Day 10 - The Stelvio Pass

When Sandra and I cycled through this area 3 years ago on our trip from Amsterdam to Venice we had hoped to take in a detour up the Stelvio Pass, but a combination of tired legs and lack of time meant that it never happened,  However the itch remained and that has been a significant factor in choosing our route for this year's trip.

So, after a day off yesterday, we were up bright and early this morning to give it a try, we were both quite nervous when we set off as we really had no idea how tough it might be.

Even before we had left the village we found ourselves in the middle of a huge cycle race with hundreds of cyclists heading up the pass.  By the time we reached the village of Trafoi most of the racers had passed us, however we did soon find ourselves amongst a gaggle of cyclists who were all generally going at a similar pace and encouraged each other as we passed and repassed one another repeatedly.

After Trafoi the hairpins started properly.  The gradient was quite steep the whole way, generally about 9% between bends, sometimes getting the up to 12 or 13%.

Again there were loads of motorbikes, supercars and occasional Old Timer going up the road.

After about 11 miles the view above opened out and we could see our final 5 miles and over 2000ft of climbing snaking ahead.

It looked quite intimidating but we knew that the gradient stayed much the same and, without our panniers and in cooler conditions, we were both feeling pretty comfortable just steadily climbing away, We certainly seemed far more comfortable than many of the road bikers who were going up at the same pace.

The last mile or so were really spectacular as we counted down the numbered hairpin bends from 48 down to zero and before long we were at the summit which was a great feeling of achievement.

Just after we got to the top the heavens opened so we took shelter for a well earned coffee, some food  and the obligatory souvenir cycling tops.

After a while it looked as though the weather was clearing so we set off on the descent back the way we had come.

However this turned out just to be a "suckers gap" and within minutes we were caught in a torrential hail shower and it was absolutely freezing. ( we were at nearly 9000ft).

 

Fortunately there was another restaurant about 4 or 5 miles down where we joined quite a few other cyclists who had taken refuge for a coffee and to thaw out.  After a while the weather improved again and we continued the rest of our descent, it was really only on the way down that we appreciated just what a huge climb we had undertaken.

Eventually we were back down in the valley having a well earned beer an feeling quite chuffed with ourselves, although it was tough we were both really pleased with how comfortable we felt on the climb.  It was a fantastic day.

Today's miles - 34

Total miles - 351

https://www.strava.com/activities/621444851