Cyclopaat, an alter ego with a twist
For the first time during this (cycling) holiday, the rain spoiled (half) the trip and C. was forced to postpone the climb of the Gavia from Ponte di Legno.
He did manage the climb from Bormio and that of the Passo del Tonale through the rain, but eventually it was raining cats and dogs, so T. told him to stop…
(Well, the last few km of the Bernina anyway)
Since the climb to the Foscagno pass is actually not really starting before leaving Valdidentro, C. had an early start this morning.
The road to it runs in front of the hotel…
So, at 9:25 he took off for the first 15 kilometers of climbing today.
And since he had planned quite a trip today, that early start was necessary too.
Before checking in to the Alpen Hotel in Valdidentro, Toerbeest made a stop in Mazzo di Valtellina, so Cyclopaat could climb the Mortirolo.
This climb is considered to be one of the toughest in Europe, but after the Zoncolan, any climb (here) seems like a piece of cake 🙂
Besides, the Mortirolo offers more shady – tree covered – stretches than the Zoncolan, which makes a BIG difference under sunny conditions.
We were moving to Mestre today, to participate in the Open European Mahjong Championship.
But since C. insisted he should definitely climb the Monte Zoncolan, they made a ‘little’ detour to Ovaro.
After all, it didn’t look that much of a detour on the map, but on Italian (secondary) roads…
He should have known from the transfer two days before from Vipiteno to Longega for the Furcia.
So, after another 3 hour drive, he was actually not so fresh anymore, but now that they were here anyway, he might as well go for it…
She could tell that C. had not completely recovered from yesterday’s hard hitters, so T. smartly announced that she needed time to prepare the luggage today, for tomorrow’s transfer.
And anyway, she added, if he wanted a fair chance of getting up the Monte Zoncolan in one piece, he’d better take it easy today.
That did not fell on deaf ears, as C. already picked the Fedaia as probably his only climb for the day. So, they went over the Sella by car and in Canazei he started his ride.
