Lake Como on Two Wheels

Last autumn a group booked with us almost by accident. They'd come for Il Lombardia — the great one-day classic that sets off from Bergamo and finishes here in Como — and they needed a calm base near the climbs, not a glossy hotel on the water. Watching them roll out at dawn toward the Ghisallo reminded me of something we locals take for granted: Lake Como is one of the great two-wheeled places on earth. For the silent kind of rider and the loud kind alike.

For the cyclists

And you can ride a Monument: Il Lombardia, the “Race of the Falling Leaves,” finishes in Como every October after roughly 250 km from Bergamo. The roads it makes famous — Ghisallo, Sormano, Civiglio — are open to you any day of the year, and there's an amateur Gran Fondo too. For a gentler epic, the classic giro del lago runs about 160 km right around the water. You don't need to bring your own bike: shops around Bellagio and Como rent road, gravel and e-bikes and run guided days with local riders.

For the motorcyclists

The lakeside roads — the eastern Lariana and the western Regina — hug the water through tunnels and tight curves, and the SS36 up to Colico is a fast, scenic run. The very same Ghisallo and Sormano roads the cyclists suffer on are pure pleasure on a bike.

And point the bike north and the Alps open up: the Passo dello Spluga toward Switzerland, the Maloja, and — for the ambitious — the legendary Stelvio a little further on. Leave at first light and you can string several together before dinner.

Where to base yourself

We're not on the postcard waterfront, and for riders that's exactly the point. Our two apartments sit in the city of Como (Rebbio), about ten minutes from the lake and the foot of the first climbs, with easy road and rail links to Bergamo and Milan. Big City Life is a raised-ground-floor apartment with a terrace, a private courtyard and two parking spaces — and you can keep the bikes right out on the terrace. A quiet, real-neighbourhood home to come back to after a long day in the saddle: espresso in the morning, somewhere to clean up and sleep properly at night, and hosts who'll happily point you to the day's best route.