Ben FR

I am headed to Italy tomorrow to go riding in the Dolomites during the last week of the Giro d'Italia. Over the course of eight days of riding, I will ride approximately 525 miles and climb 66k ft. I am going to hit many of the renowned climbs of Italy including the Zoncolan (6.5 miles, 3,970ft., 11.5%), the Mortirolo (7.7 miles, 4,265ft., 10.5%), the Stelvio (15.1 miles, 5,932ft., 7.4%) and the Gavia (15.9 miles, 4,606ft., 5.5%). I'm going with a group, and we will be observing the Giro live on four days (we'll have satellite TV so we won't be bored waiting for the riders to come through). It should be an epic trip and I can't wait.

In this thread I will endeavor to post pictures and updates during the trip. As an introduction to what I'm doing, below are the descriptions, profiles and pictures of the epic climbs:

Zoncolan - Day 2
This climb freaks me out. There is a middle section that lasts approximately 6km with an average gradient of 15%. The grade stays above 15% for about 3km and there is a 1/3 of a mile section that averages 20%. I'm hoping to climb this in one hour, but it doesn't seem likely given that (i) I'll be jet lagged, (ii) there will be a lot of spectators walking around and cyclists climbing it that day and (iii) even on the best day, 4k ft. in one hour is a very tough goal. I've climbed over 4k/ft. an hour for as long as ~30 minutes but not for ~60.



Stelvio - Day 6
When I graduated from college, I rented a car and drove around Europe for a few weeks. I crossed into Switzerland through the Stelvio pass. When I rode it all I was thinking about how cool all the switchbacks were and how fun it would be to drive it. It ended up not being that fun to drive but it was a ridiculous sight. The last half of the climb is in a wide open bowl where many of the ~50 switchbacks are visible. This climb is 15 miles and scales almost 6k ft and ends over 9k ft. Key concerns here are oxygen and wind (given the open bowls). I'm hoping to do this in 100-105 minutes.




Mortirolo - Day 7
I've been so focused on the Zoncolan climb, I've really neglected thinking about the Mortirolo. This climb is nearly as difficult, climbing 4,265 feet in 7.7 miles. The middle 6km has a minimum gradient of 10.8% and a maximum of 14.2%. Goal here is 70-75 minutes. I'm going to be really tired after riding so hard on the first six days. This climb is going to suck.




Gavia - Day 8
So I'm riding most of the last mountain stage of the Giro. I'll finish by climbing the Gavia, which is kind of like an Italian Ventoux. It's a little less steep but it tops out at 9k ft instead of 6k ft. like Ventoux. There is this crazy 500m tunnel on the climb that has a curve and is not lit (see crazy pic below), so when you get a little ways in it becomes pitch black. I bought a headlight for my bike just for this climb. I'll have ridden almost 100 miles when I hit the base of the climb, so this is going to be painful. What I will have going for me is that the crowds waiting for the Giro to come through will be cheering me on. The climb isn't too steep but it's long. I'm hoping to do this in 120 minutes.

rhinot

Good luck!!!! Hope its a good time!

GP

Sounds like a great trip. Have fun!

grrlyrida

Is this a Thompson Tour? They always send me an e-newletter and I wondered how good their tours are. They look like the creme de la creme of bike tours.

Have a good time and I'll check out your updates. I love bike tours.

Ben FR

Yes, Thomson. I did their Extreme TdF trip last year and had an absolute blast. They are a top notch operation

grrlyrida

I figured they are. Peter called me on the phone about their KOM Performance Pyrenees in 2008. I eventually went with another Pyrenees tour group, but next time I want to try Thomson. Boy you are hardcore. The extreme trips are no joke. Good luck on the Gavia. I'll look forward to your pics. Lucky guy.

rallison

Wow, now that looks like my sort of trip. I am jealous!

calamarichris

First rate road porn, that.
I look forward to many pictures!

buck65

Very nice. What kind of gearing will you be using? Touring 46-34-26/12-34.....or racing 52-39-30/12-25?

I'm definitely looking forward to pics and updates.

Ben FR

50/34, 12-27

buck65

You're a maniac.

calamarichris

Smart man, going now. I just heard the Euro is in the toilet right now, so you'll be able to live like a king while you're there. I went to Flanders back in May of '08 when the American Peso wasn't buying much.
Be sure and drink a toast to the Greeks while you're there.

umd

Have fun Ben, can't wait for the updates.

jabantik00

i did a lot of those passes in my 2007 tour (jabantik 2007 on crazyguy, if anyone cares.) i didn't do the motirolo or zoncolan. for me the most difficult were fedaia from the far side of the marmolada and tre cime, and everything in the dolomites was stupidly scenic. the loop around the sella group and the above pics of stelvio are especially memorable. i hope you don't get too caught up in achieving a good time or result. imo, the alps are too beautiful to put your head down and hammer. sit up, spin an easy gear, and enjoy. hopefully there isn't any/much rain

50/34, 12-25 10spd, carrying all my camping and touring gear. do i get a cookie?

Ben FR

Just arrived and my bike made it undamaged to boot (not to mention no bike fee with Air France). I'm in Venice and am in my hotel room watching live Giro coverage. It's almost 4pm. Going to chill out in the room and go to sleep early to counteract the jet lag. I'm getting picked up tomorrow morning at 7:45am. We drive to Austria in the morning, have lunch and then do a ~1.5 hour and flattish warm-up ride in the afternoon.

Ben FR

Just back from the first ride. Did a quick 36km loop in about an hour. Cruised with about 12 other riders, stayed in the middle, barely burned any calories. Bike re-assembly went very smoothly. I had my cassette shifter cable replaced a week ago, and it had loosened up so needed a derailleur adjustment but now doing good.

Bad news. Tomorrow is the Zoncolan, and I hear that the top 0.5-1.0km will likely be closed off to riders. Maybe now the 60 minute goal is achievable! We also drove into our hotel in Austria via the Plockenpass. The metrics aren't too bad but it's going to suck to have to climb another 3000 ft to get home.

Tomorrow's Tally:
Distance: ~150km
Elevation: ~3,500m

Today's Tally:
Distance: 36km
Time: ~1hr
Elevation: 130m

Some pics:

grrlyrida

How many females in your group? When I did my "epic" Pyrenees tour there were only three of us. Good luck on the Zo.

Ben FR

4 females, 29 males

Nachoman

Sounds fantastic. Enjoy!

Ben FR

Quick update with more to come. Did Zoncolan today. It was the hardest climb I've ever done by several orders of magnitude. That 6km stretch from km2.2 to km.8.2 was the most insane pitch I've ever experienced (see climb profile in my first post in this thread). For 6km, the formula for the climb was turn at a switchback, get intimated by the looming 500m long 15-20% pitch, get off the saddle and push as hard as possible to get to the next switchback, hope that the next section is less steep and find out it's not. The 6km stretch seemed like it took forever. Looking down at the speedo I was going as slow as 6km/hour and never got above 9-10km/hour except for the switchbacks. My gearing was suboptimal. Most people in the group that did the climb faster than me were running 30x27 or 34x30. 34x27 just doesn't work for a mere mortal like me here. I regret to inform you guys that I had to stop twice to catch a quick breath. The climb kicked my ass. There were tons of people on the climb that slowed me down and forced me to burn extra calories. Didn't get the exact time but I'd guess it was ~1:15-1:20. Pff.

(BTW, spectating the stage was awesome. Basso vs. Evans was very entertaining, and Basso's performance was extraordinary).

Here I am at the top feeling very disoriented:

jabantik00

it wasn't 1:06:.50? hey you are only a few min off the pros! way to be!

p.s. big chainring for the photos. granny gear is a nono, even if 34-27 is macho for 20% grade.

grrlyrida

Your time is sooo impressive. Just finished watching the stage at a friend's. The commentators said the easiest parts on the Zo are like the hardest parts on any climb in the TdF. It was great seeing Basso and Evans fight it out on TV, so I can imagine how much better it was to see it live. That mountain top was packed. Great job Ben. I would have done it with my triple in maybe 2 hours.

umd

Makes the Rock Store climb today look like child's play

jabantik00

after stelvio/gavia, drive over to bellagio (i think it's around 150km from bormio) and ride up to madonna del ghisallo for extra credit

edit: or maybe it's slightly closer to mortirolo? not exactly sure where that is

Cedfromfrance

Hi ben, your epic trip sounds really impressive ! I am from a place near Bourg d'Oisans and I don't know the Italians passes very well, maybe I should have a go there someday
I am also planning a week trip with a friend from Alpe d'Huez to Mont Ventoux via Col du Glandon, Telegraphe, Col de l'Iseran, Col du Galibier, Col d'Izoard, Bonnette etc... down to the south of France finishing on top of Le Ventoux. If anyone if keen to join us, feel free to contact me miolanet@yahoo.fr
Have fun Ben, and for any American friends, with the weak Euro, it's definitely time for you, because the Euro will become stronger again from 2011. xxx