Stelvio Pass
In September, my husband, Pete, started his annual Alpine Adventure trip over the Alps. Unsupported and carrying all his gear, including a tent, cooking stove and tools in case of a mechanical.
Pete doesn’t have a motor to help him, but all the routes he does can be done on an Ebike, I believe this will be interesting for our readers.
This is his story in his own words.
Prato allo Stelvio – Bormio 52 km
- average speed on the climb is 7.5 km/h,
- 1742m up,
- 1444m down
- average heart rate 112 bpm
- max heart rate 140
- bottles drunk 6 (3.0 litres)
Boom! Bellissimo! Stelvio done.
Not an easy day at the office today. A few curved balls came winging by, which I had to deal with, but I will expand on those shortly. My friends and wife know I can be pretty exact and sometimes pedantic. Therefore it was no surprise that I had planned this section in great detail. My key point is ensuring I have an excellent breakfast to fuel up. Today I set myself up with a reasonably massive carb/glucose/fructose intake, capped off with a hefty-sized cappuccino.
The climb up Stelvio Pass
The climb started from the get-go today with a nice gradient of 3-4%, my heart rate was already at 130 and my plan was to run at roughly 130-135 with a max of 140. This was not the best sign with 1700m still to climb and latterly at altitude in thinner air. I slowed down and plodded on, watching my heart rate constantly.
To come to the point, I think the caffeine was having a big effect and bringing my heart rate up higher. It proved the point later, on the final kilometres of the climb, as I was riding faster with a lower pulse.
The climb itself was cracking, with unbelievable views. There was lots of banter from other riders and encouragement from all nationalities who passed me by. It is a very loved climb with some strong riders on the road.
I was overtaken by everyone today, normally I am unable to let someone pass me due to my immature competitive spirit. But today I knew I had to ride to my plan or it would be game over, not just for today but for the rest of my tour.
The energy that is needed to pull the bike and combined load on a climb like this is very high. I had calculated carefully how to ensure I got to the top, with enough in the tank to get to my final destination. I also had to remember that it’s only day 3 and I still have another 6 days in front of me. Riding to heart rate and taking on enough calories and water was key. Plus it was good to hear all the banter from other riders, it makes me smile and gave me the extra boost to make it to the top. Thanks to all those riders.
At the top of Stelvio
Once at the top and the obligatory photos are done. I got chatting with some Dutch people who asked me about getting to Bormio now as the road had been closed due to a rock fall this morning. WTF? Again, not in my plan.
So I had a wee sit down and looked at the map, and the realisation dawned, that if this was the case it would take me massively off course and would change the route of the whole Tour. After an hour of speaking to various people, the opinion was that with a bike I could get through. If that wasn’t the case it would be a big climb to get back up the pass to where I could head into Switzerland and a different route. It was a bit of a gamble but I was keen to stay on plan! So I took the chance and it paid off.
Result!
It worked out really well in the end and the added bonus of descending on closed roads into Bormio! Get in!
Tonight I lay my head down on a campsite south of Bormio. My main focus initially is to get my camp set up and check everything has survived the day. After that, I head for the showers, which is normally the highlight of my day. These ones were ok but not up to the excellent standards of yesterday, just goes to show that it’s the small things that matter on a big tour. I made up for it though by eating pizza and drinking beer therefore restoring the balance and all is good with the world.
Learnings
Today I have learned, to be careful with my caffeine intake before a big climb.
Be prepared for changes, but don’t make decisions too quickly.
Ask for opinions then make your decision.
And as my wife says, ‘it will all come out in the wash’ – whatever that really means!
Tomorrow is another day. Buona notte.
Interested but need more info?
https://www.stelvio.net/english/