High altitude adventure in Italy

Finally! We have been driving all day and there are the mountains, the Alps. We have landed in Austria to get a night’s sleep before driving further down to Italy and the little gem Bormio. As always, the feeling of freedom and adventure strikes right there… at the first sight of the Alps. In the morning we wake up rested and with a tantalizing desire to get away. The son is impatient. He has dreamed of joining our cycling adventures for several years and now is the time. We stop for a much needed dip in the magical Lago di Resia before reaching Prato which is the entrance to the infamous magnificent Stelvio pass which we for the day drive over by car to get down to Bormio.

After checking in our things and a check of the bikes, we go out on a first short lap to get started and test the equipment. It will be beautiful little climb Torri di Fraele and a visit to Lago di Cancano. Here is so crazy beautiful and I usually become humble and grateful that I can be right here right now.

In the coming days, the focus is on cycling. We drive to Livigno and back one day. There, as always, we meet a lot of cycling professionals who train for one of the big tours and skiers in pre-season training. The next day we drive Umbrail and Stelvio and are struck again by how incredibly beautiful and magnificent that pass is. This year we had to take it in the sun and heat and could sit on top and enjoy without freezing to death when we got up. Felt almost a bit like cheating 😊. Day 3 we take a “rest day” where we drive in the fantastically beautiful valley and find a new small climb that none of us previously cycled. The road is steep so it bends, the asphalt is bad and it is narrow. Here we meet everyday life rather than cyclists… magic.

Day 4 is the time for the big monster round with the Mortirolo and Gavia climbs. The undersigned states that the shards that have increased with all cycling in extreme heat in recent weeks do not allow such a round. Mats and I shorten the round and drive Gavia from the Bormio direction instead. My favorite climb.

It was the one I drove 5 years ago when I was riding a racer for the 3rd time in my life and I met the love of cycling and the mountains. Have not ridden that stretch in 3 years and now enjoy every step. It’s tough, it’s raw and absolutely wonderful. At the top we meet the two lakes Lago Bianco and Lago Nero, have lunch and then take us down a couple of kilometers on the other side to meet Peter and Vilgot who come from that direction. It’s brutal and it’s fabulously beautiful. I am struck by how one and the same place can be so wonderful and so disgusting at the same time. When the boys have passed, I drive after them and we roll home happy to Bormio again with empty legs and filled hearts.
The big bike part of the adventure is over for this time and we thank you most humbly for all the experiences.