Northern Italy- Lake Como

8/7- Sunday- After and uneventful flight we arrived right on time at Malpensa airport in northwest Milan.  It was a 35 minute drive to the lakeside paradise of Cernobbio just north of Como.  It was a little rainy but who cares when its day one on your vacation.

8/8 Monday- Building the bike the day before I ran into the owner of Lake Como Cycling, Pietro, who was the one that actually planned our daily routes.  His spent some time with us reviewing each of the upcoming days.  He recommended a nice ride up the Valle di Muggio which we tackled.  A good introduction to the steep mountains that we would encounter in days to come.  All in all 35 miles and 3,087 feet climbed.

8/8- Tuesday- This was the official day one of the tour as we headed out for our first ride around Lake Lugano.  The first 10 miles were over 1,000 feet of climbing and we weren't even to the lake.  Once there we experienced beautiful lakeside roads with minimal traffic.  Don't think it was flat just because there was a lake nearby.  Cernobbio - Lake Lugano loop by willshtb at Garmin Connect - Details

Nice shot of the Italian alps in the background

                                             One of our favorite lunch spots