Lake Como

cynical bill

Plan on going to Lake Como for a week of cycling.Does anyone know if you can hire road bike in let say Belagio. I found one place but they were charging 50 euros per day............Ouch
Thanks

jellybellywmb

I was in Belagio last month and only saw 1 bike shop tucked away up one of the side streets, didnt notice if they hired bikes but if they did i am sure they would be expensive as evrything else in Belagio is.
You might be better looking in the bigger towns like como itself.

Stunning place though i wished i had my bike out there, be careful though as the road around the lake is very narrow in places and the italian drivers do not hang about.

inkyfingers

Beautiful part of the world to cycle but as mentioned the busy lake front roads can be very scary to ride on, definitely do some reasearch before you go. You also want to try and avoid the long tunnels as many of them are very narrow and are not lit. Admittedly i've not been to Lake Como, but I imagine it's similar to lake Garda where I was earlier this year.

prb007

inkyfingers wrote:

avoid the long tunnels as many of them are very narrow and are not lit..

There are quite a few scary tunnels around that neck of the woods; check maps before departure - some can be avoided but involve BIG detours.
Worth it tho' - lovely part of the world.
Ryanair fly to Bergamo - superb town with lovely
roads for cycling and only 30 or so miles from Como.
Enjoy.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&sourc ... 6&t=h&z=10

jc4lab

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12728494
Have you seen a simliar thread from a couple of months ago

09phillt

Go to Lake Como and you might see Muse they all live there. And George Clooney.

Italiano

Di Caprio bought a house as well.

Leadballoon

You could try Comobikes. They used to rent but I'm not sure if they do any more.

As for tunnels, I'm lucky enough to ride there once a year as I have family there. I tend ride mostly around the Bellagio side of the lake and its only on the road along the lake that you'll come across them. They are well lit but I still find riding through them a bit stressy. There are only 2 or 3 tunnels on the Como/Bellagio stretch and they are quite short (I think the longest is only about 400m). The stretch from Bellagio to Lecco has some much longer tunnels but you can always turn up into the mountains towards Valbrona or Canzo and miss them out, thats what I always do.

If you can't rent a bike, take yours by hook or by crook. You won't regret it.