IF, buts and maybes
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| ChrisMcCarthy |  | ... | 21-07-2014 @ 11:21 |
Lost his pen, then found his pen. #phew Member 4899, 2956 posts | I know you know this already but if you are in good shape you can get up anything with the right gearing. Well, maybe not the Zoncolan... | ||
| ChrisMcCarthy | | ... | 21-07-2014 @ 11:22 |
Lost his pen, then found his pen. #phew Member 4899, 2956 posts | I know you know this already but if you are in good shape you can get up anything with the right gearing. Well, maybe not the Zoncolan... | ||
| Cuddles | | ... | 21-07-2014 @ 21:12 |
 Eat.Cycle.Sleep.Win Member 2, 12511 posts SQ 190, BP 150, DL 280620.0 kgs @ 99kgs UnEq Administrator | Well I got up the Mortirolo... And the Gavia south side (which I reckon you'd have to go a long long way to find a better all round climb, it was simply stunning and f**king brutal). Didn't put a foot down on either, I wanted to quit the Mortirolo about 3km in, Lance wasn't wrong, that c**t is evil. Will write a full report in the morning, but right now, I'm f**kED. | ||
| Rick | | ... | 21-07-2014 @ 22:37 |
 I am a bench-only guy Member 3, 10035 posts SQ 185, BP 175, DL 235595.0 kgs @ 140kgs UnEq Administrator | Beautiful. | ||
| ChrisMcCarthy | | ... | 21-07-2014 @ 23:48 |
Lost his pen, then found his pen. #phew Member 4899, 2956 posts | Good work! | ||
| Cuddles | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 08:13 |
Eat.Cycle.Sleep.Win Member 2, 12511 posts SQ 190, BP 150, DL 280620.0 kgs @ 99kgs UnEq Administrator | Ok so a quick write up of yesterday before I forget... When I got up the weather had turned, big time. Very heavy rain, clouds actually in the town where I'm staying, but I've spent a lot of money to get here and I wasn't going to let it spoil my day. Given that it doesn't look like it's going to change much in the next few days I've got no choice but to get on with it... Had a HUGE breakfast, must have been 2000 cals + (I'm not very good at eating 'lunch' mid ride so have to do it this way). I also found a mini supermarket and bought some Gatorade, haribo and wafer biscuit things for the ride. And so it began, I took the main road out of bormio down towards Tirano, this should be mostly downhill bit no such joy. I ended up in a tunnel, which I don't think I was meant to be in, and of I'm frank, it was an experience I never want to replicate ever again. After about 4 or. 5 km in this tunnel I spotted an escape road, and duly escaped. I then found myself on a lovely quiet meandering climb, must have climbed a good 300m or so and then down the other side (in pouring rain this was scary as f**k), then for no explainable reason, the road just stopped, as if the workers had just decided to go to the pub one day at lunch and never came back! Managed to cycle down a rock strewn footpath at 18% and join a proper road. In the dry, this road would have been an absolute joy, but I had to be careful as breaking was precarious at best. After numerous stops to check google maps I found my my way to Mazzo and the start of the Mortirolo. I needed the loo and as it had dried up a little to take off my waterproof. I could find nowhere for the loo and completely forgot to take off my jacket. The climb itself was disgusting. It ramps up out of this little village and hits 12-14% almost immediately. The first two km were a challenge enough but it just never stopped, with no rest bite whatsoever. They rather helpfully count down the number of hairpin turns to the top, I think it started at mid 30s (I started going crazy half way up and couldn't remember). The problem with this system is that when you see 33 turns to go and are already in the red, it makes you feel like this is an impossible task. I knew I needed to eat and I knew I needed to drink but I really struggled, for two reasons, firstly taking my hands of the bars was almost impossible for any length of time, second, the act of eating and drinking means for a split second you're not breathing... When you're that close to your max, that's a horrible experience, and puts you further into the red. The turns kept on coming, some closer together and some seemingly miles apart. By turn 20 I was in big trouble, I was using all the tricks I knew to help cope but the gradient just never relented, in fact it started to get steeper. I started to lose the plot and nearly cycled off the road a few times. Then rather inexplicably I started singing to myself, but only two songs, both from my childhood, Fire and Rain by James Taylor and Suzanne by Leonard Cohen. I still can't explain why those songs came Into my head. But they helped pass the time for a km or two. I then started to recognise turns from watching the Giro over the years, that gave me a real boost and made me smile, something I really needed. Then I started seeing the names of riders painted on the road, including two of my heroes, Pantani and Basso. I've watched both of those riders summit the Mortirolo and dreamt of doing it, here I was doing it. I made the decision then that I was gonna ride until I passed out or I made the top, whichever came first. The turn numbers which had been so soul destroying at the start then started to have the opposite effect. Hitting number 10 was the moment I realised I could do this, it was only pain. I don't mind pain. The views started to open up a little and by god were they special! 5 then 4, the gradient now just under 10, which was comparatively gentle to the rest. And then it was done. Id made it. The Mortirolo, done, without putting my foot down. 12.4km at 10.5%. Pure unadulterated hell. I f**king loved it! Breakfast time, will report on the Gavia later. | ||
| Cuddles | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 09:33 |
Eat.Cycle.Sleep.Win Member 2, 12511 posts SQ 190, BP 150, DL 280620.0 kgs @ 99kgs UnEq Administrator | As I had been climbing the weather had improved and by the time I got to the top parts of the road has dried out. I enjoyed 15 minutes at the top and then started the descent over the other side. Of the roads had been dry this would have been out of this world. As it was it was still pretty magical. Nowhere near as steep as the side id climbed. All was good until I got it wrong around a sharp right hander and got it sideways. Rear wheel almost overtaking me, how I kept it upright I have no idea, more luck than judgement I think. This put the wind up me and I took the rest of the descent really slowly. It was a special stretch of road though. After the descent I turned left headed for Ponte di Legno. This was on a rolling road that really stung my legs. I started to worry. The only way back to Bormio was over the hard, Giro famed side of the Gavia. I stopped at a small town and had aaas ice ice cream, espresso and topped up my water. In hindsight this was a great decision. I got my haribo at the ready and decided that I was gonna try and not stop until the top of the Gavia. I got to Ponte di Legno pretty quickly and followed the signs to the Gavia. I thought the signs would be helpful and who knows, maybe they were but looking back it doesn't feel that way. I started climbing, nothing too sharp 5-8%, I must have climbed 3-400m and then inexplicably, having followed another sign to the Gavia, then descended, losing all of the altitude id just toiled to gain. I've never been so gutted on my bike. I was almost angry! Sure enough the climb started. Now id read a lot about the Gavia and watched it many times on TV. Part of me had was wondered why it's held in such high regard by the pure cyclists. Well now I know. This climb is nothing short of mind blowing. It has everything you could want. It's horribly steep, it gets to 2650m, much of it is on a lovely road surface, it's carved into the edge of the mountain so you get stunning views for about 90% of it and it's pretty damn quiet. I made the first 5 or 6 km quite uneventfully, almost wondering what the fuss was all about. And then it went single lane and kicked viciously. Long stretches of 12-14%. My legs hated it. Really hated it. Again I had to use all tricks I knew, especially around the hairpins. Once you get above 2000m it stars to get cold, really f**king cold, and windy. There are no trees for shelter (they can't survive) and there is still snow on the ground. It's about as close to a moonscape as you can imagine. Horrible, stark and desolate. Then it started to sleet. There were a few km with a block headwind where I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I was giving it everything I had and doing 3 miles am hour! 3 f**king miles an hour! I really started to doubt myself. With all the excitement and effort of the day, I'd forgotten something really important. At about 3km to go there is a tunnel. A fiucking tunnel! A tunnel itself would be no problem, but this tunnel is unlit (read - pitch black) and uphill. It was scary as hell. And the fear/concentration/stupidity of the situation meant that Id forgotten to do things, like breath properly! This put me deep into the red. It's also amazing how scary cycling in pitch darkness is and just how difficult it is, your senses are all over the place. Still I got out the other end just in time, and realised with 2km to go I had to f**king finish this. They took forever and I was cold as hell (it couldn't have been much above zero) but I went over the top, put my rain jacket on and made me way down. The earlier near miss had really put the wind up me so I was pretty cautious but still did long stretches at 70kmh and as I descended the roads dried out so j could push it a bit more. Made it back to the market just before closing time for 2 pints of local mountain milk and then went and are my BW in pasta and pizza. As corny as it sounds, that was one of the most enjoyable, fulfilling days of my life. I got to tick off a few ambitions and proved a few things to myself that I suspected but wasn't completely sure about. And I get to do it all again today  | ||
| Cuddles | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 09:35 |
Eat.Cycle.Sleep.Win Member 2, 12511 posts SQ 190, BP 150, DL 280620.0 kgs @ 99kgs UnEq Administrator | Oh and please feel free to ignore all of those ramblings, they're there as much for posterity as anything else. | ||
| ChrisMcCarthy | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 09:41 |
Lost his pen, then found his pen. #phew Member 4899, 2956 posts | They are fine ramblings, what your trip is all about! | ||
| Burky | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 11:04 |
 smack the shit out of my pubic bone Member 1902, 919 posts SQ 160, BP 110, DL 230500.0 kgs @ 85kgs UnEq | Sounds like an amazing trip. Makes my cycling around the peak district sound like a pootle around town! | ||
| Sparrow | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 11:21 |
 always lookIng for the extra UT2 work. Member 9, 18279 posts SQ 210, BP 167.5, DL 260637.5 kgs @ 103kgs UnEq | That was a great read Olly. Hope you have as much fun again today!  | ||
| BenMac | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 12:01 |
 'Looks like Ben Affleck according to Pagan' Member 876, 2506 posts SQ 220, BP 140, DL 260620.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Enjoyed reading those mate, sounds like a great experience. | ||
| little_a | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 12:12 |
 still a devious weightlifting bastard Member 43, 14374 posts | Good reads Juice. Glad to know that even more experienceder cyclist than me can have the thought "It seemed like a good idea at the time" Are you on your own there or in a group? | ||
| Cuddles | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 19:31 |
Eat.Cycle.Sleep.Win Member 2, 12511 posts SQ 190, BP 150, DL 280620.0 kgs @ 99kgs UnEq Administrator | Cheers boys. I'm having a blast, in a weird, hellish, uncomfortable kind of way. Littler, I'm on my tod mate. My best mate is getting married in Florence next Thursday and we're all in a 22 person villa for a week from Saturday so took the opportunity to double up and get this done too. Bizarrely not flying to Florence at peak time saved me a lot of money that's made this affordable, just. I leave Bormio on Thursday, then head to Como till Saturday and then down to Florence. | ||
| Rick | | ... | 22-07-2014 @ 21:12 |
I am a bench-only guy Member 3, 10035 posts SQ 185, BP 175, DL 235595.0 kgs @ 140kgs UnEq Administrator | I'm f**king loving this, mate. You be f**ked in the head, but then we've known that for a long old time . | ||
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