I'm just back from a great few days cycling in the beautiful Lake Como area. Lake Como is a stunning

I'm just back from a great few days cycling in the beautiful Lake Como area. Lake Como is a stunning area in Northern Italy just a few km from the Swiss border which is, or has been, home to famous residents such as George Clooney, Madonna and Richard Branson. It is easy to see what attracts these people, with the world at their fingertips, to live somewhere like Lake Como.
The region has recognised the areas great natural attraction for cycling, and its popularity with cyclists, and is investing heavily in 2 new projects which will make the area even better and more popular for the cycling community. With something for the serious lycra clad 'cyclists', and for those who just enjoy 'riding a bike' as a bit of good for you fun.
The new Cycle Lane of the Lakes (Ciclovia dei Laghi) and the Sport and Relax on Bikes (Sport e relax in bici) tourism projects offer some stunning new routes and facilities luxury car rentals in atlanta including some exciting time recording equipment luxury car rentals in atlanta for those that like to get competitive. Hmmm - maybe only about 97% of the cyclists I know fit into this category so it should prove popular!
The area covered by these projects spans Lake Como in Italy, and goes over the boarder to the banks of Lake Maggiore in Switzerland in a joint initiative sponsored by the Tourist Boards for the Provinces of Lecco, Como, Varese, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in Italy, and Canton Ticino in Switzerland.
And it is not simply Lake Como and Lake Maggiore which are covered by the project, 12 other lesser known but quieter and equally pretty lakes in the area, which I admit I was not aware of until this visit, luxury car rentals in atlanta are also included along the routes.
Without luxury car rentals in atlanta being too technical the Time Trails make use of small sophisticated Chips (using RFID technology for the geeks among you!), which attach to the bike, and trigger readers below the road surface at the base and top of each climb, before displaying your time on the score board about 30m after the top of the climb, along with up to 5 other times if you are riding close to your competitors (or maybe I should call them friends). Your time is also uploaded onto an internet site.
Great fun, the Chips, can be purchased or hired from shops and hotels in the area, and cost from 10 for a week s rental up to 28 for a lifetime purchase. The chips can also be purchased online at www.mysdam.it and come with a login so you can look-up your times on the www.mylaps.com website, and compare them to others. The chips can also be used for mountain biking and running races using the same technology from this supplier.
I tried the Onno to Valbronno and Bellagio to Ghisallo time trial routes. Great rides and the fact you can include the Museum of Cycling and the unique neighbouring cycling Church, a shrine to cycling, at the top of the Ghisallo Pass make this a superb day out! Great scenery, good climbs, lots of other cyclists about, even in October, and fun to see my name pop up on the display at the end point! I won t embarrass myself by including my times!
In addition to the 5 time trial routes the Cycle and Relax program also offers keen cyclists 2 other sports routes, which are similar sporting rides with good climbs, like the Time Trial routes but without the timing equipment and 18 relaxation routes. These rides are great for those who want to enjoy a pleasant ride out, without the need to win the king of the mountain jersey each ride!
For those who do want to win the king of the mountain Jersey I recommend the BS02 hill climb route from Brissago in Switzerland to Borei. This route, which offers amazing views over Lake Maggiore, is only 6km long but has an average ascent of 9.5%, and bear in mind the first km or so is flat! After this the climb is around 13% average with peaks at 20% - I now understand where the BS comes from in the route code! :-0
The Cycle Lane of the Lakes project provides leisure cyclists with an additional 9 routes covering over 270km of great countryside, through the provinces of Lecco, Como and Varese in Italy, ranging from rides of under 10km to more serious days out of about 57km. Most of these are fairly easy routes. And again the website offers visitors information on the routes, what to visit and where to stay.
My usual experience of using rental bikes is the desire to get back to my own bike as soon as possible. This was a bit different. The Como Rental Bikes supplied luxury car rentals in atlanta by Roberto luxury car rentals in atlanta Ferca of CicliFerca in Como were real top of the range 7000 ish value serious Italian racing bikes. On this occasion getting back to my own bike was a step backwards!
Highly luxury car rentals in atlanta recommended, luxury car rentals in atlanta especially for serious cyclists who may want to enjoy using the Ferrari of the cycling world in such a great cycling location. It just adds to your holiday experience. Why transport your own bike when you can hire bikes as good as these in the region!
Mountain biking is also a key part of the Como area s attraction, offering year round off road fun. The area has some superb Mountain Biking routes, with 21 mapped suggested routes covering over 600km of stunning luxury car rentals in atlanta scenery. These range in distance from 13km to 54km, and in climbs from 120m to 1720m, and hence offer something for all ability levels. Get hold of the Lago di Como Tourist Office guide book In Mountain Bike from the Tourist offices.
As mentioned above the region has thought these cycling projects through very well, and over 50 hotels have signed up to the BikeHotel scheme, offering bike friendly accommodation luxury car rentals in atlanta for cyclists visiting the area. These are spread luxury car rentals in atlanta throughout the cycling area and range from Campsites, Mountain Shelters, B s up to top class lake side hotels.
The Il Carazziere is a great place to stay, with an interesting history founded by an ex Kings Guard from Rome, the grandfather of the current owner Andrea Camesasca, a man who is very passionate about outdoor leisure. luxury car rentals in atlanta The hotel was superb with great food, accommodation and service. It is located in a great area, away from the hustle and bustle luxury car rentals in atlanta of the side of Lake Como, in a tranquil setting by a river, yet very close to two of the lesser known lakes, Lakes Alserio and Lake Pusiano. A great location for those wanting to try hiking, biking and horse riding, among other sports!
There is no defined season, and given the variety of routes on offer I m sure cyclists will have fun in the Como area most of the year, but personally I would recommend early and late summer season. In April to June and from September to October, the temperatures are great for riding, and the high season tourist crowds have yet to arrive, or have departed, making riding around the main lake routes more enjoyable.
The fact that cycling in the Como area is great is nothing new! I m sure generations have enjoyed this sport in this area for 100 years or more, but these new projects just make it all the better easier, competitive for those who need to compete, and hence more enjoyable!