Stelvio Pass

BORMIO, ITALY

I will claim ignorance. As a cycling fan, I am embarrassed. Or I should be embarrassed.

Caitlin Steele, Sonja Schmidt

It was just a few weeks ago during the Giro d'Italia that the Stelvio pass made cycling news for days. The weather was so bad that the Giro either did or did not tell the teams that the descent would be neutralized for safety. The leaders flew down it, everyone else went reasonably and lost chunks of time.

Today, we would climb the famed passo Stelvio. And I knew nothing about it.

James Shanahan

We left the hotel in Moena by shuttle and drove a couple of hours to Prato. Once there, we offloaded at a hotel by an intersection of the roads. Sure hope Trek Travel had permission because we took over all the rest rooms for changing.

Hotel near Prato where we changed clothes

We rolled at out an intersection and I went first this time. I had no intention of being first up the climb and within one hundred meters I pulled over as my spokes were hitting the speed sensor on the fork. Everyone rolled by me as I readjusted the sensor and then rode tempo to catch the back of the group, after also adjusting the bike pump which was being hit by the crank.

The first four kilometers were pretty flat or trending up at one or two percent. Once at the base of the pass the road turned up in a beautiful forest with no idea why lies ahead. It was warm and I was sweating pretty heavily.

Hotel on the lower slopes of Stelvio

Having been last I caught and rode with Caitlyn Steele and Colin Giffney. I have ridden with them quite a bit this week. We chatted without hardly noticing the steepness of the road in the forest. When we went by the Trek Travel guides they were astounded that we were just chatting away. We were supposed to be out of breath.

L-R: Caitlyn Steel, Collin Giffney, Barry Sherry

Colin and Caitlyn stopped at a planned water/rest stop and I rode ahead, passing Bud Hoffacker and Anne Marie Redmond and then caught Chris and Jim Ashton. I've ridden with Chris and Jim quite a bit this week as well.

Near the top of the forest one sees the first sign - Tornanti 48. That is turn or switchback number 48. Only 47 to go. It would be another kilometer before the next turn.

Eventually we left the forest and could see nothing but road and hairpin curves ahead. I tried not to look for the summit but could not help it. It was so beautiful.

Jim and I started using the switchback numbers to talk about what we were doing and where we were living at that age. It made the time go by real fast. We were joined for a while by James Shanahan, our Trek Travel guide and Chris and he rode about 50 meters ahead while Jim and I talked.

Chris and Jim Ashton

Nearing the top we watched two snow plows coming down the road. This morning the road up here was snow covered. But with our two hour shuttle followed by a two hour climb, the road was clear although still wet in a lot of places.

At Turn 3 James stayed behind watching for other riders coming up the road. Chris, Jim and I rode ahead until Turn 1 when I pulled over and made 10 or 12 beautifully packed snowballs. The snow was the perfect consistency for this purpose. I lofted one down two switchbacks below and it landed near James' feet. Then another. And another. He looked up and thought I was trying to throw snowballs all around him. I wasn't. I was trying to hit him but my throws sucked.

L-R: Jim Ashton, Barry Sherry, James Shanahan

One more switchback and I reached the top. It was cold although the Trek Travel van was parked just before the summit and it seemed to be 10 degrees (5.5 C) warmer on this side than at the top or going over the other side.

Lunch was on our own at the top. Although there were two restaurants which offered warm seating inside, James recommended "Richard," an Austrian who sets up a grill and cooks bratwurst. That was good enough for me.

Richard's Bratwurst

Haven ridden up the pass with Chris and Jim, we descended together. On this side there were tunnels. In fact Garmin lost its satellite connection for a while as we zipped in and out of the tunnels.

Both Chris and Jim are excellent descenders and I fell in behind Chris' line. We were flying as we entered a tunnel. It was dark and featured a sharp right-hander followed by a left hand curve at the exit. The eyes did not adjust from snow covered mountains to dark (with sunglasses on) instantly. 

Looking towards Bormio

I followed Chris' blinking rear light as we went wide in the turn. It was wet in the tunnel with snow melt and Chris went wide so I did too. As he recovered and went back to the right side of the road I was still over the center line when a car, with no lights, appeared in front of me. I touched the rear brakes and my biked fishtailed right in front of the car. I adjusted and brought the bike back under control and missed a head on collision by six inches or so. We did not enter a tunnel with speed after that.

Jim and Chris Ashton

There are a number of switchbacks on the Bormio side of the mountain as well although not 48 of them (27?). One of them, as I would discover later, passed within 10 meters of Switzerland and there is a road at another switchback that goes to Switzerland. The border there was about 100 meters away.

We didn't know to stop to visit Switzerland but for me it was a moot point as I will be in Switzerland later in the week. We followed the road to Bormio then checked into out hotel for the night.

Just down from passo Stelvio on the Bormio side

Stelvio Pass is the highest paved pass in Italy. It is a classic climb that, quite frankly, wasn't that hard. Of course, I wasn't racing. But at no point did I think of it as too hard or had to fight myself to keep going. I doubt I get to ride this again but I would love to. It is a great one.
 

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Cold, Wet, Sleet

MOENA, ITALY

After yesterday's big effort on Pellegrino the prudent thing would be to go easy, possibly even taking the day off. Some did. But I didn't.

We rolled out at 9:00 a.m. Well, they rolled out at 9:00. I had to go back to my room to get my Garmin. I left and chased for 2km before I got back on.

We had a quick rest stop in Canazei. James Shanahan, our guide, encouraged us to ride (as opposed to standing around "resting"). The weather did not look good. Unlike yesterday when I was first to go, I was last to roll out from the rest stop. I was going to take it slow. I rode for a while with Colin Giffney, a New Zealander.

Like the roads we climb, this waterfall down in the mountain
is much steeper than the camera captures

We chatted about biking on the "wrong side" of the road. About his grandsons. About the Sydney Zoo (he took his grandsons). I asked if they have all American animals. (See, in our zoos we have koalas, and dingos, and duckbill platypusses/platypi*.) Colin had a new camera which kept giving him a disc error so when he stopped to take pictures he always had to reboot.

At the base of the first climb

I caught up to Nick and Caitlyn Steel from California. Nick is a beast of a rider but we rode at Caitlin's pace and really enjoyed the climb. Reaching passo Sella, the winds kicked up and it began to rain. Caitlyn decided to turn back, which was a prudent decision. Colin did too. Prudent.

We did not stay long at the top. Just long enough to grab a jacket and put on some wamr clothes.

Source: http://www.thomsonbiketours.com/
We did not see gorgeous views because of the weather

We descended off the Sella and the rain turned to sleet. At the bottom we began our second climb. I saw a Team BMC car followed about five minutes later by a BMC rider. I don't know who that was but was probably Daniel Oss or Manuel Quinziato, both of whom are from the Dolomiti region in Italy. (Unbeknownst to me, Tejay Van Garderen passed our group yesterday on Passo Fedaia. But it didn't look like Tejay.)

The second climb was over passo Gardena, a pretty easy climb except for the cold blowing rain. At the pass Bud Hoffacker and Anne Marie Redmond took seats in the SAG wagon. Prudent. It was a nasty bitter day.

That meant I was last on the road. Well, I was along with Sonja Schmidt, our guide. I took off first on the descent although I stopped for a photo op. In the pouring rain. She passed me and had two switchbacks on me. Not sure what she thought when I caught her.

Sonja and I reached the bottom and began another climb with switchbacks. We caught Jennifer Gands. The three of us rode to the summit together where the most serious decision of the day would be made. Trek Travel had lunches for everyone inside a restaurant. I was cold and wet and did not want to sit down for an extended period. At all really. James gave me directions and off I went on the descent before the final climb.

James had said if I turn onto a road full of switchbacks, I'd know I was on the right road. He didn't say 32 switchbacks. The rain stopped about halfway up but the wind picked up. Each switchback meant a different direction for the wind. The head wind was almost impossible to pedal through. But the tailwind was almost strong enough to coast up the 6% grade.

Helicopter Landing Stop Lights

It was a long climb and I feared I would be brought back by Nick. I don't know if my psyche could handle being caught two days straight after being spotted one hour.

Passing a fenced field of cows, there was one poor cow standing out on the road by herself. She was probably scared, not knowing how to get back in the field. And I was scared go go past her. I crept over to the far left, never making eye contact (challenge), and got by.

Photo Credit: Trek Travel

Those switchbacks seemingly went on forever. Eventually I could see a building that looked like a hotel at a pass. It was a hotel, but it wasn't at the pass. There was another three km to ride after that but I could see the summit. The real one.

Photo Credit: Trek Travel

After going over the summit of pass Pordoi, I had a pretty fast descent down 28 switchbacks, the first 12 of which we rode this morning before turning up to Sella. I was cold. Freezing. Soaked. Showing signs of hypothermia. But I would make it down safely.

Once back to Canazei it was a matter of retracing our morning route. There were some sweet descents on the road. I didn't realize how much climbing we had done. Arriving back at Moena, I was two kilometers short of 100 so rode out and made it a metric century. Then hit the shower. Rarely have I enjoyed a hot shower so much.

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*There is no universally agreed plural of "platypus" in the English language. Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Colloquially, the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is technically incorrect and a form of Pseudo-Latin, the correct Greek plural would be "platypodes". Source: Wikipedia 2014
 

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Royal Gorge

CAÑON CITY, COLORADO

DAY 9 (UNOFFICIAL) - RIDE THE ROCKIES

Last year the Day 6 route on Ride the Rockies was to be Salida to Cañon City across Royal Gorge. However, there was a major fire burning and we were rerouted.  

I extended my stay this year for a day to ride the missing portion from last year. Ideally, I could ride point to point from Colotaxi to Cañon City.  But I couldn't pull that off logistically so I did the next best thing. I rode backward to the gorge loop. 

Royal Gorge Train

Last year we were looking at a mostly downhill ride to Cañon City from Salida so I knew I'd be riding uphill today until I turned around. And I started with a seven mile climb. 

Arkansas River from US 50

I passed one entrance for the Royal Gorge Bridge. I kept riding and crossed the Arkansas River. There I saw the second entrance with the sign "Bridge Closed Will Reopen." I stopped at a rafting company and asked if the sign was real. The young lady assured me it was and directed me back three miles, uphill, to the visitor center. 

Sorry Folks. America's Favorite Family Bridge is Closed for Maintenance

Arriving at the visitor center it appeared to be a restaurant. I saw a waitress. I didn't ask anyone for help. I just decided to ride as far as to the gorge as I could ride. 

Fire Damage from 2013 Fire

It's a gorge. My first thought was that I would ride downhill from the summit I had just crested. And the road went downhill at first. But then I was climbing again. A lot. And it made sense. The bridge is at the top of the gorge. 

I saw a closed Gorge Railroad. Also a couple of other boarded up businesses. At the end of pavement was a dirt road to a picnic area. Straight ahead the road looked like it might go to a bridge. But it was fenced off. So I rode on dirt. 

Dirt Leading to Picnic Area and Overlook

Arriving at the picnic area I saw rocks and dirt and a 1,000' cliff. I carefully maneuvered my way down the rocks to a vantage point to see the gorge and bridge. We were high up. We were far away. It was windy. I was wearing cycling cleats.

The Bridge and Gorge from Far Far Away

Today was important to honor Jamie Roberts. Her name was on my calf and I made sure I would get here. No matter what.

Overlooking the Gorge and Honoring Jamie

It was windy. Again. There was a headwind out and a tailwind back. The bike rolled back towards Cañon City. I hit 49 mph but was very uncomfortable trying to push it higher. It was three days since I checked or added air to my tires and I did not have a pump. I thought the tires felt low and I wasn't sure if an under-inflated tire was in danger of overheating and popping. The wind shifted and I was really afraid of pushing it. Riding is fun but I must keep it safe. (Like 49 mph is safe but 50 mph is dangerous.)

Looking Downstream at the Arkansas River

I didn't ride across the Royal Gorge Bridge, and now probably never will, but I saw it from afar. Most importantly, I honored Jamie. 

Royal Gorge Bridge in Background

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Texas 4000

CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO

 DAY 8 (UNOFFICIAL) - RIDE THE ROCKIES

Bradley Allen and I were talking last night about the Texas 4000. When Brad asked if they came through the area I looked and discovered the Rockies route was in Colorado Springs and traveling to Denver. I sent a quick text to Vanessa Beltran on the Ozarks route and she sent me their route. 

Brad Allen

I called Brad and suggested we do a road trip. He agreed. 

We drove to find the Texas 4000. When we did we turned around, at first looking to drive far ahead, park, then ride backward so we could ride with them. As we passed them, Brad rolled down his window and rang his cowbell. The riders were surprised and appreciative. I think. 

Texas 4000

We didn't drive too far - maybe 3-4 miles when we saw the Texas 4000 lunch stop. We parked and introduced ourselves. We were told there were three groups on the road. We had passed the first six riders and rode back to find a group of three and a group of five. 

We set off into a vicious headwind. I followed Brad's wheel but there was no draft. He went hard (I think) and I followed. My heart rate was higher than it had been at anytime climbing the passes. We were at 6,000 feet and maybe that's a good excuse. (I did not have my heart rate monitor and regret that was the one day I didn't. My heart was coming out my throat.)

Brad Allen and Texas 4000 Riders

After seven and one half miles and 30 minutes chasing into the wind I waved down a passing car and asked if they passed the Texas 4000 riders. They hadn't. I thought it was pointless that we continue. I feared the other riders came from a side road that we had passed. I thought they may be at the lunch stop. Or they all ate lunch and were back on the road. We turned around. 

Riding for Jamie

Now we got the tailwind. I was glad to pull Brad. We flew. Brad was stroking my ego by occasionally dropping back and making me ease off. I was hitting more than 40 mph on the flats. It was the wind. 

Legs being photographed

It seemed like it was no time before we were back with the original six riders and today's staff. We met all the Texas 4000 riders. All six that is. I almost immediately noticed most did not have their calves written on. We told them about Jamie Roberts although they knew as Vanessa had shared the message. And they all got to writing Jamie's name on their calves. 

Texas 4000 Rockies Route plus Brad and Barry

We talked. Took pictures. Never could figure out where the other riders were. When it was time to roll out I decided I would ride with them for a little bit. 

Texas 4000 Rolling

The miles weren't long. But the effort was hard and the reward was great meeting the Texas 4000. Seeing them embrace Jamie's memory warmed my heart. Godspeed my friends. 

Packing for Jamie

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