Most Prefered cycling Location in Italy

[cyclotaur]

....The Sella Ronda loop is stunning!!! 52kms anti clockwise with the Campolongo, Gardena, Sella and Pordoi passes ( 1850m climbing ) ... Also from Arabba through to Cortina over ...the Passo Giau ... .. Lovely up top....

I'll be riding this area as part of a 2 week trip in September.

Must ride more hills in August ...

[toolonglegs]

Your in for a treat... It really is pretty special . I am going back to the Dolomites 2 or 3 more times this year ... Last tour had 4000km driving, sitting on TGV hone now

[Scott2468]

....The Sella Ronda loop is stunning!!! 52kms anti clockwise with the Campolongo, Gardena, Sella and Pordoi passes ( 1850m climbing ) ... Also from Arabba through to Cortina over ...the Passo Giau ... .. Lovely up top....

I'll be riding this area as part of a 2 week trip in September.

Must ride more hills in August ...

I will be there in August. A couple weeks in Corvara, then followed by Bormio for more of the same. I am busting with anticipation. The planning is done, all I can now do is hope for good weather.

Yesterday I climbed 3100 metres as part of my training.

[cyclotaur]

Well done! I've had one ride in 8 days .... but I have a plan. It starts with a rest break.


Sent from my iPhinger ...

[Scott2468]

I've been replicating Stelvio by repeating Crosslands Reserve ten times and Bowen Mtn eight times. This equates to same elevation and gradient.

I can't replicate Mortirolo, there's nothing steep enough around Sydney. It's numbers are scaring me.

[Scott2468]

Definitely a bucket list destination. And a couple of times a year they completely close the whole thing to cars and let the bikes go nuts.

Cycling Stelvio, car free, is on august 30 this year and I will be in Bormio.

[il padrone]

Pisa and Lucca were pretty nice as a cyclist.

Pisa





Lucca

[herzog]

They probably still are...

[outnabike]

Yep,
One wishful post, no return, and 2 years later still going; great reminiscing...... "But I can dream, can't I"
So what are all these Italians doing out here up to their arm pits in concrete and fruit.... must all be motorists.

[BruceCTG]

I know it's been said but it's hard to beat Tuscany for touring - San Giminano, Volterra, Sienna...ah...

Lots of touring ideas at http://www.cycletoursglobal.com/Italy although I haven't had a chance to do them all (yet!)

[il padrone]

I know it's been said but it's hard to beat Tuscany for touring - San Giminano, Volterra, Sienna...ah...

Yes, we did all three of those as well last year - lovely towns and great cycling countryside. Especially around Volterra I really felt the country reminded me very much of cycling in South Gippsland.

Pisa and Lucca had a much more noticeable cycling culture though

Lots of touring ideas at http://www.cycletoursglobal.com/Italy although I haven't had a chance to do them all (yet!)

Looks very handy for future Italian travels. Thanks.

[Chris249]

I've been replicating Stelvio by repeating Crosslands Reserve ten times and Bowen Mtn eight times. This equates to same elevation and gradient.

I can't replicate Mortirolo, there's nothing steep enough around Sydney. It's numbers are scaring me.

If you're doing that much training you'll fly up Stelvio. The loss of power up high can come as a shock, though.

By the way, if you're looking for a break on the western side of the Gavia, keep a lookout for the tiny restaurant in a meadow about 1/3 of the way down. It consists of what seem to be stone shepherd's huts, powered by a generator and fed by water trickling from the glacier.

I only had chips, a cake and beer, but it was fantastic to sit back there and hoof into some food in such a glorious location, listening to the tinkle of cow bells and Alpine streams coming from kilometres away in the clear air.

[Scott2468]

I've been replicating Stelvio by repeating Crosslands Reserve ten times and Bowen Mtn eight times. This equates to same elevation and gradient.

I can't replicate Mortirolo, there's nothing steep enough around Sydney. It's numbers are scaring me.

If you're doing that much training you'll fly up Stelvio. The loss of power up high can come as a shock, though.

By the way, if you're looking for a break on the western side of the Gavia, keep a lookout for the tiny restaurant in a meadow about 1/3 of the way down. It consists of what seem to be stone shepherd's huts, powered by a generator and fed by water trickling from the glacier.

I only had chips, a cake and beer, but it was fantastic to sit back there and hoof into some food in such a glorious location, listening to the tinkle of cow bells and Alpine streams coming from kilometres away in the clear air.

Chris,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. It is only a cycling holiday for us so it's not race. In saying that, it is six middle aged men on bikes all pointing in the same direction. At times it does get competitive.

I really struggled the day I climbed L'Iseran. I am not sure if it was the altitude, red wine from the night before or just tiredness. Galibier did not knock me around as much.

Your words about Gavia is getting me even more excited. Only one week to go!

[dalai47]

Only one week to go!

Enjoy. Saw your comment about the Mortirolo; Note nothing can prepare you for this... I do hope you have a compact and big cassette at least.

Beautiful area to ride!

[toolonglegs]

Bring your warm / wet gear ... Belgium summer this year!. Stelvio yesterday was ok for us, half hour after we got down people were trapped in heavy hail and rain. Sitting in Bormio waiting for a break in the weather to whip up Gavia.
2 weeks in Northern France / Belgium is rained everyday... week in the Pyrenees it wasn't much better, up the Tourmalet in damp conditions ( the day before for the Etape de Tour was really bad ) .
Days are already getting shorter and my tan isn't up to scratch .
PS- make sure you do Torre di Fraele when in bormio... Its a great hidden gem.

[Scott2468]

Bring your warm / wet gear ... Belgium summer this year!. Stelvio yesterday was ok for us, half hour after we got down people were trapped in heavy hail and rain. Sitting in Bormio waiting for a break in the weather to whip up Gavia.
2 weeks in Northern France / Belgium is rained everyday... week in the Pyrenees it wasn't much better, up the Tourmalet in damp conditions ( the day before for the Etape de Tour was really bad ) .
Days are already getting shorter and my tan isn't up to scratch .
PS- make sure you do Torre di Fraele when in bormio... Its a great hidden gem.

Thanks for the tips.

I will definitely add Torri di Fraele to our list. We will obviously do the famous rides, hopefully during the week days to minimize the traffic. We really want to get away from major traffic especially on weekends.

Can you recommend any more "hidden gems" around Bormio and Corvara?

Thanks,

Scott

[toolonglegs]

Are you doing the Mortirolo / Gavia loop?... The opposite side of Gavia from Bormio is incredible.
Also the ridge road from the top of Mortirolo heading south then descending to Tirano has great views... All depends what loops you are doing.
You obviously gave Sella Ronda on your list from Corvara... Also heading over to Cortina via Arabba for a coffee then coming back up the sane road for about 5-6kms and turning off and doing the Passo Di Giau is a tough one. Basically around Corvara anywhere you point your bike is spectacular

[cyclotaur]

....
You obviously gave Sella Ronda on your list from Corvara... Also heading over to Cortina via Arabba for a coffee then coming back up the sane road for about 5-6kms and turning off and doing the Passo Di Giau is a tough one. Basically around Corvara anywhere you point your bike is spectacular

I'll be in that area in about 5 weeks. Assuming I survive the week before that.

[thelittlebattler]

Are you doing the Mortirolo / Gavia loop?... The opposite side of Gavia from Bormio is incredible.

Just got back from a 5 week trip around Europe, including Bormio, Alps and Pyrenees.
Obviously Stelvio was unreal, but the natural beauty of Gavia made it the most memorable out of the whole trip for me. And I only saw the Bormio side!!!

Although wish I could've ridden around Tuscany, I was super jealous of every bike we passed

[toolonglegs]

My Italy days are over for this year... Might have to take the family back for a holiday . Would be nice to do a few more of the biggies at my own pace ... And at the right time of day!. going up the Gavia after work at 5pm in June wasn't a very clever idea with no extra clothing ... Made it more epic though

[cyclotaur]

Looking forward to mine.

[toolonglegs]

Fingers crossed you have good weather... Mate went up Gavia yesterday with his group, they drove down . The Belgium summer continues!.

[cyclotaur]

Well, we're sticking to the Dolomites and the weather has 3 weeks to improve - fingers crossed !

[Scott2468]

First day in Corvara. Heavy cloud and fog, no rain in town, I guess about 12C.

We put all our bikes together and plan to dawdle around this afternoon.

Hope the weather improves for a full days riding tomorrow.

[Chris249]

So I'm looking for feedback about a possible route for next year's Italian ride. Sorry about the length of the post, but if I don't give enough details I can't ask for enough info.

I went from Nauders in Austria over the Stelvio and Gavia last year, but this time my wife is coming. She rides every day and goes hard, but she's only doing about 9km on the flat each day so her ability to get over big climbs is suspect. We did a four-day ride last year with our baggage and had a wonderful time, up to 120km a day, but that was along flat areas in Germany.

The draft itinerary is to go to Innsbruck, get public transport to Nauders (like last year), and then ride down to Gluns. At Gluns she can meet the Postbus to Bormio or to the top of the Stelvio, while I ride up Umbria Pass and then drop down. I'll miss the chance to do the Stelvio again, but doing a new climb sounds fun.

I wasn't mad about Bormio last time but I may have been unfair. It seemed a bit plasticky and touristy whereas the other villages seemed to be less pretentious. Am I being unfair and is it an OK place to stay for a night?

I'm not sure where to go the next day. A lot depends on whether I can get my wife into training on our local hills (3km (AT) 8%, 13ks at 4%, etc) and whether that would be enough to get a fit woman in her 40s over the Gavia from the Bormio side, if we started in the morning from Santa Caterina and took it slowly. I'd love to do it with her and think that I could double up on the luggage for that one climb. She's a powerful and determined woman, but she's not that keen and I don't want her to hate it.

The alternative is to ride from Bormio to Tirano, where she can get a bus and I can do the Mortirolo and meet her in Ponte de Legno. Anyone know what the Bormio-Tirano route is like?

From Ponte de Legno we could take the ski gondola up the Passo de Tornale (which I did last year 'cause the Tornale looked to be a main road and not much fun) and then do the beautiful roll down the Vale do Sole. We could do what I did last year, when running out of time, and take the train from Male to Trento - does anyone know what this area is like to ride?

From Trento we could either train or ride to Rovertero. From there I would like to ride to Torbole on Lake Garda, where I did the windsurfing worlds years ago when it was a boom sport and we got to give autographs, get free booze and ride around in sponsored Audi Quattros and BMWs....ahhh, the memories!

The ferry down Lake Garda would be the next leg, followed by what sounds like a flat and mellow roll to Venice, which is when she takes over as tour guide.

We will take our CX bikes and stay in pensions etc, so we don't need to drag camping gear with us. I may see if she can get a triple chucked on her bike.

PS- I notice that in the post above, I mentioned a restaurant on the western side of the Gavia; I should have said the eastern side.