A week in the Italian Alps and the Dolomites awaited the Mighty Quinn on Saturday 4th of July. This tour was organized by Saddle Skedaddle and was a follow up to the Atlantic to Mediterranean tour across the Pyrenees I completed with them last year.

We arrived in Bergamo from Luton on a very early morning flight and transferred to Lake Como. As the official tour didn’t start until the Sunday, I wanted to get some warm-up miles done. I decided a little excursion/loop along the lake, over the Ghisallo and back to Como would be the best route. It was a massive mistake. The 50 miles was done in the heat of the day which reached 48 degree centigrade on the road. I have a new Garmin 705 computer which tells you all these little bits of info.

The group was varied. We had one husband and wife, one from Ireland, US, New Zealand and the rest from all over the UK. We had 3 guides, two Italian and a small person from Newcastle (David)

I woke up to an overcast day. The day started retracing the route I did yesterday along the lake, and up the Ghisallo. The lake route is spectacular and also quite deceiving at you climb 1000ft before you reach Bellagio. This town is much nicer than the “ultimate Las Vegas hotel experience”. The church at the Ghisallo is amazing but you first have to tackle the climb with the steepest section at the base of over 14%. It is my 4th visit and I am always impressed. They have many bikes from the past champions, Moser’s funny bike which he used to break the world hour record in the 80’s, Coppi’s bike etc. Attached to the grounds of the church is a museum (you’ll get 1 euro discount if you arrive by bike) that has many fantastic archives from the la Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

On the descent which is really fast we turned left over a small ramp, stopped for lunch before continuing along the lake via some tunnels into Lecco. After navigating the town we started up an un-named ramp (8km with sections at over 14%) to our hotel for the night. It was hard. The pace was fast and the road got busy for a while. I didn’t enjoy this as my legs felt heavy. The end of the day finished with a pace line along the lake and up a short 18% grade to the hotel.

We arrived just before a massive thunderstorm. In hindsight this was a prelude to things to come.

Rain. The initial 80km was along a very busy road before stopping for lunch. Everyone was nervous as the Mortorilo was to be tackled in the afternoon followed by the Tonale. Pantini did it in 41 minutes, 9 seconds. This climb is 12.5km of hell. 6km of it averages 12% with 3 sections at over 18%. It starts at 552 meters and tops out at 1852m. We arrived at the Pantani monument just as it started to rain, which quickly became thunder and then we had lightning. The road turned into a river and the water was so deep that it was over my rims. On the top some of the group experienced hailstones. They should have slowed and waited for their team leader!!

I got very cold on the climb and had to wait for the bus to get warmer winter clothes. Davide gave me a lifesaving piece of Italian tart. It gave me the energy to nail the beast. The sense of achievement getting over this brute was great. Once I reached the top, the last of the group, the weather cleared and some sun came out. My time wasn’t noted but I didn’t care. It was a fun descent to the start of the gradual run up to the Tonale. You had to watch the runoff of stones/rocks and even fallen trees!!

The hotel for the night was 2km from the summit of the Tonale and naturally I had to go to the top before cycling back down. Hugh was very hungry. I gave him a wonderful gel package that I received from Davide, who wolfed it down only to nearly bring it back up due to its strong taste. It worked as he sprinted passed me soon after.

As this was a ski resort they had washing machines and driers which made everyone happy. We were staying at 6000 feet and sleep didn’t come easy.

The highlight of the week was to tackle the Gavia and then the Stelvio. It was a long chilly descent down the Tonale to the start of the Gavia climb. The Gavia itself is long at over 26km(2618m). You climb out of a valley and the scenery of the surrounding forest and waterfalls in full flow was photographic material. There are a number of tunnels, one which needed lights as it is shaped as dogleg and climbs at over 10%. Arriving at the top the weather was cold. There is a small café where you can buy postcards of the Giro’s transverse of the pass in the snow. I also picked up a wonderful calendar with old photos of Coppi.

Everyone wrapped up for the descent. It was the fastest, smoothest of the whole week. Nearing the bottom, you didn’t need to brake, for many kilometers. It was all about taking a smooth line from one corner to the next corner.

Lunch was the best of the week. We had freshly prepared pasta and lots of lovely Italian food.

I planned on getting a head start up the Stelvio so I left as soon as I finished lunch. This is the second highest pass in the Alps topping out at over 2758 meters. We were climbing from the easier side – only 38 hairpins. The climb was over 21km and the first 10km gradually climbed out of a valley. It then straightens out. In the distance you can see a wall with many hairpins. I couldn’t believe that I would have the energy to get up it. Fortunately there was a bar at the bottom of the steepest part. I stopped, got an energy drink and an ice cream which I eat on the bike. It seemed to help. Over the false summit the road again straightens out for 3-4km before the final 2 km ramp up at 10%. The top was steaming with bikes – motor bikes. It turned out that our descent via the famous 48 pins was closed to traffic due to a land slide. We needed to find an alternative to get us to the hotel.

Our guides were wonderful. They knew we were all tired and wanted to make sure we didn’t have to do any additional climbing. There was a back road via Switzerland that was open and this is the route we took. After about 3-4km, the road became a dirt track for 5 km. You really got the feeling how the cyclists of past Giro’s must have felt climbing and descending on unpaved road. It was a wonderful descent to the hotel. 142km and over 10000 feet of climbing in one day. The hotel was very new and the rooms were massive. That night we had a German type meal in Italy. The local’s also preferred to speak German. Very strange…

We had a transfer in the morning to allow an introduction to the Dolomites. The plan was to cycle only 4 cols, one after the other. It started hard and got harder. A decision was made during lunch to split the group in two. Naturally as a founding member of the EFI club, there was no deviation to the planned route for me. Halfway up the 2nd of the 3 climbs after lunch I was having serious doubts about my decision. It was very tough. I got into the zone and concentrated on getting to the top. I don’t remember much apart from tying to spin and move forward.

The day started early and with a long 30km descent. We then had a quick excursion up the Croce D’Aune . This mountain is very famous as this is where Mr.Campag thought up the idea of quick release for wheels after having problems changing a tire due to cold hands. All the greats have stood at the statue. Campag recently released a 11 speed and Migual Indurian stood where I did to get his photo. Check out ProCycling(August 2008) for confirmation.

A quick descent to a brewery for lunch; the only one not prepared by the guides. Naturally I had to taste a couple of beers as the Grappa was the next challenge.

Grappa is a very historically significant place in Italian history. It was here where they fended of the Austrians attack during World War 1. The climb is long and very narrow. It was special.

I really enjoyed the afternoon. It was certainly hard. I was out the back again, but I didn’t really care. The climb had 14% grades in places and near the top became drawn out. Looking up at the monument at the top I saw lots of hairpins but it was confusing as the road didn’t go that way. It turns out that there are 8 separate roads up the climb and the one I was on did a loop round the back. The clouds started to roll in and the top became obscured in mist. The bus was parked just below the summit and I cycled a little further to get the mandatory summit/height photo. A wonderful museum with lots of war artifacts was visited. I missed the tunnels. The most memorable piece was the machine gun on the back of a rucksack. It must have weighted over 80kgs and the padding was very basic.

The original descent that was planned was closed to roadwork’s. The road we took was narrow and very quiet at the start and then widened out midway. The views over the Italian plains were fantastic. It was a little misty but you could see that if the mountain wasn’t defended the Austrian would have had no further problems moving south. We were staying in a walled city with a wooden bridge. Dinner was expensive and had very small portions. We need ice cream to curb our hunger on the way back to the hotel after a beer in the square people (Italian women) watching. My room was tiny. I could touch both walls very easily. This was unusual as all the others had plenty of space.

Day 6 started off early as we had a transfer in the afternoon from Lake Garda back to Bergamo. The first 60km looked horrendous on the profile. 60km up hill! The first 2 km were flat then the climb started. God it was hot! I thought that if the day continued like this then it would be a major effort just to finish. Fortune shined on me as it became cooler the higher we climbed or maybe my body was adjusting to the heat. On the climb I was passed by a real climber. He was bouncing on the pedals and flying. Oh to be 50kg lighter and 20 years younger.

On reaching the first downhill after 30km we stopped for an ice cream. It was very welcome. We then had a gradually climb till lunch. In the afternoon a couple of other rises brought us to the top-out for the day. It was all downhill except for 2 climbs. Gibo was mentioned along the side of the road. Gibo is short for Giberto Simoni – a double Giro winner. He was sponsoring a cycle ride. Andrew then decided that it was time to have a rest by hitting the deck. Some blood was spilled but he’s hard and didn’t cry as Davide dug out gravel from his elbow!!

The final downhill was fast except for a long flat bit halfway down. Geoff decided to video the experience by tying his video camera to his handle bars. As the crazy descender of the week he had some interested shots. We arrived at a little town with a beautiful square. The ice cream shop was a welcome break point before a mad scramble along some busy roads and bike paths to Garda. Upon arrival the hotel had prepared two ice cream cakes as it was Davide and my birthdays. Thank you to the hotel. It looked wonderful but we didn’t have time to do much except to have a quick shower. I will be back as there seems to be so much outdoor activity available.

The DJ then played some tunes on the way back to Bergamo. We saw some crazy driving and David was fascinated with a girl in a white dress. Photos from the rear were taken!! We arrived back at the hotel quite late. I packed my bike and then had a quick shower before dinner.

Skedaddle specify this trip as a grade 4. This means that it is the same grading as the Pyrenees trip but it is tougher (is there such a thing as a Grade 5?) It is tough, there are some really big climbs one after another, unpredictable weather and you need to be fit. Good bike handling skills required. You need to be willing to spend 8 hours in the saddle. There are no easy days. There are no rest days.

That being said the Skedaddle team is brilliant. They even washed our bikes after the Mortorilo stage. They prepare great lunches and are also cyclists who have a passion for the sport.

Equipment – I would recommend lightweight clothing for the hot climbs. However the weather is very changeable so you need to have warmer clothing on hand. The bike was setup perfectly. Make sure you have changed your brake blocks as they take a lot of abuse. I preferred to take my helmet of climbing but this is a personal preference. A good chamois cream is critical. I also used warming oils in the morning to get my legs moving