kimconyc

This being the third visit to Northern Italy in as many years, once again, I brought my bike along for the journey. This is the cyclists' version of the trip. To be honest, most of the hilarity and memorable moments had nothing to do with cycling at all; however, since this is a forum about bikes, I figured I might as well post some of the pictures. This is how it all went down...

I flew into Milano but found out that there was one thing missing as the luggage came out onto the conveyor belt--my bike! In the past, I would have been upset; however, after a €10,75 train (2nd class, naturally, because that's how we roll) into Tirano and then a €4,45 bus into Bormio, a soothing feeling eased the tension in my shoulders--I was here, again! Besides, it's not like I had food poisoning, dehydration, sleep deprivation, and climbed up the Mortirolo and then the Gavia with no food, no water, and only €5 in cash like last year!

So I really did no planning for this trip and since the bike did not arrive, I really had no plans on what to do in town or where to go. Fortunately, my friend Nicola, who is like a brother to me, offered me one of his road bikes. But he also offered to take me hiking (trekking, in Italy) with his group. Normally, I would have whizzed off into the sunset on two wheels but decided to take the bait! And this is what we saw...



We trekked to Lago di Manzina, about a 4,5km vertical journey.



In the photo above, you can see the windy, Passo Gavia tarmac, in the background. It was an interesting take to see the road from a different perspective.



Speaking of perspective, the massive glacier makes one feel infinitely minute. Due to the unusually warm weather this year, the glacier traveled down the mountain much more than normal and many more Milanese traveled up from their 40c sweltering apartments in the city to the refuge of the quiet mountains to the north.



Here, Nicola, who is an expert cyclist, skier, grizzly-bear hunter, shows me how to Matrix-jump across the Italian Alps. He ascends on foot about as fast and effortlessly as I descend down on a bike.


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After a few days, my bike was located and arrived to the remote town of Bormio, in Lombardia. The real reason for this trip was my pal Don lost his Gavia Badge and sent me on a mission to go to the top of the Gavia and procure a replacement. I quickly assembled the bike and was ready to roll. However, it was 6:00PM and my non Contador gams did not have it in me to make it to the top and then back down before the sun went down. However, being the good soldier I am, I double-tapped it up the Gavia and abandoned at 21km, about 4,5km from the top because it started getting dark and rain clouds were forming on the horizon. Sorry Don



The next morning, before breakfast, I decided to take it to the top of Passo dello Stelvio. Here is the awesome view at 6:00AM! Not much to see, but not much to hear either, except the hustling voice of the forest and the water trickling down the mountainous caverns:



I noticed that the tunnels were now lit with LED lighting--most likely because the Giro d'Italia went through these tunnels on one of this year's stages--brighter than the naturally illuminated surface outside. I think I much preferred it dark because you wouldn't know until you were dead. Plus, my theory is, because one can see in the tunnels now, all traffic including bikes will subconsciously take on more risk into the corners, actually making for a much more dangerous situation with oncoming traffic.



As it exited the last tunnel, the morning light began to slowly creep over the earth and all the switchbacks came into sight:

kimconyc

Here's a little tribute to Bormio on Passo dello Stelvio and some of the tunnels in the background:



Here's some cycling graffiti on one of the walls, most likely from this year's Giro:



As I approached the (false) flat part of Passo dello Stelvio, I began to hear those familiar clanging sounds--cowbells!!! There is a small dairy farm near that building structure in the background...



The sun crested over the peak of Passo dello Stelvio and illuminated the valley:



I crested over the Cima Coppi (highest peak in Italy) and took the mandatory switchback shot of the Prato side of Stelvio:



Here, the sun turns the glacial stream and tarmac into golden veins, permanently attached to the mountainous earth:



I'm getting pretty hungry so I decide to head back down into Bormio but not before I catch this morning shot near Bagni Vecchi:

patentcad

Dude, you are like the friggin Ansel Adams of Brooklyn.

Nice.

kimconyc

Later in the day, after lunch, I decided to try again at Mission Gavia Badge. With plenty of daylight left and plenty of pane & Nutella in my back pockets, I easily 34-29'ed it to the top.



A nice Italian man and I had a conversation about whether or not the Yankees were the best sports franchise after learning that I was from NY but he didn't know too much about baseball. He was nice enough to snap my picture on the top of Passo Gavia. Pro-Fred-Tip-of-the-Day: If you ride by yourself in Northern Italy and don't know curse words in Northern Italian dialect, do not wear the poser Assos gear, especially the ones decked out with Swiss Federation flags all over them. A driver tried to gutter me deliberately while in Santa Caterina (on the way to the Gavia) but I reminded him that he was not Sean Kelly and this was not Paris Roubaix, preceded by the word *** **** in the local dialect We both laughed and went on our ways. He was only trying to play a joke on me



Lake on the top of Passo Gavia:



Switchbacks on Passo Gavia:



The infamous '88 Giro side of the Gavia which still has remnants of the old-dirt road adjacent to the tunnel:



What I ate at the rifigio on the top of Gavia (they don't know what a Clif Bar is) after procuring the Gavia Badge for my friend:



Now back to town:

kimconyc

I went B&W for this ride report just because (closet Leica M3 issues)...if it is too hipster, oh well

kimconyc

So the trip is pretty awesome so far! Lots of gelato, lots of new friends, and the photos are only the cycling part of it. But this is where the second half of the trip starts. About 6 weeks or so before this Italy trip, I get a message from A. Hampsten's wife telling me that there is a spot open on their 2012 Cinghiale Dolomites trip and if I would be interested. The words, "duh", is what I recollect saying.

I get up to my room in Verona, on Saturday night, and look who is there, all polished, and dressed to the nines:



So the Cinghiale (wild boar) Cycling Tours met up in Verona and we took a shuttle up north about 3 hours to the Dolomites, where introductions were made and the plot outline drawn out:



I am relieved to see that on the day where it says "crazyness", there is an option to chill out in Cortina with movie stars and eat gelato for a nice and easy 80k day

We arrived on a rainy Sunday and a riding buddy and I took a short stroll past Caprile and up the hills to make sure our bikes were functioning correctly. Naturally, since I was running Campagnolo and I was in Italy, I only had to worry about whether or not to have un gelato di fragola o un gelato di stracciatella after dinner--tough choices lay ahead:



The first day we rode up the Pordoi. There were many cycling veterans on the trip and many first-timers:



I was there on a mission to not "conquer" any climbs or anything of that nature but to find which cafe had the best apple strudel in town. In Italy, every major climb seems to either have a rifugio, a cafe, a hotel, or some sort of restaurant that serves pasta, pizza, pastries, coffee, beer, and other alcoholic beverages. I find this scary and shockingly awesome.



Here is a shot showing how the Italians share the road--sheep, big-rigs, and cyclists--one big, happy family!



If you are a cycling nut, this sort of trip is for you! Fully supported, lots of real food, wine, dancing (on the pedals) and sights like this on Passo Falzarego. If you are not such a cycling nut--like myself--you can still soak in all the sights (maybe more, since you won't be suffering) and try and find the best gelato flavor or find out what really is inside of those Sciat balls:



Here we are reaching the top of Passo Falzarego. Big John, one of the guides, introduces me and a female client to a drink called VOV. It is an egg-based liqueur (sounds gross) that is usually mixed with an espresso and a pick-me-up after skiing in the winter. However, I have come to the conclusion that Lance was not on EPO or other PED's at all--recipe for 400W of destruction: triple espresso, 3 sugar, 2 part VOV--winner TdF!

kimconyc

So the "crazy" day was pretty crazy for me--crazy awesome! One had the option to do Passo Falzarego, go up to the Tre Cime, and then back over Passo Giau and suffer, or, ride into Cortina and chill out with movie stars.

Here, we are about to descend down into Cortina:


(2nd) home to the Italian movie stars:


Instead of sucking on air and a half-melted Clif Bar while on the way up the Tre Cime, I had a nice seafood linguine at the Hippopotamus Cafe. Here is a seafood "appetizer" from said cafe:



After a very nourishing meal, I dilly-dallied over Passo Giau:



But not before stopping at the top to get an double espresso (they didn't have VOV ):



The next day we rode up Passo Campolongo. I formed a grupetto to quickly get to the nearest gelato stand:



All smiles up Passo Campolongo:



After getting back to the hotel, we held paddle-boat races:



And then wine tasting:

kimconyc

A lot of the days were raining in the morning with breaks of sun in the afternoon. It made for moody lighting and landscapes:





Even champions have to clean their own bikes sometimes:



On the last Sunday, there was a Mtn. bike race in town and I found it really stupid and fascinating--I might have to give Mtn. biking a go next time:



The last ride was up the Marmolada. I made it a goal of mine not to sweat at all on this trip but that's one difficult climb. I totally failed on the last day in terms of the anti-perspiration goal but it was an epic finish to a great "vacation":



Here is a group shot of the South African crew who all went on this trip together. They almost had a full grand-tour team assembled!!!



Quick pit-stop in Paris:



And back to the jungle:



Hope you enjoyed

Ciao ciao!!!

pallen

is Italy always so gray?

Great photos. Makes me ask myself why I live in Texas...

Ti Guy

Thank you for sharing, awesome picture and very inspiring. Did you use a tour company for this, or was it just put together?

ThinLine

Awesome!!!

kimconyc

Yes, Cinghiale Cycling Tours .

However, part of the trip was self-organized (well, there was no "organization" really, I just booked a ticket and went).

HAMMER MAN

great photography, really awesome shots

DevinL

Thanks for sharing! Looks like an awesome trip.

GP

Great pictures. Thanks.

sstang13

This. This right here, is my dream. My bucket list (if I had one) has this on #1. I would love to go to Italy to bike someday! Great photos, thanks for sharing!

Crappymonkey

Beautiful shots! Thank you for sharing!

TNumber5

Very cool!! Nice photos!

chaadster

Fantastic! Thanks Kimconyc!

ILUVUK

this thread is full of win. thanks!

Juan Foote

Great post, thanks for sharing.

Mike F

Thanks for sharing. Jealous cant quite capture the feeling

billydonn

Wow! Nice. Doing Italy (Rimini area) myself next summer and better drop some weight to reduce suffering.

dgasmd

Nice as always. So, what was the deal with the bike not arriving?

speedwobbles

Nice pics. I've done lots of riding in the French Alps but I really want to test out the Italian ones too.