Drive to Como Town

After a few hours of relaxation at Bellagio, I set the navigation system to Como, one of the biggest towns on the lake. I decline the navigation system recommendation to take the ferry route. So, I follow the street sign to Como till the navigation system picks SS583 to Como. This road hugs the coastline all the way to Como.

One time at another town, the navigation system recommended me to take a short cut due to traffic conditions. A smart and very exciting feature I thought at first until I found out that the S5 would not fit on the road it recommended. Imagine how narrow the street was when an S5 could not fit. On each side of the road were two rows of two stories houses. There was no side walk. The houses’ front doors were right on the edge of the street.

SS583 is not a wide street either. It is about as wide as the 18-wheeler truck, but it is a two-lane road without the middle lane marking. It would not make sense I guess to put the middle marking because the two halves would be so narrow that only Smart cars would fit. Even more interesting this road literally cuts through old towns. From time to time, I see similar color and architecture on two opposing houses. I just get the impression that I am actually snaking through what used to be their living room.

I thought that after three Audi Driving Experience programs, one go kart intensive instruction program, and driving vacations in some of the most treacherous mountains near Cusco-Peru, Las Alpujarras-Spain, and Tibet, I would be ready for any kind of non-off-road roads. Well, I am proven wrong once again. This time, I am tested and challenged by impatient Italian drivers.

Skinny Fiats and Renaults, tiny milk trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles rule this road! They rampage this road at a very high speed and they take aggressive maneuvers. I apply all skills I have learned, at the end, I still have to pull to the side because grandpas and grandmas on rustic Italian outdoor cafes are flagging me with the blue with yellow diagonal stripe handkerchiefs.

I try everything to apply the unfair advantages I have over those soap boxes with wheels. The 354 hp, 325 lb-ft torque, 40/60 front/rear Quattro setup, close to 50/50 weight distribution, the adaptive suspension, the dynamic steering system, the oversized disc brakes, and 245/40 R18 tire patches don’t matter on this road. I shift between second and fourth. I use trail braking on corners and accelerate right on the apexes. I focus my vision on the direction where I am going and let the peripheral vision to handle the rest.

Every lesson I was taught to smooth my driving to get the best line, I apply it today to no avail. My heartbeat goes higher and higher and finally, I have to succumb and let the white milk truck to pass me.

SS583 is similar to Le Mans track where there are multiple classes of vehicles competing; the skinny cars, the tiny trucks, the motorcycles, the bicycles, and the regular cars. No wonder they are so many Italian names in the Grand Prix history. They are born racers. Even grandpas and grandmas drive at blistering speed on this winding road. Someday I will understand how the most serene and content people of Bellagio turn into aggressive drivers once they are behind the Fiats and the Renaults.

For the moment, since my ego cannot handle the defeat easily, I blame the narrow road. It turns out the Italian drivers are the ones with the unfair advantage. They don’t have to slow down when there is oncoming traffic. They just keep their rapid speed constant through the zigzags, and switch backs. Maybe they slow down by 2 km/h for the hairpins. With the S5 however, I have to find crevices on people houses so the oncoming traffic can fit.

All in all, it is a very fine driving adventure, especially after I take time to bring my heart beats to normal by enjoying the postcard perfect sceneries from the various vista points along SS583.

Drive to Como Town

After a few hours of relaxation at Bellagio, I set the navigation system to Como, one of the biggest towns on the lake. I decline the navigation system recommendation to take the ferry route. So, I follow the street sign to Como till the navigation system picks SS583 to Como. This road hugs the coastline all the way to Como.

One time at another town, the navigation system recommended me to take a short cut due to traffic conditions. A smart and very exciting feature I thought at first until I found out that the S5 would not fit on the road it recommended. Imagine how narrow the street was when an S5 could not fit. On each side of the road were two rows of two stories houses. There was no side walk. The houses’ front doors were right on the edge of the street.

SS583 is not a wide street either. It is about as wide as the 18-wheeler truck, but it is a two-lane road without the middle lane marking. It would not make sense I guess to put the middle marking because the two halves would be so narrow that only Smart cars would fit. Even more interesting this road literally cuts through old towns. From time to time, I see similar color and architecture on two opposing houses. I just get the impression that I am actually snaking through what used to be their living room.

I thought that after three Audi Driving Experience programs, one go kart intensive instruction program, and driving vacations in some of the most treacherous mountains near Cusco-Peru, Las Alpujarras-Spain, and Tibet, I would be ready for any kind of non-off-road roads. Well, I am proven wrong once again. This time, I am tested and challenged by impatient Italian drivers.

Skinny Fiats and Renaults, tiny milk trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles rule this road! They rampage this road at a very high speed and they take aggressive maneuvers. I apply all skills I have learned, at the end, I still have to pull to the side because grandpas and grandmas on rustic Italian outdoor cafes are flagging me with the blue with yellow diagonal stripe handkerchiefs.

I try everything to apply the unfair advantages I have over those soap boxes with wheels. The 354 hp, 325 lb-ft torque, 40/60 front/rear Quattro setup, close to 50/50 weight distribution, the adaptive suspension, the dynamic steering system, the oversized disc brakes, and 245/40 R18 tire patches don’t matter on this road. I shift between second and fourth. I use trail braking on corners and accelerate right on the apexes. I focus my vision on the direction where I am going and let the peripheral vision to handle the rest.

Every lesson I was taught to smooth my driving to get the best line, I apply it today to no avail. My heartbeat goes higher and higher and finally, I have to succumb and let the white milk truck to pass me.

SS583 is similar to Le Mans track where there are multiple classes of vehicles competing; the skinny cars, the tiny trucks, the motorcycles, the bicycles, and the regular cars. No wonder they are so many Italian names in the Grand Prix history. They are born racers. Even grandpas and grandmas drive at blistering speed on this winding road. Someday I will understand how the most serene and content people of Bellagio turn into aggressive drivers once they are behind the Fiats and the Renaults.

For the moment, since my ego cannot handle the defeat easily, I blame the narrow road. It turns out the Italian drivers are the ones with the unfair advantage. They don’t have to slow down when there is oncoming traffic. They just keep their rapid speed constant through the zigzags, and switch backs. Maybe they slow down by 2 km/h for the hairpins. With the S5 however, I have to find crevices on people houses so the oncoming traffic can fit.

All in all, it is a very fine driving adventure, especially after I take time to bring my heart beats to normal by enjoying the postcard perfect sceneries from the various vista points along SS583.