Rome is the end of the line for the Mille Miglia, or at least the halfway mark, because the old race ran out from Brescia to Rome and back again, a thousand Italian miles in all, which is where the name comes from. It ran from 1927 until 1957, mostly through towns and villages with the roads left open and crowds standing at the kerb, and the drivers flew down the Via Cassia and through the Apennine passes at speeds that make the whole thing seem barely believable now. It ended after a crash in 1957 that killed spectators, and was later revived as a rolling classic-car parade, which still comes through Rome every spring.
Riding in Rome itself needs a particular frame of mind. The streets are old, narrow and often cobbled with the little black basalt blocks called sampietrini, which are slippery when wet and punishing on a heavy bike. Scooters pour past on both sides, buses own the bus lanes, and drivers use their horns as punctuation. Much of the historic centre is a restricted traffic zone, the ZTL, where entry without a permit earns a fine by camera, and motorcycles are not exempt in every area, so check before you go and park outside it. The ring road, the GRA, is fast, busy and sometimes badly surfaced.
The reward is that few cities pay you back so well for the trouble. Early morning, when the streets are washed and empty, the Colosseum and the Forum seem to have been waiting for you. A few hundred metres from the Vatican, the dome of St Peter's rises over a skyline of pines, domes and terracotta roofs. The Appian Way, built in 312 BC, still runs south from the city with its old basalt paving, tombs and cypress trees, and it is one of the finest places in Italy for a slow ride on a Sunday, when parts of it are closed to cars.
There is no problem finding petrol, food or coffee, since a city of over two million does not run short, and a coffee taken standing at a bar for a euro or so is one of the pleasures of Italian life. Try carbonara, cacio e pepe or supplì, and keep away from restaurants that put photographs of the dishes on the door.
Spring and autumn are best, as summer heat is severe and August half-empties the city, with many places closed.