The Toughest Climb of all

Today it’s the Stelvio Pass of the Giro d’Italia fame. Twenty six kilometers of climbing almost 2000m. That’s almost 2km straight up. To get to the Stelvio on time I’m up at 5:00am and waiting for the bus to the start at 6:00. The buss drops us at the starting point in Prato de Stelvio with plenty of time for our 9:00 start. We wind up though the town, passing a sign pointing towards Gustavo Thoni’s house the famous alpine skier of the 60’s. Ahead lies the starting point to an uphill time trial to end all hill climbs. My chip chirps as I start the slow ticking clock. Way up the valley I see a glacier bracketed by numerous snow capped pointy rocks. There is a zig-zaging line that disappears into the distance. Good or bad I know now what I have to do. If I am going to go the height I am going to maintain an easy (slow) pace. Switchbacks appear from the start. After a few zigs I realize that there are numbers posted like 44, 123. After a number of them have passed I realize that the switchbacks are numbered. I don’t know how many there are but there are a lot. Numerous riders are passing me. I tell myself to hold back, it’s a long way up. I make a deal with myself to not look at my elevation until I am well over halfway up. This will be my carrot. The climb is constant. There are few breaks from the constant climbing. There are lots of chances to glimpse the road above and below as the zigs are right on top of the zags. The few flatter sections are much appreciated on this tough climb. At about 12k I enter the town of Trafoi and a water stop. Not quite half way but it does mark a change. It gets steeper and the top comes into focus. It’s a long way up to the snow. At 15k I check my altimeter. I have climbed 0ver 900m. That’s about half way. The trees run out as I enter the treeless alpine zone. A sign painted on the pavement says 10k to go. The air is thinner and much cooler. I welcome the cooling effects on the upwind sections of the switchbacks. In the distance I hear a police siren. The odd 3D sound effects as it zigs towards and away from me. A police motorcycle leads an ambulance up the ladder of a road. A few minutes later I pass the parked ambulance. There is someone inside, it’s not me. With a chill down my back I ease up the next switchback. At this point the road looks like a set of giant steps. Over the barricade it descends down a sheer rock face. Above it ascends like a stairway to heaven. The 3km sign wafts by. Instead of spurning me on I maintain my slow march up the hill. Then the 2k, 1k, not until the 300m mark did I have the confidence to stand and pedal hard to end the pain. Over the top I enter a new world, the Alpine world of sun, ice, cold, tourist souvenirs and sausage venders. It takes a while for me to get over the elation of having accomplished the toughest climb I have attempted. I am shivering. My sweat soaked clothing and the frosty alpine wind is robbing my body of much needed heat. I change into a dry undershirt put on my wet jersey and cover it with my wind shell. All around me cyclists are putting on tights, long sleeve jerseys, winter jackets full-finger gloves and booties. I am not dressed for this party. My fingers froze as I shivered. I had some hot tea. It helped a little. I ride around a bit. This has marginal benefit. It is a challenge steering my bike, on the descent. I shiver so hard that I can hear my teeth chatter, through the noise of the wind. The exposed side of the switchbacks that I welcomed on the way up, I abhor on the descent. It is a long way down to where the trees offer some relief from the icy wind. After a long shaky descent I thought that my teeth were going to fall out with all that chattering. The bright sun and still air bring my warmth back. Now I can start to enjoy the ride down the mountain. This is short-lived as the smooth pavement turns to packed gravel. The gravel section lasts about 5k. On the smooth pavement a sign warns of a passport control booth ahead. I know that part of the course crosses into Switzerland. I didn’t realize that the smiling boarder guard was waving us back into Italy. Finally we reach the valley floor where we continued downhill to the Finish line at Prato de Stelvio.

Wednesday, my off day…of riding.
Cleaned my bike, oiled my chain, and checked my tires. Lots of rubber gone from back tire, a few minor cuts, The hard braking downhill and the long gravel section have taken their toll.
That’s all I am going to do with my bike. After breakfast I hop on the buss and go down town. Bolzano is a pretty mountain city. Nestled in a lush valley, it is surrounded by sweet smelling orchards and vineyards. Atop the surrounding mountains are perched medieval castles. In the valley it’s tourists, piazzas, pizza and…
Food is amazing tonight magic mushroom risotto..to die for, wild mushrooms that melt in your mouth and creamy rice. The main course was polenta with melted gorgonzola.
Desert, cappuccino. Made of ice-cream. The froth, frozen cream, the cup espresso gelato, the cup handle, chocolate and the spoon, a wafer.

What a difference a day makes.
After the day off my legs feel much better. Today it’s preview day. I get to visit the site of the Marcialonga cross-country ski race that I plan to ski this winter.
139km 2230m climbing
Nice long flat warm-up of 20km and then a steady climb up 800m. Lots of switchbacks but the pitch is enough to see and feel the elevation gain without the previous days strain. It is just enough to give me a false sense of power. The views from the top are spectacular; classic Dolomite spires of limestone and the beauty of Vallede Fiamme. Host to 2003 world Nordic Ski Championships and the Marcialonga ski race. The undulating valley leads through many quaint villages where the stranded (roads were clogged with 700 cyclists) tourists applauded. After 40k of this we arrived in Poza d’Fassa, site of today’s time trial.
6.5k 650m, That averages 10%. The good part is that it’s short. It starts with a series of 10% pitches broken up with restful flatter sections. The problem is that with every flat meter I enjoy now I will pay for later. The later came sooner than I hoped. With 2k to go the road went straight up at 15 then 20% At times it is tricky trying to keep my front wheel on the pavement. Part of the problem, I can see the top. As I round a corner my heart rate is at my redline so I stop to drop into my recovery zone, sixty seconds later. It is just 200 gruelling meters to the finish line.

The top is an alpine wonderland. Surrounded by Dolimite spires in a natural amphitheatre……food…coffee..hikers..refuges…Descent…HOME.

Today it’s a tough one. 112km and 3103m of climbing.

We start in Canazei and climb 500m gently up to Passo Fredaia on the edge of the tree line. We then drop 1000m to Caplile only to climb once again up 300m to the start of today’s time trial. This is a classic. The Passo Giau at 2233m, is above the trees surrounded by the eastern limestone peaks of dolomite. The climb is steady, averaging 9% with sections reaching 14%. It starts out hot. When I really need it, the temperature drops as the elevation rises. The last few km’s are in the spectacular heights of barren rock. High above, I can see the pass. I tell myself it’s all in the pacing. Keep my heart rate in the zone. At the top an inflatable archway marks the finish and a chirp of my chip. I grab some much needed nourishment and drink, a dry undershirt, put on my wind shell and head downhill. Today the group has been allowed to set their own downhill pace. This makes for a less scary descent. None of that hard, pad melting, burned rubber that happens as the group bunches up on the sharp switchbacks. Even at high speeds the descent seems endless. It does end in the warmth of the high valley at Pocol, where the next climb begins.
Passo Falzarego is 10.5km and 700m up. At Falzarego it’s a relaxing mostly downhill recovery for 21km to Arabba. Here I am faced with the last climb. In 9.5km I will climb the 650m up to the Passo Pordoi. By itself, it is not that taxing a climb. After 2400m of climbing it hurts. I may be slow but I am steady and I am actually passing People. I catch up to a familiar face. It’s George the Banana Man. He is one of the few English speaking riders. We met the previous day. He is the public relations officer for Chiquita Bananas, based in Antwerp Belgium. After saying hi, I pass him. He passes me a few minutes later. We exchange leads a few times before I realize we are actually riding at the same pace. I follow his wheel up the last pitch to the top where we congratulate each other. The Pass is a wind blown area of spectacular beauty. From here it’s 33 switchbacks down 800m to Canazai, food and a long slow bus ride back to home base.

Last Giro Ride

George and I agree to meet and ride together. After the previous day’s exhausting ride I question the wisdom of pushing my achy legs 90 more km’s before what appears to be the last and toughest stage. Since this stage if obviously intended as a recovery day, being mostly flat with a minor 3km 200m time trial. I think of it as massage for tired legs. Unfortunately most of the riders and organizers think differently. It’s fast. Right from the start we are flying along at 40km/h. After a quick 6k warm-up the time trial starts. With all the excitement I push and make it to the top in 10minutes. At the top George and I regroup and follow the group along a fast 70k back to Bolzano.

Last Stage Granfondo

That evening at the hotel I notice a new group of people in the dining room. Judging by their legs and the team car parked outside they are serious cyclists. Dinner is amazing. Rucollo salad, mushroom crepes, fried, stuffed eggplant, plus chocolate moose; dinner to ride on. The start for the Granfondo is different. We start in the village square, Piazza Walter. There is a choice of two courses, 169km, 3600m climbing or 140km, 3100m. My intention of course, is to do the Grande course knowing that I can always bailout of the last climb if my legs fail me. At the start it is obvious that this is a different kind of ride. Most of the riders are here just for the Fondo. There are few familiar faces from the week’s Giro stages. I meet up with George. While we are chatting about these differences a French fellow joins in. He says stay clear of the front. Those are pros on the line. This is an important race on their calendar. At the start there is a mad dash over the cobblestone streets of the ancient town centre of Bolzano trough the round-abouts and finally a screaming halt at the edge of town where we are greeted by the real starting line. A few minutes later a gun starts the real race. In short order George and I and group 10 rag/tag Giro-weary riders are riding our own pace. Along the way we pickup a few trailing riders here and there. It’s a relatively long flat 32km warm-up. More like a blast furnace, to the town of Merano. From Merano it’s slightly up-hill to the start of the first major climb at St. Leonardo in Passria. This is a long 20km up over 1300m in elevation to the Passo Giovo. It just keeps on going, up and up and up. Fortunately the pitch is within tolerable limits with flatter recovery sections. The heat of the valley quickly gives way to the refreshing air at elevation. In spite of our measured pace we are actually passing the occasional rider. These are the northern Dolomites and the peaks are more solid and horn-like. At the top we take time to dry off in the sun, refill our bottles and our bellies. I let a little air out of my tires before I start the brake burning drop down the valley to heat and renewed warmth of the thicker air. We don’t waste time with level riding. No sooner than reaching the valley at Vipiteno we start the next major climb, 16km up 1200m to the Passo Pennes. On the heels of the last climb and a challenging week this one hurts. The heat of the sun has sweat cascading down my nose, off my chin and onto my top tube where it splashes onto my knees. At the edge of the road I see a high waterfall where a magnified reflection has cool glacial water tumbling down over rocks and logs. The switchbacks are widely spaced. After 10km the pass reveals itself and it is still a long way up. With two of us pacing each other our pace continues at a steady 10k/h. Even at this pace we are passing riders. Upon being passed many of them stop and get off their bikes. With 5 more km to climb we decide that this will be our last climb of the Fondo and we will forgo the last 500m climb of the Granfondo. The relief in this decision gives us the energy to push up past the tree line and into the cooler alpine air and eventually the Passo Pennes. At the top we take time to congratulate ourselves snap some photos, fill our empty bottles and ourselves. From here it’s downhill all the way. This almost impenetrable pass forms the end of a steep remote valley that runs due south back to Bolzano. As a result we are treated to a traditional South Tyrolean rural valley unlike any of the other valleys I have experienced. Because it doesn’t actually connect to anywhere else, this box-canyon has been largely unaffected by development. No ski resorts, no hotels and no tourists or traffic. It’s a delightful fast ride to the finish line at Sarentino. Here we enjoy food and drink and needed rest. The last 22km back to Bolzano we are escorted by police through the narrow, steep valley. The numerous long dark tunnels are scary at high speed. I manage to slip off my sunglasses to see where I’m going. Finally a familiar landmark appears on the rocks above the valley, Castello Rancollo. We have arrived in Bolzano.

TOTALS
731km
14,760m

More info on the Giro Dolomiti go ride it with Romeo