotel after a very expensive cab ride (the taxi rate for two desperate people and a tandem bike from Agno Switzerland to Cernobbio Italy is astronomical).
Pietro was ready with advice that evening which was critical to saving our vacation. He told me that the bike shops in Italy are closed on Monday and recommended that I taxi to Mendrisio, Switzerland where there was a bike shop that opened at 7:30 AM. I did as he recommended and we were on the road again by 10 AM. There is more to this story that involves fabricating parts with Cadel Evans' bike mechanic and another expensive taxi ride, but the main point is that Pietro's knowledge of the local bike scene was responsible for saving the trip.
Also, even though he was very busy guiding other bicycle tours and we were "self-guided" (i.e., cheap people who want the benefits of local knowledge but not the cost of a full-time guide) we met with Pietro twice and had dinner with him when he gave us our riding brief and route books on our day of arrival. He is a joy and a pure bicyclist who lives on the serious mountain roads of northern Italy. All of his recommendations for sight-seeing and restaurants were exactly right. Please let me know if you find a more friendly and cooperative bicycle tour operator in Europe.
Our rides were great. We covered the shores of Lakes Como, Lugano and Maggiore in good fashion. We were almost always on one of these beautiful lakes with the scenery only interrupted by a parade of small villages that flashed by as we rode.
There is much more to tell, but I don't want to bore the reader. Suffice to say that this is the first trip that I would like to duplicate again in the near future, maybe next time with a few friends.
I have included some more photos below. Please let me know if you have any questions or wish to have more information about this trip or Lake Como Cycling.
Ciao,
Jim
Our hotel, the Miralago (the one with the view of the lake) is in center of this photo on market day in Cernobbio.
The front of the Hotel Miralago with outdoor dining at their great restaurant.
A traffic jam caused by either a.) too large a truck or b.) too small a road.
The Canyon pro bike team had a photo shoot in front of the Miralago.
