It's rare that I'm emotional after a bike ride but today was quite amazing. Just reaching the summit of this colossus, the Passo Stelvio, was a real journey of the soul as well as a gruelling physical test.
I mean, I've burst into tears of joy at the bottom of Mount Hotham (when Hil greeted me with food in the car after the final stage of the Tour of Bright a couple of years ago) but never simply for reaching the top. Today I couldn't help but give Angelo a hug - this truly is an amazing place to be alive and on a bike.
We climbed from the Prato allo Stelvio side up and over into Switzerland (with our passports ready just in case) and returned back into Italy to complete the loop.
As you approach the mountain you have a view of it for much of the ride. What looks simply like snow on top is actually a glacier sliding down the hill. There comes a point in the ride where you are close enough to see just how immense the whole thing is - the stalactite-like formations hanging from the glacier dwarf the trees in the valley below. It's truly incredible.
All up it was a shorter day, and I'm sure we were all better after the rest day on Wednesday.
Unfortunately I feel I'm coming down with a bit of a cold :( but I still gave it my all on the climb and did OK.
 |
| Apples! Come to this region if you like apples. Seriously. |
 |
| We're going up there? |
 |
| The best of the photos I could take while trying to ride a time trial! |
 |
| Note the white mercedes - I think the organiser of the event is doing OK. |
 |
| Over the Northern side and the landscape is windswept and sparse. |
 |
| In switzerland now. |
 |
| The bus from Bolzano for those without cars. |
 |
| So Damian, how was the Stelvio? |
No comments:
Post a Comment