Italy Part 5 - we rest up in Mandello...

Mandello Rest Day - Miles = 0         9^th July

Our room at Grigna was very comfortable, with a balcony looking out over the main road and the Guzzi factory, and it was equipped with a very efficient air conditioner that we had left on before we went to bed, but turned off when we did actually hit the sack. That was a mistake, as the heat of the day bled out from the road and the stones of the buildings, and it was a bit warm to get really good sleep. Still and all, we were reasonably rested in the morning and wandered off down towards the lake looking for something to eat, which we found in a bakery on Via XXIV Maggio, the name of which I cant recall. The pastries we bought were filled with delicious vanilla cream and were washed down with lemon iced tea, while sitting on the benches facing the lake. With all the retired people, some of whom arrived 2 up on scooters. It was a lovely way to start the day, very relaxing and it was good to not be quickly packing and setting off for another days riding.

Breakfast done, on our return to the hotel we had some jobs to do, as well as look around the town, do the washing (ah the romantic life on the road!) and replace Jeffs rear pads, which we hoped to get at Agostinis. First to remove the old ones..

Then the spanner broke.......

Well apart from the above setback, that was done easy enough.We then walked all of 200m to Agostinis of worldwide Guzzi fame, where we were sure to get the pads, and sure enough we did! It took a while to find them so we had time to look at some tasty little numbers….

And some time to look at the apparel that was out of our league price wise. The bikes they carried were very nice but no V85TT!!! We asked where it was and were told it was “at a party”. Back at the underground lair the pads were quickly fitted with no trouble at all. Well Jeff has been doing this stuff for 40 years or so.

We then had a walk around the town and I bought a much needed hat to protect my dome from the sun. The shop owner was surprised we had come all the way to Mandello, so threw in a few wristbands and badges “La Citie de Moto Guzzi” and of course the hat was a Guzzi hat. We found an old freind in the square…..

Time for lunch and we were back at Grigna and shared our table with Gerald, a boxing coach from Germany and fellow motorcyclist, who now lives near Lake Maggiore with his Italian wife. Apparently there is good money in coaching boxing! He invited us to stay at his villa next time we were in the area.

After lunch we turned up at the factory gate at 2:15 having been told it opened promptly at 2:30 and DON’T BE LATE!! There were about 30 of us, and many had ridden there. The tour is only of the museum part, and in some ways is rather basic, but there are many bikes there with a story to them, including the famous V8 and the lesser known supercharged triple and longitudinal 4 racers. Many of the bikes were one-off experimental efforts, some better than others. The guide spoke no English, but the information plaques and gestures helped good enough.

A few of the bikes we saw….

At the end of the tour we were signed out and that was that! Could it have been better? Yes. Was it good? Yes. Airconditioning would have been good.

There followed an exciting afternoon doing the washing at the laundromat, with improvised laundry liquid - my shower gel. Well at least all our clothes smelled of mint and tea trees.And were pretty clean. Strolling around the town we noticed a lot of mopeds and everyone on them from teenagers to 80 year old couples. Its not seen as “only for learners” here, and I think that’s all to the good. Maybe it makes for more motorcycle riders? I think it might. Mandello is not 100% gentrified like some of the places further up the Lake, after all there is a motorcycle factory here.  

Back at the hotel we settled in for a few beers and the thunderstorm that had threatened all afternoon finally broke and torrential rain poured through the streets. 

For a short while we stuck it out under the awning being hit by the spray, but then we went inside and spent a hour or so chatting to an erudite Norwegian BMW rider who informed us that where we were staying was used by all the Guzzi factory riders back in the day. It make sense, its 5 minutes walk to the factory. He was fascinated by the dialects found in English, and with Geordie and Aussie we had him entertained! We also had a good talk about touring in Norway, and it sounded fun. But expensive.

The evening was finished off by a great meal and more Peroni, and this time we left the air conditioner on all night. Lesson learned.