1958 Bianchi, Lario. Campione d’ Italia

[cyclingday]

Ok, I’m here!
I just thought I ought to check this place out for myself.
No George Clooney sightings yet, Lol!
But I can say that Lake Como is beautiful!

Earlier in this thread, we had debated where the name Lario came from?
I’ve been seeing it all over town, and I noticed it printed on this map.
It is in the leg of the Y shape that this lake has, so I wondered if they just refer to that part of the lake as the Lario?
But, now I’m thinking that it’s just the old traditional name for the entire lake.

No real vintage bike sightings yet, but there was a Soccer match here in town, that hade the bike racks full, and I did see these few that caught my eye.

Tomorrow we head up to the Madonna del Ghisalo, and the Museo d’ Ciclismo, so I’m sure I will get my classic and antique bike fix then.
My wife can hardly taste the excitement. Lol!
I told her that we’ll take a good long look at the Statue of David, when we get to Florence. Lol!

 

[tripple3]

Tomorrow we head up to the Madonna del Ghisalo, and the Museo d’ Ciclismo, so I’m sure I will get my classic and antique bike fix then.
My wife can hardly taste the excitement. Lol!
I told her that we’ll take a good long look at the Statue of David, when we get to Florence. Lol!

Awesome!
Do we get day-to-day commentary and pics here in this thread?
Are you gonna wait til you get home??
Give Jana lots of Hugs while there, make it memorable!
There's a pic of me in Victoria B.C. in 1985, at the feet of King David's statue, with friends from all over the world.
Gotta love where we are!
"Post-IT" Ha!

 

[cyclingday]

Today was just a day of acclimating to the change of environment, and getting a lay of the land.

Mostly Vespas and motorcycles here.

Como is a nice town, with many of these outdoor dining areas.
As expected, the food has been good so far.

We found this neat old funicular railway that took us up to the top of the hill, for a better look around.

This guy rode his Bianchi to the top!
He says as of late, the Bianchi’s were being made in Belgium, but that they’ve just started to remanufacture them in Italy.
He was very proud of the fact that his Bianchi was made in Italy.
As was I.

Meet Como, Italy.

That’s Switzerland off in the distance.

The setting Sun from this side of the World.

 

[cyclingday]

We spotted this neat old Moto Guzzi in the lobby of the ristorante last night.

Cool little bike!

It was fun to look through the copy of the original owners manual.

Nice of them to leave this on display for the tourists.

 

[cyclingday]

Next was the boat ride up to Bellagio to hook up with our driver, Claudio to take us up to the Museo d’ Ciclismo.

This thing makes a stop at every village on the Lario, so the float plane would’ve been the way to go.
But hey, we’re on Lario time, so what the heck, just kick back and enjoy the ride.

Bellagio is very quaint with lots of shops selling everything Italian and fashionable.
But I wanted to check out some old bikes, so it was time to give Claudio a call to get us rolling.

This guy was the man!
He’s a walking encyclopedia of all things classic Italian Cycling/ Giro d’ Lombardia

 

[Jollyride]

Beautil photos Marty.

Looking to do a similar trip next year or the following!

 

[cyclingday]

The route up from Bellagio is the same route the riders use in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour of Lombardy, so it was fun to see it first hand from the comfort of Claudio’s Mercedes Metris van.
First stop was the cafe for some aptly named sandwiches.

Then it was off to the Santuario,
Madonna del Ghisallo.

This is a shrine to the sport of professional cycling with Papal blessings.

Blessed are those who race a bike for a living!

This is the bike that Fabio Cassertelli was killed on during the 1995 Tour de France.
It was a sad day that I remember well.

 

[Jollyride]

Are your going to tour the Sidi factory?

 

[cyclingday]

Then it was across the lawn to the Museo d’ Ciclismo.

Just a lot of really cool artifacts from the glory days of professional cycling.

Tadej is a little guy, when you see this years winning jersey in person.
No wonder he can climb like he does.
This shirt looked like it came from the baby section of the department store. Lol!
Nothing but the best for the current World Champion!

Fausto’s bikes were a sight to behold.
Ridden hard and put away wet.
Just the way we like to see them.

 

[cyclingday]

Next up was the bike that the late, absolutely great, Gino Bartali rode to win the 1948 Tour de France.

Oh, yeah!
This thing was cool!