Exotic Lifts

Warning – this post may only be interesting to people in the ski biz – and maybe not all of them.

Doug Allen told me that ski lifts in Europe were more exotic than we commonly see in the U.S.. My tramp around Zermatt today was my first opportunity to see for myself.

Before getting to the lifts, the ticketing process was an interesting deviation from the U.S. model as well. They used the Ski Data point of sale and access control systems, and there is no way they could sell their products the way they do without it. Take the side of the mountain where I wanted to ascend as an example. The lift ticket had 3 different prices depending on whether you wanted to go 1/3 of the way up, 2/3 or all the way to the top. There were then 3 more price points if you wanted to ride the lift back down. Before you even start talking about discounting, packaging, kids, multi-days, etc., there were 6 prices you could pay to get on the lift just once. I was a little surprised to see that they not only had turnstile access to get on the first lift, they also had turnstiles to exit the lift at the top of #2 (and I assume #3). I could not figure out how they would handle exceptions for exit controls, but it certainly keeps everyone honest and accounted for. They did not prevent anyone from getting on lift #2, which I thought was a control gap, but they validated that you had paid for the 2nd segment of the ride when you got off at the top. They must have had some method to collect from unpaid riders at the top of each lift.

Unlike most U.S. ski resorts, Zermatt has a significant portion of their lift system running during the summer to provide hiking and biking access to their extensive trail network and the back country. They were operating 12 lifts, including gondolas, trams, a funicular, a cog railway train and something I don’t even know what to call (like an elevator that operates on a diagonal rather than vertical path). 4 of them service glacier skiing at the top year-round.

The summer access prices were very high - like everything in Switzerland. A ride on one of the small base area lifts could be as little as 10 CHF (Swiss Francs ~$.90). A single ride from bottom to top of the mountain can be as much as 58 and if you want to ride back down, the total cost is 90. Every lift has a separate price, but those are the extremes. A 3-day hiking pass that gives you access to everything is 183. Those prices make U.S. lift ticket prices seem like a huge bargain. For a little more than the cost of a single lift ride at Zermatt, you can ski all day at Steamboat. Skiing is just an amenity to enhance the experience of riding the lift.

Now – on to those exotic lifts. Here is the experience I had getting to the top of the second lift for today’s hike.

1) I purchased the ticket

2) I walked through a tunnel to get to the first lift. I don’t mean a hallway, I mean a 500 foot tunnel deep inside the mountain. Think capital spending like a large-scale mine.

3) Electronic status signs indicated the departure time for the next lift, which was a funicular (inclined railway).

4) The train arrived at the bottom station on what appeared to be a 35-40 degree angle. There did not seem to be any means of articulation in the train, so I believe the track maintained that exact pitch from bottom to top. The entire ride was underground, obviously engineered so that the grade from the starting point deep inside the mountain was exactly what was needed to reach to surface at the top station. The evac plan was apparently to use an 18" wide stair case that ran from bottom to top along the track. I would guess there were more than 1,000 stairs. Wouldn't that be fun in ski boots?

5) When we arrived at the top, the doors opened and I walked the final steps back into the sunlight.

6) This was a typical mid-way station like many ski mountains (except most mountains don’t have a view of the Matterhorn). It had a lodge with a dining room and a bike terrain park. It also had a smaller tunnel that lead to the diagonal elevator. You pressed a button to call for a car and a gondola-like cabin arrived on either of two tracks. When you entered, you pressed another button (like an elevator) and the cabin descended on the track to the lower terminal, perhaps 100 vertical feet below. This was obviously a low-capacity lift designed for limited use, but it solved the problem of a short steep pitch providing access to beginner terrain.

7) The next lift was a Doppelmayr gondola. Very familiar.

8) At the top of the gondola, you could either board the final lift or take a pair of high capacity elevators up two floors to exit building. Not that big a deal until you think of the cost of moving that many people efficiently.

9) The final lift was a 100-person tram that went the rest of the way to the top. I did not ride the final leg.

So to recap – For one of three major summer routes up the mountain, you take a funicular to a diagonal elevator to a gondola and a tram. There are other routes that use a surface cog railway, other trams and gondola as well as glacier-mounted chairlifts. In terms of investing in lift capacity, this place spends money like a Vegas casino in 2006 (does anyone remember those days?).

Luck and Fortune

Miles from Home - 5242.7
Firsts / Highlights - Matterhorn, big hike, fondue, raclette, Swiss chocolate and rosti
Miles Hiked - 10.0 miles
Vertical Feet - 3,513 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - Just me.

This post is from June 28, 2009.



My Dad and I have discussed the difference between “Being Lucky” and “Being Fortunate”. The essential difference is that being lucky is something that happens to you, while being fortunate is something that happens as a result of your actions and decisions. I think those are good definitions, but I am not sure I can define whether the results of my trip so far are lucky or fortunate. I’m sure there are elements of both. What was it that Chris Diamond decided to allow me to take the time off that I needed to do this? What was it that allowed me to get on the train with my bike even though the conductor was certain that nobody was going to ride the train without the proper ticket that could not be purchased? What was it that allowed me to break into my hotel instead of sleeping on the street outside the gate? What was it that the weather in Zermatt was perfect today, in spite of the fact that it has been lousy for weeks and the forecast was marginal?

In each case, I can identify one or two things that I did correctly to create a favorable outcome, but even with those actions, the outcome could have been far less favorable. I don’t believe in the supernatural, so that is out as an explanation. I think it is a probability game, and I have been the beneficiary of the odds a number of times now, and the laws of probability say that in spite of my best efforts, I am due for some unfavorable outcomes.

For now, however, I will take the good as it comes.



Today was a perfect day in Zermatt. I stayed in Finale Ligure just long enough to wait-out the bad weather before coming to Zermatt. If I had come here directly from Bormio, which would have been more efficient, I would have been sitting inside watching it rain and snow. As it turned out, I had a great hike to Edelweiss, up a big alpine climb, to Zmutt, Furi and back to Zermatt. Hiking in Switzerland is something I have wanted to do as long as I can remember wanting to do anything. What a great first day for doing it. It was one of the best days they have had this whole summer in Zermatt.



The big headliner at Zermatt is Matterhorn. I have seen pictures of that peak my whole life, but seeing it in person is mesmerizing. I found myself sitting down on the trail and starring at it for minutes on end. It has so many shapes and angles that are different with every view. It looks like a number of things. It looks like a movie company logo, like a piece of fractured quartz and like a piece of hand-broken parmesan cheese (enough to keep Maurizio going for a very long time). Whatever it looks like, it is big and impressive.

The fact that I was obsessed with views of the Matterhorn means that you will be seeing pictures of it multiple times today. Sorry. Hopefully, these will be some views you haven’t seen before.

I won’t have my bike for about a week, but that didn’t keep me from getting a good workout today. I started out by taking a steep hike up to Edelweiss – a small lodge about 1,000 feet above Zermatt. It has no access that I could see other than the hiking trail to get there. That probably justifies the price I paid for lunch. 16 CHF for Rosti (pan fried potatoes), 2 for an egg and (this was the shocker) 6 for a ½ liter of water. Altogether, lunch was 24 CHF (1 CHF = .90 USD). I knew that Zermatt was going to be expensive, but that is why I am keeping my stay short. In spite of the price, it was a great lunch to keep me going the rest of the day and the view was hard to beat.

After Edelweiss, I continued hiking up. My intended destination was a small town called Zmutt. I eventually got there, but not without a substantial uphill detour. I suspected that I was on the wrong trail for some time, but I didn’t care because it was a nice hike. I eventually ran into 3 men in their 60’s and 70’s hiking down toward me. I was WAY above tree line, and they were hiking down to me. They spoke only French, but we spent a little time pointing at the map and figuring out where we were. They were obviously fit hikers, but they had no better idea of where they were on the map than I did. We concluded that I needed to turn around and take the low trail to get to Zmutt.

I hiked down the mountain with the gang of old men and eventually found a branch that lead to Zmutt. The detour meant that I climbed over 3,000 feet today. For those keeping score, the climb portion of today’s hike was about 3 miles at over 22% average grade.



Tomorrow I will hike again, but I think I will take advantage of the extensive cable car and mountain train system to get to the high country. Like everything here, using the lift system is very expensive. I think it will cost almost as much to ride the lift once for hiking as it would to buy a lift ticket to ski all day in the U.S. (a 3-day hiking pass costs about 180 CHF!). Zermatt apparently out-Aspen’s Aspen. I expect having access to the high alpine zone will make it easy to forget the pain of buying a 1-day ticket, although it is hard to believe the scenery could be a lot better than today.

Leaving Finale Soon

Miles from Home - 5362.7
Firsts / Highlights - Stayed warm & dry, unlike much of Italy and Switzerland
Miles Ridden - 39.15 miles
Vertical Feet - 4,209 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - Lorenzo – Manager of Hotel Florenz.

This post is from June 26, 2009.



The common tread of all the Bike Hotels is that the owner / manager is actively involved with the guests. The services provided from one hotel to the next are not identical, but so far, I personally know the owner of every one where I have stayed.

Lorenzo is the manger of Hotel Florenz in Finale Ligure. He has helped me build routes in my GPS each day to be sure I find the best roads in the area. The landscape here is a series of parallel valleys all flaring open at the Mediterranean to the south. Ridges rise as much as 3,000 feet at the top of each of these valleys as you head inland toward the Alps. The way you plan a ride around here is to ride along the shore until you get to the valley you want to climb. You then ride into that valley and cross over as many ridges as you care to tackle riding parallel to the sea. Some of the valleys have exposed rock cliffs and some have beautiful beach wood forests. Lorenzo helped me find a good combination.

When it started to look like there might be rain inland, he built a route for me that climbed the ridges closest to the sea. It’s good to have a local expert available.

My reason to spend a few days in Finale was to avoid bad weather that seemed to be everywhere else. As the train pulled out to begin my trip to Switzerland, the umbrella that had protected me was lifted and it started to rain. I am now officially out of safe-havens from the weather. I am going to have to take whatever hits me, and I’m afraid Switzerland knows I’m coming.

This is going to be a fairly condensed trip to Switzerland. First, everything seems to be much more expensive there, starting with lodging. Second, I want to be back down to the Riviera in Monaco for the first stage of Le Tour de France on July 4.

I have another logistical house of cards building. I am leaving my bike & box in Finale while I go to Zermatt and Interlaken. I then return to Finale just long enough to get my bike, but leave the box while I go to Monaco. This will create a very long day of travel, but it allows me to have my bike and hopefully ride the time trial course in Monaco before the race. After I see off the racers on stage 2 of the Tour, I return to Finale and pack my bike into the box before spending one last night at the convent. What happens next depends on the weather forecast. I will either go back to Switzerland on Lake Geneva to see a few days of the Montreux Jazz Festival, or move onto Croatia. If Croatia, that sets off a whole new chain of plans with where to take the bike and box in order to be able to ride ferries and busses where I need to go.

Thank you to Jamie Bischoff at The Travel Center of Steamboat for all of her help getting the lodging logistics worked out for these next few jumps between countries. By design, I left the decisions for the last second, which I know must drive her nuts.



Photographic note – I find that I have been taking a lot of pictures of roads as I am riding. As a photographer, I know there is no reason to take a photo that has no subject or activity, but I am regularly breaking that rule in order to try to capture the mood of these wonderful riding roads. With as lightly traveled as they are, I could wait around for hours before any activity took place that would provide a subject, so I just compose the best I can (with light that is almost always too hot) and shoot. Once I get back home, I think I will create a collection of road pictures and call it “WYLTBRTR” (“Wouldn’t you like to be riding this road?”).

Breaking into a Convent

Before coming to Italy, I was under the impression that cycling was the biggest popular sport in the country. While cycling is much more followed here than in the U.S., football (soccer) is, without a doubt, the biggest sport in Italy.

Late last night I was in my hotel room and kept hearing the sounds of a football match from the field about 2 blocks down the street. I decided that watching some football needed to be part of my Italian experience, so I walked downstairs and headed (no pun intended) over.

There were a series of city league games going on, so I paid my 3 Euros toward their pizza fund and went in to watch. The quality of play was very good. They were not professional, but they were post-collegiate players who obviously had been playing all of their lives. I stayed until the end of the last game, which ended a little past midnight.

The hotel where I am staying is a converted 19th century convent in a very quiet neighborhood, except for the football field. By midnight, the streets are fully deserted.

When I got back to the hotel, I found the 10-foot gate in front of the parking lot closed and locked. A substantial gate with pointed spines from the old days as a convent, in fact, surrounded the entire hotel. The gate was too far away from the building for the night watchman to hear me rattling it, so I needed to find another solution.

A phone number for the hotel was posted on the gate, but I did not have my cell phone with me. There was a side door with an access code keypad and a telephone, but the phone didn't work and they had not given me the access code when I checked in.

Another piece of information that is necessary for this story to make sense is that Finale Ligure is a tourist destination, but it is almost entirely European tourists. In my 3 days here, I have only encountered 2 people who speak English and not a single person (tourist or otherwise) who speak it as a primary language. This made stopping people and asking for help getting access to my hotel fairly complicated. I stopped a couple of people passing by from the recently ended football game, but none of them had a phone or understood what I was asking.

I found a public phone down the street, but it only took phone cards – no coins. Next, I went back to the football field and managed to get one of the players to loan me his cell phone. I had memorized the number posted on the gate, so I called the hotel and reached the night watchman, who spoke no English. I said who I was and my room number and he seemed to understand that I was locked out, but I didn’t have nearly enough Italian in my 12-word vocabulary to say that I was two blocks down the street and would meet him at the gate in 5 minutes. I think he assumed that I was calling from the gate and would go outside to let me in while I held on the phone. When I figured out that while I was holding I was missing my opportunity to meet him, I hung up the phone and gave it back to the football player.

By the time I sprinted back from the field to the hotel, there was no sign of anyone at the gate. I waited for 10 minutes, but no activity. I went between the front gate and the side door a couple of times, but no sign of life either place. I felt like the watchman could have been a little more resourceful if he knew that a guest was locked out and was not at the gate – like try a second time. There was no sign, however, that he was doing any follow-up after his first attempt failed.

I eventually decided that my only two options were to somehow climb the gate or sleep on the sidewalk outside the hotel. I assessed whether or not I could safely get over the gate, and decided it was worth a try.

I successfully climbed up and over, assuming that would be the end of this mis-adventure. When I got to the hotel door, it was also locked and the night watchman was not at the front desk. I figured that he was not a desk attendant, just a watchman who slept in the basement and answered the phone if it rang. I pounded on the door for a while, but no one answered. Checking every door yielded no joy.

Just as I was becoming reconciled to sleeping on a deck chair next to the pool, the watchman appeared. He didn’t seem very happy, in fact, I think he literally growled at me. As far as I could tell, he never even questioned how it was that I got inside the gate. I gave him a grunt of acknowledgement and went to my room.

I’m not sure if this place was built to keep people in or out, but convents are tough places to break into.

Seaside

Miles from Home - 5362.7
Firsts / Highlights - Began to explore Ligure
Miles Ridden - 50.75 miles
Vertical Feet - 4,060 ft.
Route - My GPS lost my route today. I have a message into Garmin tech support to try to get it resolved.
People - Just me.


Visualizza Finale Ligure in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

This post is from June 24-25, 2009.



This was my first day at a Bike Hotel in Finale in the region of Ligure. It is the heart of the Riviera, and I selected it really for one reason. It wasn’t raining here. Much of Italy and everywhere I checked in Switzerland were looking like rain or snow most of this week. I may have painted myself into a logistical corner by coming so far south, but the objective of staying warm and dry were met. The sun was out and the beaches were busy all day.

I didn’t subject the sunbathers to my biker’s tan (tan up to about 3 inches above the knee and 6 inches below the shoulder – everything else is pasty white). For me, tan is a relative term, but there is a noticeably different shade of white. Whether you call it a biker’s tan or a farmer’s tan, it’s not going to see the beach.

This bike hotel is a bit of a step down from the great experiences I have had so far. Not terrible, but not quite so exceptional. Walking from the train station ¾ of a mile with my backpack, bike and bike box on sidewalks that were not wide enough for 2 people to pass was a bad start. The pay-for-a-guide and pay-for-laundry models were also a step down from the other hotels. Finally, the quality of food included with the half-board package was not as good as my previous stays and the dining room was overrun with screaming kids (the sound of screaming kids does not seem to be language-dependent). I dropped half-board for the remainder of my stay, so the food and screaming kid problems are solved. I think overall everything will be just fine.

Somewhat like Riccione, the mountains climb immediately out of the sea here. A thin strip of flat oceanfront, then the climbing begins. After the Alps, the grades here were a welcome relief. I climbed 4,000 feet today, but the grade rarely went outside the 4-7% range. That allowed me to do some “tempo” climbing where I could maintain a higher cadence than has been possible for the past week. It felt good and my legs have a different type of fatigue tonight.



At the top of the 3,000’ pass, the road passed through some kind of military fortress. This seemed more modern than the medieval walled cities I have seen everywhere. It had a stone trench around it like a mote, it was built into the mountaintop and it had chimneys coming out of the top. The tunnel passing through it was 50 meters long with an atrium in the middle and the building was at least 300-400 meters wide. I need to learn more about it, but it created some interesting photographic opportunities.



Another uncategorized observation is street markets. I frequently come upon markets during my rides. Almost every one of any size has at least one vendor selling all purple clothes. Sometimes there are 3 or 4 stalls in a row with nothing but purple. The odd thing is that I don’t see a disproportionally high percentage of people wearing purple. Another one of those mysteries. I’m sure Daniele’s response would be a shrug, and he would say, “It’s Italian”.

Leaving Bormio

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Just a transportation day
Miles Ridden - 0 miles
Vertical Feet - 0 ft.
Route - No route today.
People - Ned from Scotland.

This post is from June 23, 2009.

Today was a transportation day, so there isn’t much to report. Just a couple of loose ends.



Daniele has been telling me about his “second wife” since I arrived in Bormio. I couldn’t leave town without getting a picture of the two of them together. He claims that wife #2 is less expensive, only requiring a water bottle and a strong pair of legs. For the bike geeks out there, yes, that is a Pinarello Prince – there is no more coveted bike in Italy. For the fitness geeks out there, no, I can’t lift my bike straight off the ground that way – and it’s not my bike’s fault.

The other loose end is an interesting story. There have been very few single people in the bike hotels. One such person was Ned, a lawyer from Scotland. He checked in the day before I was scheduled to leave. At dinner one night, he mentioned that he had seen my Moots in the bike storage area. He asked, “Moots – aren’t those made in a tubular shaped former foundry building in Steamboat Springs?”. I must have been dumbstruck for a few seconds, then said, “They haven’t been made there for over 5 years. That is now Orange Peel Bike Shop, but how in the world did you know that?”

He said that he had seen it in a magazine article about 5 years ago. Not only did he remember an article he saw 5 years ago about a bike brand that is nearly unheard-of in Europe, he remembered and could describe the building where they used to be made.

I’m still shaking my head about that. I guess I see how he got through law school. His legal library needs must be very small.

Challenge

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Rode Passo del Mortirolo from Mazzo (the difficult side)
Miles Ridden - 35.77 miles
Vertical Feet - 6,706 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - Just me.



This post is from June 22, 2009.

Today was original scheduled to be my check-out day at Hotel Funivia in Bormio. Since I had not made adequate progress on planning my next steps, I decided to extend for a day.

With my extra day, I set out to ride the "easy" side of Mortirolo Pass. I had the route in my GPS, I was dressed and ready to go. I pulled my bike out of the deposit in the garage and walked outside and it started raining. It wasn't a warm rain. It was in the 50's, blowing and overcast. Not the best way to set out on what promised to be a challenging day.

I ran into Daniele and he assured me that the rain was moving north, and if I headed south toward Mortirolo that I would avoid it. He even offered to shuttle me down the valley to a lower starting point and I took him up on it. When we arrived 15 miles down the hill, it was just as promised. Warmer and no rain. Unfortunately, the wind continued. Daniele has been a fantastic host throughout my stay.

Since I had the jump-start from the van ride, I decided I should take advantage of the opportunity to ride the even more evil side of Mortirolo. My new plan was to ride up the Mazzo approach and down to Grosetto rather than up and down Grosetto. The Mazzo approach has more elevation (it starts lower) and climbs to the summit in 12 km rather than 18. That makes for a significant difference in grade. If I'm going to do the climb of a lifetime, I may as well do it right.



The pictures I selected for today's post are not for scenery. They are an attempt to give a sense of how steep the pass is. Pictures have a way of flattening out terrain, so these only give a little bit of the flavor.

The question of, "what is the steepest climb you have ever done?" has now been answered and will probably stand for the rest of my life. It wasn't the longest or the most vertical gain, but it was certainly the steepest. If Lance Armstrong can call this the most difficult climb he has done, I don't feel too conflicted saying that it is probably the steepest I will ever do.



The average grade is over 10%. That is deceptive because it honestly seemed as if it almost never dropped below 10%. It was mostly 12-15% with frequent blips above 20%. It's amazing how 10% can begin to feel like a recovery zone after pulling 15% for a while. Only the somewhat flatter section near the top caused the average to drop near 10%.

Key Stats for climb:
Distance: 7.18 miles
Time: 1:28:28
Avg Speed: 4.9 mph
Vertical Feet: 4,184 ft.



On both the climb and descent, I had a couple of mountain bike sensations that you usually don’t get on a road bike. Climbing some of the steeper pitches, I could actually feel my front wheel lifting up from the pavement. Not so much that I was going to flip over backwards, but enough to know that the grade was affecting my weight distribution. On the way down, I had the sensation of diving over the edge. I extended my butt off the back of the saddle like you do on a mountain bike to assure that my rear brake could be effective. Neither was scary or dangerous, but not sensations you usually attribute to a road bike.

Mortirolo is a challenge that has been in my mind since starting to think about visiting Italy. It wasn't a challenge I was committed to achieve, but I knew it was there. Riding it today, I thought about challenges in general. Anyone who has ridden a bike uphill at 12% knows that it isn't easy or comfortable. When you hear that there is a pass in Italy that sustains that for nearly 7 miles, most people's response is that they couldn't do it. They can go 100 feet at that grade if they need to, but 7 miles? No way.

I have observed during previous big challenges, and confirmed today, that everyone is capable of so much more than they know. Do I think I can sustain 12% for 7 miles each time I encounter a 12% hill? No. Like everyone else, I think it is ridiculously steep. If that 7 miles happens to be the 7 miles in front of your wheel, however, you find a way. Not only do you survive the challenge, you realize that it isn't the limit of your capacity. I'm not saying I want to get any closer to discovering my climbing capacity any time soon, but it is useful to know that self-imposed limits are not necessarily real.



The climb back up to Bormio was made substantially more difficult by a head wind. Between the pass and a headwind climb back to the hotel, today was my slowest day of riding (maybe ever). All things considered, I’ll take it.

Daniele will be driving me down to Tirano tomorrow to catch a train to Fianle on the Riviera. It will be Bike Hotel #4, so I will continue to build some miles. From there, I want to do a fast pass through Switzerland without the bike and do some hiking and sightseeing. If I can find a place to stay, the next stop will be Monaco to see to first stage of Le Tour de France. Beyond that, my itinerary is again blank.

My original plane ticket was scheduled to return to the U.S. on July 7. Given how much I have left to see and do, I am going to extend that return date and cancel my plans to ride the Pacific Coast. I will need to leave that for a future adventure. I have managed to keep the budget in line so far, so I think I should keep my run of good experiences going in Europe for a while longer.

Bormio

Bormio is a ski town sitting at 1,200 meters in the Alps. As you can tell from my recent posts, it is a great home base for cyclists and motorcyclists to ride the high passes of Italy.

This picture tells the story. At this intersection, you can turn right to Gavia Pass, left to Stelvio or do a U-turn for Mortirolo. How would you like to climb today?

Cioccolata Calda

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Rode Bormio 2000 and had the best cioccolata calda (hot chocolate) ever made
Miles Ridden - 11.54 miles
Vertical Feet - 2,368 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - Just me.

This post is from June 21, 2009.

The day was cold and windy, so I didn't plan any big activities. I didn’t want to be completely inactive, so I rode the Bormio 2000 climb that starts 50 meters from the hotel. At the top of the gondola (Bormio 2000) there was an open concession, but not much going on. To give myself a head start on staying warm for the descent, I ordered a cioccolata calda (hot chocolate). I was expecting something functional to keep me warm, but what I got was far more than functional. It was called hot chocolate, but it was really more like hot chocolate pudding. It would have been possible to drink it, but I ate it with a spoon.

At 2.30 euro ($3.25), I assumed the high price was attributable to being at the top of a ski resort. I don’t think anyone would ever complain about the price of hot chocolate if we could make it like this at Steamboat. I asked the concession owner what chocolate he used, and he went into the back to bring out a bag of powdered chocolate called Moretto. He said he used 1 ladle per cup and the ladle looked like about 2 oz. I have not searched yet to see if this is available to purchase in the U.S., but if it is, you will be welcome to try it at my house because there will certainly be some in my cupboard.

I may have done something else after this, but it is all a blur after to cioccolata calda.

Actually, there was one more thing. I spent the afternoon planning next steps for the trip and not finding much. A lot of rain is forecast everywhere this week. I finally decided to go to the Italian Riviera where chances of dry weather are better, but not guaranteed.

I considered going to a city in Switzerland so that I could do city activities if it rained, but nightly rates were outrageous. I do want to do a quick pass through Switzerland, but with costs as high as they are, I want to do a little more planning. I also considered going to the Pyrenees to continue climbing in western France, but the place I would like to go did not have availability this week. I may still go there later depending on availability in the schedule. In an effort to keep my economical and active streak going, I found a 4th Bike Hotel in a town called Finale on the Mediterranean. I will be extending my stay in Bormio 1 day and checking in at Finale on 23 June. My travel looks like a child’s scribbling on a map of Italy, but it’s working for me so far.

A Taste of Mortirolo

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Rode to Tirano and part of Passo Mortirolo. First equipment breakdown
Miles Ridden - 61.40 miles
Vertical Feet - 5,782 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - Just me.

This post is from June 20, 2009.



I set out today with a route planned to go from Bormio to Tirano and back. With one exception, it is 25 miles downhill to Tirano and 25 miles uphill back. The picture above is the valley I passed through in both directions. A little more than ½ way there, a sign appeared saying “Passo Mortirolo”. The dreaded Mortirolo.

Daniele has said a few times that, “you must ride Mortirolo once in your life”. He may be right, but I’m not sure if this trip is my time. I knew that I wasn’t prepared to ride it today. I had not eaten yet, only had one bottle of water and still had at least 35 miles left to ride after the pass. Curiosity got the best of me though, so I made a deal with myself to ride just the first 3 km (2 miles) of the climb. There are three ways to climb that pass, and this one is considered the “easy” route. “Easy” is certainly only relative to the other 2 approaches. I have never heard a single person say that any of the approaches are, “not that bad”, much less “easy”.

The party got started quickly. Immediately the hill climbed at 13%. I expected that, but I didn’t expect the leveling that came next. After a short recovery, it went back to 11 and 13%, then 15%. Very steep and difficult, but surprisingly, the recovery sections continued every so often. When I got to my 3 km goal, I was feeling good, so I decided to go another 2 and see what was ahead. The pattern of steep and recover continued. I recognized that if I went much farther, goal-orientation would take over and I would start to think I should just do the whole climb. I knew it wasn’t a good idea without food, but I also knew that I was likely to talk myself into it. I went 1 more km to 6 km and then turned it around. I did not even get up to tree line, so it is entirely possible that the character of the ride changes higher up, but the part I rode was merely torturously difficult, not impossible.

After descending off Mortirolo, I continued toward Tirano. Shortly after passing through the town of Grossetto, I had my first mechanical breakdown of the trip – my chain broke. One of the links came loose, caught on the front derailleur and got mangled. Fortunately, I was pedaling lightly enough that I don’t think I did any damage to the derailleur. Also in the fortunate column, Brock had the foresight to sell me a tool kit that included a chain tool and a spare master link to replace the broken one.

The only explanation I have is that I generated such an overwhelming amount of torque climbing Mortirolo that the chain just couldn’t handle it. It was either that or something else.

I was able to remove the broken link and install a spare master. Since I had never fixed a chain, I was happy that it went well, but the break happened on the link right next to the existing master link needed to remove the chain when packing the bike. Having 2 consecutive master links in the chain was not a good long-term solution, but the fix got me rolling again.

Throughout this trip, I have been quite surprised at how few bike shops there have been in Italy. That made it startling when I found the biggest shop I have seen in 6 weeks just 2 miles down the road from my breakdown.

We had no language to draw on to discuss the problem, so I showed the mechanic what had happened and asked “Una link” or “Tutti chain”? I was trying to ask if I had to replace a single link or the entire chain. He got the idea and changed just the broken link and gave me back the master link for the next emergency. Between my front and rear brakes and this chain, I have visited bike service shops 3 times in the Alps, including the house call. My total labor charges so far are 0.00 euro. It must be tough to earn a living as a bike mechanic in Italy. No wonder I can never find one.



On the way back to Bormio, I found this little church up on a pass hidden back from the road. Something about it made me want to explore. There was a sign saying that it was built in 1392 and survived a landslide in the 1500’s that destroyed everything else in the area. Being a mountainside chapel rather than a city church, I was taken back when I looked inside one of the buildings and saw a room full of perfectly organized skulls and femur bones. Mike from Ohio had told us about that tradition on our tour of Vatican City, but I didn’t expect to see it here.

Good luck to everyone in Colorado who is doing the MS Bike Ride next weekend. I was thinking of you today. Sorry I won’t be on the team this year.

Easy Day in the Alps

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Visited Daniele and Elisa’s family cabin for lunch
Miles Ridden - 0 miles
Vertical Feet - 0 ft.
Route - No route today
People - Lunch with Daniele, Elisa, Elisa’s father, Richard Steiner from Hotel Dory and spouses of Dutch riders.

This post is from June 19, 2009.



Unlike yesterday’s “recovery”, today was a true rest day. There was forecast of rain, but it did not come until very late. As it turns out, it would have been better to ride today since the weather for tomorrow does not look promising. It is amazing how one day of inactivity makes me feel lazy after establishing such an active routine.

In spite of my sluggish ways, it was a fun casual day. Rather than risk the weather up at 2,000 meters at Daniele’s family cabin in Stelvio National Park, we went to his father in-law’s cabin just above Bormio. He cooked us lunch with a big pan of local polenta, salami, cheeses, bread, 2 types of grilled sausages, pork chops, grilled vegetables, local wine and peach torte for desert. Just another lunch in Italy.

It occurred to me on my ride yesterday that the very same PowerBar that arrived with me in Italy is still in my saddle bag. That means that over 1,500 miles of riding has been 100% fueled by local “real” food. Not a single Gu or energy bar. That not only says something about Italian food, but also the frequency of availability. There has not been a single stretch of road between cafes that was long enough that I needed to carry food. It also says that I have been taking a slow enough pace that I don’t mind stopping to eat. I keep the PowerBar with me as an emergency backup, but who wouldn’t rather have a prosciutto panini, pizza or plate of spaghetti than a bar of extruded “stuff”?

Richard Steiner checked into the hotel last night. You might remember his name as the lead of the guide program at Hotel Dory, the very first bike hotel where I stayed in Riccione. Like Maurizio from the Lake Garda Hotel, Richard is 66 years old. He was the coach of the Swiss National Cycling Team at the Olympics in Bejing and rides 20,000 km (12,000+ miles) / year. Being Swiss, he is the reason that rides at Hotel Dory scheduled to leave at 9:30 almost never leave at 9:31.

Richard is visiting this region because he is getting ready to personally ride the Trans-Alp race next month. It is a 7-day race with 2-person teams that climbs 19,000 meters (62,000 feet) over the 7 stages. He is bringing the Dory guides to Bormio in a couple of weeks to ride 3 consecutive days that will include the ride I did 2 days ago and two others with comparable effort. Not bad for 66 years old (not bad for 26 years old).

Thank you for the responses on the “Where should Randy go Next Sweepstakes”. I am leaning toward going to Switzerland first (since I am only a few miles away from the boarder), then either Kent or Mary's suggestion for Monaco or Croatia. I have a whole lot of logistics to work out in the next couple of days.

I hope tomorrow will let me get back onto The Machine, but if not, I will try to make logistical progress toward the next chapter of the adventure.

Where Should Randy Go Next Sweepstakes

I only have a few days left in Bormio, then my itinerary is completely blank. I think I am going to extend beyond my origainally planned return date of July 7, but it's time to start building my extended plan. I need your help.

I can't offer any big prizes, but whoever makes the best suggestion for where in Europe I go next will get a souvenir from that location. Bike, hike, beach - anything is in play. I have an unlimited Eurail Pass, so I can go about anywhere, just keep in mind that I have a bike and all the related weight to lug around.

In case you don't already do so, please click on the "...and now, For Something Completely Different" link in your e-mail to go to my blog. From there, you can enter a comment so that everyone else can share and chime in with their opinions.

Here is the map of all of the destinations that have been suggested so far. Green have already been visited, blue have not. My current location (Bormio) is in red. (remember - you can you view maps if you go to my blog - not from your e-mail message). Also, remember that you can zoom and pan around the map to make it easier to view details.


Visualizza Possible Destinations in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

Please don't wait. I have let this go too long, and I need somewhere to go!. Such a problem to have.

Thank you.

Recovery Day vs. Rest Day

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Rode to Cancano
Miles Ridden - 21.44 miles
Vertical Feet - 2,704 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - 2 Italian kids escorted me to the bike shop in their matching race kits. Same mechanic as Monday installed front brakes and trued my rear wheel.

This post is from June 18, 2009.



I learned today the difference between a “recovery day” and a “rest day”, at least by Daniele’s definition. I asked him for a route selection that would let me recover from yesterday’s big climbs. He suggested that I go to a couple of lakes called Cancano in Stelvio National Park where his family has a cabin. All of the hotel guests are invited to visit his cabin tomorrow for some homemade polenta.

So, what is a recovery ride? It was 47 switchbacks and 2,700 vertical feet. Nothing like yesterday, but not the kind of ride I would seek out the day after doing Tour de Steamboat. Your legs are toast? Why don’t you take it easy and just climb Rabbit Ears Pass.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks like I may be rained out for the first time in 6 weeks. Given my need for a rest day, it couldn’t come at a better time. After 26,000 vertical feet in 4 days, kicking up my feet at Daniele’s cabin and maybe making some progress on my upcoming itinerary sounds pretty good.



On my way off the mountain today, I encountered the woman in this picture who put all of my recreational effort into perspective. She was walking up a very steep hill to her house after it appears she spent the day cutting and raking hay. Even after what must have been a demanding day, I said, “Buona sera” and she lit up with a big smile.

157 Switchbacks, 10,000 Vertical Feet

Miles from Home - 5309.75
Firsts / Highlights - Climbed Passo Stelvio from both sides. Rode through Switzerland and back to Italy. Limoni torte at the top of Stelvio
Miles Ridden - 62.66 miles
Vertical Feet - 10,454 ft.
Route - View Today’s Route Here
People - Dinner with Geert from Belgium.

This post is from June 17, 2009.



I told you today might be a big ride.

Today was an all-time record for me in a couple of ways. I have never ridden anything close to 157 switchbacks, and the 10,000+ vertical feet beats the Bicycle Tour of Colorado day when we climbed over Berthoud Pass, Loveland Pass and Ten Mile Canyon in one day. It took 6 ½ hours in the saddle to go 63 miles, but I don’t think I could have managed a much faster pace. At least 5 of those 6 ½ hours were spent climbing in my smallest gear. The final climb was a sustained 20 mile, 6,000 foot climb.

You can count the switchbacks on Today’s Route GPS data, but I’m pretty sure 157 is the correct number. It makes your head swim.

Like Day 1 in Bormio, I started by climbing the near side of Stelvio Pass. This time, however, when I got about 3 km from the top, I took a left turn and dropped down the Umbrailpass into Switzerland. I have long wanted to visit Switzerland, and plan to spend more time there later in this trip, but it seemed appropriate for my first view to be entering from the highest paved road in Italy. Getting through “customs” was a complex process. There was a white stripe in the road that said, “Stop”. I did so, re-clicked into my pedals and continued. There was nobody around, so I guess that is S.O.P.. I may have been photographed, but that was all it took. Returning to Italy at least had a staffed station, but I was just waived through on my bike.

The road through Switzerland was beautiful. Geographically, of course, there was no big change, but the architecture, language and clothing changed immediately. I stopped at a hotel restaurant for a salami sandwich to keep me going for a little while, but I forgot that Switzerland does not use the Euro for its currency. Fortunately, they accepted my money at what I’m sure was a greatly inflated rate. Whatever the exchange rate, the sandwich tasted good and was needed.



After returning to Italy, the road continued to go downhill until it reached the base of Stelvio on the opposite side from Bormio. My next challenge was to climb Stelvio again, but this time from a lower elevation, which made this even more challenging than the first ascent. If you remember the picture of all of the switchbacks from “The Mighty Stelvio” post 2 days ago, that was the back side of Stelvio that I was about to climb. As impressive as that set of switchbacks were, the thing I didn’t realize was that those were only the top 4 miles of a 20-mile the climb. There was a 16-mile approach before you arrived at the bottom of those final switchbacks. Here is a picture that shows the final 14 of 49 switchbacks from the bottom rather than the previous view you had from the top. Unfortunately, the backlighting makes it impossible to see much of the striking detail.

The pass is located entirely within the Stelvio National Park, and the scenery was enjoyable throughout. That helps provide some distraction from the suffering that is inevitable on any climb that long. In fact, the road I ascended for the final climb has been rated the most scenic alpine road in Europe. That could explain the number of sports car drivers and motorcycles out testing their cornering abilities.

The switchback count started over at the bottom on the far side of Stelvio. Although there were 49 of them, this was the first where I could pull off to take a picture.

I have to admit that my fuel tank was getting pretty low by the top, but I made it with no real drama. I made a few more photo stops as I approached to top. Yes, I stopped, and yes, I took a photo, but if I didn’t carry a camera, I probably would have been taking time to examine the composition of the asphalt. The good news is that it was much more comfortable than the time I climbed Alpe di Suisi with the cold back in mid-May. By the time I reached switchback #1, it was time to smile again.



I was happy to have arm warmers, tights and a jacket for the descent back to Bormio. It all helped hold off the shivers that make riding a bike downhill a little bit adventurous. Although these may look like the same switchbacks I showed a couple of days ago, this picture is actually the Bormio side of the pass where you can see all of the tunnels below the switchbacks. The tunnels are dark and leaky. I just concentrate and get through them as quickly as I can. I was thankful that in spite of the long ride, much of the descent was still in sunshine.

After 3 days of riding these passes, I am going to take an easier day on Thursday. Daniele helped me find a recovery route that is shorter and less climbing than the past few.