bruin11

+1
Love the pictures.

znomit

I know, crazy seeing MTBers and roadies fraternizing.

milkbaby

HOLY CRAP! Those pics are amazing!!!

Lowcal

its italy what do you expect. best country in the world. there is still SO much more to see of italy, the south is even more nice.

baj32161

I am Christian man, and I know it is a sin BUT....I HATE YOU!!!!!

Mille Grazie!

dgasmd

I find it funny you mentioned the $2000 and 2 week trip because I came back from almost a month in Italy with the family and I quoted the same numbers to friends here if 3 or more of us went together just to ride. The only difference is I wasn't talking about roughing it, but rather renting an apartment in a central location like Bormio, renting a car, and going to the rides from there. It is very doable and far more enjoyable in my mind than staying in a hotel and eating in restaurants 3 times a day. That gets old sooner than most think.

Add me to your list ( seriously ). I have been trying to get some people I know to go for 2 weeks next year and nobody has jump in yet. They all want to go, get all excited, day dream, but nobody wants to get their ass in gear. Put $50/week away from now until then and you have $2600 in a year. That is more than doable to anyone even with a low end income. It takes discipline and making that a priority, but unfortunately we are all too used to having the cake and eating it too.

About your trip. Fantastic pictures!

Although I have never taken an organized tour, and I am likely not to in the future due to personal preferences, I can see the serious benefits of it. Having done this once already solo in the French Alps and recently with my family in Italy, I would say doing it on your own is simply the best way to go about it for many many reasons. Again, personal preference. Also, I found Italy to be far nicer than France, not only the scenery but the people, the language, food, and wine (hey, we need to hydrate, right?). The climbs are not as long as in France, but they are far more brutal in grade. And for someone like myself that does no climbing at all most of the year, it is a nice challenge, extremely difficult to train for, but a nice treat. It is all in planning ahead and knowing exactly what you want to get out of the trip, being realistic in that you will not be able to do as much as you think you will, and making some compromises. Planning does become far easier when you are spreading the expense with other people though.

I would love to be able to do the Maratona dles Dolomites at the end of a 2 week trip there, but realistically it is not likely to happen anytime soon. Other rides there, most definitely!!!

aham23

^^^^this is something we should explore for sure. perhaps in January we can talk. the trip has been on my radar since 2009. typically i would just pay the premium price for a tour (Hampsten) to ensure a successful trip. however, if i have planning partners and/or experienced Italy travelers i am game for doing our own thing. later.

dgasmd

I see your threat, and I'll raise you one more!!

kimconyc

For most U.S. travelers, renting an apartment, driving your own car, assembling your own bike, taking trains, taking buses, cooking your own pasta, is roughing it.

Also, renting a car is very expensive and a total PITA (at least from my experience). I'll stick to trains and buses from now on. It's better to save the €1000 and use to for private Italian language lessons IMO.

If I were older, wiser, and/or had more financial resources, I'd only go on guided tours exclusively. The Hampsten Tour I went on was just really organized and well executed. I had trouble executing a trip for 3, although it was my first time trying to do something like this.

If I had to choose, I'd go on the Hampsten trip, especially if I knew I had no support car. Assuming I am in good health, I will be in Bormio regardless of whether or not I go on the Hampsten trip. I'm really bummed that he is not going to be in the Alps next year but I know why he chose to stay in the Dolomites.

Whether or not I go on the Hampsten trip is largely dependent upon the size of the group. If it is something like 30+ people, I will probably not go.

idc

Very nice write-up and pics.

dgasmd

You are right in that personal experience has a lot to do with your personal choices and outlook. The car for example. I've done this several times at very low cost. For example, I recently rented a large station wagon for 21 days. Picked it up in Rome and dropped it off in Milan, unlimited mileage and extremely comfortable for <$1200 plus diesel usage. You just have to know where to look. If one is staying in a central location like Bormio, then you don't need a car and can just go from the airport all the way there in trains, but it is a compromise like everything else. BTW, I had included the price of a car in the $2000 I was talking about if done with 3 people at least!

As far as "roughing it", I guess we all have our definition of it. Assembling my own bike, maintaining it, carrying my own luggage, doing my own food and wine shopping, taking trains, and cooking my own meals is far from what I would personally call roughing it. I do see your point though.

As far as a "support car", the only limitation of not having one is that you make the routes you'll take a loop where you end up in the same starting point. In my experience, having someone following you around in a car has not being something I once wished I had. Then again, I've never had a mechanical issue in the middle of nowhere requiring me to have to call someone to come find me. Possible? Sure, but not likely. I think this is something very nice for the peace of mind, but really not a necessity.

Keep your mind open to the idea though. It may just grow on you LOL...........

kimconyc

Um, I rode Tirano > Mazzo di Valtellina > Mortirolo > Ponte di Legno > Gavia > Bormio with 2 bottles of water, 1 Clif Bar, having not eaten solid food for 3 days prior. That was incredibly stupid and really dangerous. I'd rather have the option of a support car or a riding partner

I don't mind doing things myself because I'm young and foolish but objectively, the Hampsten trip cost premium is worth it:
- Ride with Grand Tour Champion (you can take out whatever you want from that experience).
- Stay in 4 star hotels with wine every meal (not breakfast though).
- Rental bikes were carbon Colnago with Campagnolo (I brought my 21 pounds steel Merckx).
- Full mechanical support vehicle, rest stops with speck panini, fruits, veggies, etc.
- Extra curricular (go in to town to eat gelato, go shopping, guided tour, etc.) all inclusive.

This is worst case scenario but let's say you are descending down a less-known Cat-1 pass and eat it and go over the railing. If it's a Monday morning and you are by yourself, chances are, nobody will find you until the following Monday. These are small things worth considering IMO.

patentcad

You could do the Pcad Grand Frodo which includes the Hump Ride, Mt. Doom, and hot dogs on the back deck, all for only $500 per person.

kimconyc

If you throw in a guided tour of the museo di Cervelo bench and we get to play with the dog, I'm in.

patentcad

OK. I'll reduce your personal Pcad Grand Frodo rate to 50 cents and a nice 8x10" glossy print of that Dolomites shot above. PM me anytime.

manandjoe

Wow kimconyc,

I guess this trip beats going down Ocean or Coneyisland Avenue to Prospect park for a spin. Great story and pictures. Where did you train to get in shape for a trip like this ?
I now live on LI and could train all day on (North Shore)Turkey and stilwell and not come close to what you experienced.

dgasmd

I'm not disagreeing with you on the benefits of a guided tour, heck, I think we are both saying the same thing in different ways. Truth is you simply cannot plan for everything and anything that can happen. I planned for the most likely things to happen, but that is no different than me riding around here. I use common sense and prudence when I should, prepare with spares for the things that are most likely to break down, and try to enjoy the rest. It is all you can do really. Again, it is all about personal comfort. Having said that, the one thing where having a car comes extremely useful is in driving the next day's route before doing it on the bike. I did that in France last year and it was the best thing I could have done to prepare me for what was to come the next day. Didn't do that in Italy this year, but seriously wished I could have done it.

BTW, when I rode from Bormio up to Passo Mortirolo, I planned it based on a GPS route I found online the night before and doubled checked it with a map. I took off only to find that I missed a sign for a closed road that went basically parallel to the road your car took on the way back to Bormio. The result was that since it was slightly downhill, I was hauling ass and ended up in very busy highway going through dim tunnels for 4-6 miles at a time with no lights on me. I was ultimately fine, and eventually caught back on the right road I was supposed to be in, but the result was that on the way back taking the road I was supposed to be in came to an end soon as it was closed. The detour took me through 35 extra miles and as much climbing as the Mortirolo itself. Ran out of water, out of food, and out of will to live. I ended up refilling in water fountain, which you can't go 10 KM in Italy without finding, got food in cafes along with an expresso to perk me up, and made it back to Bormio. In the end, the ride that was supposed to be a 2.5-3 HR ride turned into a 6+ HR epic climbathon. It was a vacation, so I had the time and enjoyed it for what it was. The downside to it was that I was so fried after it that I could not even get half way up the Stelvio the next day and had to abandon. Again, it was a vacation so I did something else that day.

I may have to pencil in the Pcad Granfondo if there is no pre-qualification criteria. Maybe I'll podium in his parking lot Cat 9 criterium around the driveway LOL......

merlinextraligh

Awesome trip and great pics.


+1 on the Canon S90 ( or its newer version the S 100)

It gives you manual controls like an SLR, a larger image sensor than a typical point and shoot, can shoot RAW, and still costs under $400, and fits easily in a jersey.

If only it had an optical view finder it would be close to perfect.

icyclist 

Awesome report, thanks.

Munk69

Awesome pics and story! That would be a dream come true to ride there.

DEK

Amazing. Just amazing. Thanks for sharing. Would love to try that some day.

Reynolds 

Thanks kim! That's useful first-hand info.
The more I look at your photos, the more I like them.

mmmdonuts

I don't like to travel for bike rides, even locally, but this is a trip I would take. Very nice.

kimconyc

Thanks!

The roads in Northern Italy are in better condition than Brooklyn, mainly because people don't seem to throw bottles on the road but I still get a high every time I view Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge and the GWB, especially when I start out early and see the sun rise over the city so we still have it pretty good here too!

Hida Yanra

My wife & I have been planning a similar sort of trip for over a year now -
our plan is to head over and catch time in Italy and some part of the 2013 WCs.

There's plenty of time to save up between now and then, there's plenty of time to plan.
I'd say... depending on time schedule, keep me in the loop on all this.
Having led an adventurous life thus far, I'm quite comfortable with any definition of "roughing it" that includes such luxuries as indoor plumbing & regular meals :-)