A Taste of Cycling in Italy

If you have a friend who lives in Italy, you visit Italy.

That's were I've been for the past three or so weeks: Como, Italy. It was a trip for the books; a trip of a lifetime. When a co-worker asked how it was, I simply answered, "Amazing."

"Amazing, huh? Not just, 'great' or even, 'awesome?' Amazing?"

"Amazing."

"Did you do any cycling?"

"Just one day."

You see, my best friend, Lisa, isn't a cyclist, which is totally fine. (Luckily, some of my other passionate hobbies include wine-drinking, pasta-eating, and lake-side-chillin'.) But Chris, Lisa's boyfriend, is definitely a cyclist. And when they greeted me at the airport, Chris was holding this sign:

I knew we would go riding at least once ...

And if you only get to go on one ride in Como, climbing to the Madonna del Ghisallo Church comes as the highest recommendation.

Chris read the history of the church aloud and became more excited by each highlight: Home to the Patron Saint of Cyclists, a signature summit of the Giro di Lombardia, filled with historic cycling memorabilia, holds an eternal flame for fallen cyclists, was established over 1300 years ago as a sanctuary for those seeking refuge. I knew that this was some place that I had to see.
 
The climb was steep, but the reward was huge. Walking inside the chapel was nothing short of breathtaking.

The history and love of cycling was palpable. An eternal flame leads you to candles you can "light" (plug into a socket) for a cyclist you know who has fallen. Beside the candles is a guestbook that I couldn't help perusing through. Cyclists from all over the world have come to this chapel to worship in their own way.

Outside of the tiny building, the views and statues were both monumental.

 

I was especially impressed with the statue of a fallen cyclist and another with his arm raised to the heavens. The piece conveyed so much emotion and even provided it's own refuge for those seeking shade.

After having some espresso at the cafe near the chapel, we discussed our next move. Our plan was to climb up and coast down, but at the top, something in the air inspired us to ride up another hill nearby, just so we could fit in some of those iconic Italian hairpins I had heard so much about.

The whole experience was surreal and perfect. A ride that inspires is more than I could have asked for.

Thanks to:

Chris for being amazingly patient and enthusiastic.

Lisa for living in such a beautiful place.

And I would be remiss if I did not genuinely thank the guys at Run and Bike, Como for their help in getting me set up to ride. Showing up at a bike shop, not knowing the language, trying to rent a bike and shoes is a difficult task that could easily be dismissed as nonsensical, but these guys were rockstars. Not only did they get me set up with a sweet rental bike, they let me borrow a pair of their OWN shoes at no extra charge! (Let's let the fact that I wear the same shoe size as Italian men slide.) Thanks, Run and Bike, for my sweet get-up.

All photos taken by Rachel Stevens (except one Instagram photo that Chris Beddows took of Rachel). The photo of Eddy Merckx's champion bike was taken for Sarah Raz in hopes of inspiring her on her own epic bike travels.

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ART + ADVENTURE = AWESOMENESS wishes to bring enthusiasm to your Mondays every other week. This column is written by Rachel Stevens, a graphic designer at Adventure Cycling Association.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/07/a-taste-of-cycling-in-italy.html

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