Tag: James Bond

Timmelsjoch / Passo del Rombo Loop

Timmelsjoch / Passo del Rombo Loop

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Alpine Adventures – Day Five (Austria)

Our last day of cycling in Austria started with a drive of just over an hour to the all year round resort of Solden – skiing in winter (it regularly hosts a round of the Downhill World Cup) as well as cycling & hiking in the summer. The Ice Q restaurant was used as a location in the James Bond film Spectre & there’s also a ‘007 Elements’ cinematic experience way above the town.

Solden is a bustling tourist resort, with all the usual trappings – hotels, bars, restaurants, outdoor adventure clothing shops & gift shops which may have robbed the town of some of its original charm. However, we were only parking the car here, so would soon be heading upwards on the main road which serves as a link between Austria & Italy.

Our plan was to tackle a 15 mile ascent of the Timmelsjoch & drop 6 miles or so into Italy. At which point we would ascent the Passo del Rombo (same mountain, but now climbing the Italian side) & then drop back into Solden – an out & back route.

There were quite a few lorries & coaches on the lower slopes, serving a couple of ski resorts slightly higher up the mountain. The first mile or so rose steeply, but then the gradient evened out to a fairly consistent 6% – 8% for about 6 miles. As we reached the resort of Obergurgl, we crossed the valley floor & started climbing in earnest, as the next 2 miles zig-zagged their way through forest, up towards Hochgurgl – at this point there’s a toll booth (similar to our ride up to Kaunertal), so the traffic would thin out after this point.

Hochgurgl is also home to a motorcycle museum & it has over 230 motorbikes from 100 plus manufacturers, including some early Harleys. Our reason for stopping was that it also does great food & coffee, so after about 90 minutes of riding we were ready for some refreshments – today’s treat was cherry tart & cappuccino!

After a brief stop were on our way again & although we weren’t anywhere near the summit of the Timmelsjoch, the road descended for a mile & we gave away 450 feet of hard earned altitude! The final 3 miles to the summit were the most wild & rugged, as the only vegetation was grass which was being grazed by wild cows & sheep. They roam freely & as we were climbing, a convoy of Porsches were forced to stop their descent as the cows chose that moment to cross the road.

By now, the weather was closing in, the sun was a distant memory & cold rain was starting to fall. We were also above the snow line & the final couple of corners still had decent sized snow walls on them.

After a brief stop at the summit for a few photos & to don our rain jackets, we headed down the Italian side, where the Timmelsjoch becomes the Passo del Rombo.

The first mile of the descent is a very gentle gradient, as the road follows a cliff face before passing through a long tunnel & exiting to an enormous view of the valley below. We would descend 6 miles in total & the road took hairpin after hairpin as it hugged a valley wall on the way down. It took us less than 15 minutes to plummet 2,000 feet in just under 5 miles, so we were in from a long climb back to the summit!

The ascent to the summit took about 90 minutes & was superb – the sun had come out again & we were just a few feet from a cliff edge with drops of over 2,500 feet to the valley floor below. There hadn’t really been time to take this in as we descended – there were too many tight turns to keep us focussed.

We stopped for a warming minestrone soup at a restaurant on the Italian / Austrian border, before descending back to Solden. It was raining again at the summit, so once we’d put our rain jackets on, we set off back down the Timmelsjoch – after a few hairpins near the summit, the road opened out & in no time I had hit 43mph & was still accelerating when I remembered the cattle & sheep crossing the road earlier, so I started to reduce my speed, just as well as there were now sheep where the cattle had been!!!

After negotiating our way around the sheep, we had a small descent left, before that nasty climb back up to the Motorbike Museum. My legs were so cold from the rapid descent, that it was quite a struggle to get them turning again for the short, sharp climb. Once we reached the plateau at Hochgurgl, the final 9 miles was a fast & flowing descent & before we knew it, we were back to Solden.

This was another epic day in the high mountains & although this was our last day of cycling in Austria, the adventure isn’t yet over. After taking in a final view from my hotel window, we spent the evening carb loading in preparation for 5 more days of riding, this time in the high Italian Alps above Bormio!

Passo Cibiana, Passo Staulanza & Passo Giau

Passo Cibiana, Passo Staulanza & Passo Giau

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Devilish Dolomite Delight – Day Four (July 2017)

It was a late start today as we had to wait for the car repair workshop to open, but not for the reasons you’ll be thinking! One of our group (not me, the other one!) somehow managed to get a front wheel spoke stuck in the seating mechanism when we were loading the bikes into the car after yesterday’s ride – it was a one in a thousand moment & neither of us would have been capable of doing it deliberately! I’m pleased to say that after about 15 minutes of poking around, a very kind mechanic managed to release the spoke & we were good to go!

The first 14 miles of today’s ride followed the same route as Tuesday’s ride (Day 2), so we powered downhill on the cycle path. Again, we were riding under blue skies & enjoying early morning temperatures in the mid 70’s, with next to no wind to speak of.

We turned off the main road before plummeting downhill to cross the River Boite & start our first climb of the day, the Passo Cibiana. We had a rather rude introduction, as the first couple of miles kicked up at 10%, although it had the advantage of very quickly giving us wide views of the river valley way below us. We had a brief respite as the road flattened out as it passed through the village of Cibiana, a beautifully laid out place with a pretty clock tower at its centre – the village was typical of so many we’ve ridden through this week.

As we continued to wend our way up the valley towards the summit, we were slapped in the face with a 200 yard stretch of 17% gradient – this is right on my limit of what I can ride before I topple off & not really what I wanted to experience on day four of an adventure!! Luckily, it was a very short stretch, but most of the remainder of the climb stayed in the 9% to 11% range. I was grateful there were plenty of stunning views to help take my mind off the challenge.

The climb took us a minute over an hour to complete & we’d clocked up just over 2,200 feet of ascending in that time, so we were certainly ready for a coffee & strawberry flan stop at the summit!

The start of the descent was very sketchy, grit covered the road, there were smallish potholes & the corners were blind, so we took things very cautiously to begin with. After about 5 minutes, the road surface improved significantly, the corners were less severe & the views into the valley below suddenly opened up. All was good with the world again & we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Before we knew it, we were on some flat road for the first (& only) time of the day. We passed through the small town of Forno di Zoldo & aimed for our planned lunch stop of Dont – there are so many simple gags to be made at this town’s name. If you’re planning to stop here for lunch Don’t, as in spite of what I’d read online, there wasn’t a single restaurant open!

Dont marked the start of our 2nd climb of the day, the exotically named Staulanza. The early slopes kicked up to 8%, just to remind us we were on a mountain, but soon the gradient stabilised at a far more manageable 6%. After 3 or 4 miles we found a small restaurant that very generously agreed to serve us a late lunch, although they were in the process of closing up. This has been typical of the friendly greeting we’ve received from everyone we’ve met.

After a quick spaghetti bolognese lunch, we were back on our way up the Staulanza, as it continued upwards at a steady 7%. On the way to the summit, we passed a couple of chic sky resorts, with what looked quite scary runs through the pine trees – no doubt an experienced skier would correct me & say they were nothing more than nursery slopes!!

The summit of the climb was marked by an incredible rock outcrop that rose some 1,500 feet above us & was in the sun, although we were firmly in the shade. After a quick stop to get a few photos, we plummeted down the other side on near perfect roads, with wide open corners – the only thing that slowed me down was the cars in front of us – it was much easier to manoeuvre a bike through the corners than a car!!! As the road began to level out, we began to get more nervous – while there was only one climb left to tackle, it was the monstrous Passo Giau from the classic (read ‘more difficult’) Selva di Cadore side.

A mere 7 miles long, its average gradient is 9.4% – it was also the last road to be built to reach a Dolomite Pass when it was completed in 1986 (prior to that it was simply a mule track). The first ½ mile was all over 14%, so we simply paced ourselves to survive this part of the climb, as we knew that things got slightly easier after this first stretch. The early stages of the climb follow the Codalonga river & there are 4 bridges where you have the briefest of respites from what is a constant 9% to 10% gradient for the entire climb – there was nowhere to hide, especially when the temperature was in the high 80’s!

After the bridges were crossed, the hairpins began (there are 29 of them), which kept our minds occupied as we fought the relentless gradient. The early slopes took us through pine scented forest, which while pleasant on the olfactory organ, closed off all the surrounding views. About half way up the climb, the trees were replaced by typical Dolomite pastures (as seen on each of our routes so far) & every now & then we could hear the marmots calling to each other.

With only 2 miles remaining, the enormous Nuvolau peak came into view, perhaps the largest of all the surrounding peaks & definitely the most awe inspiring. The rifugio at the summit of the Giau came into view with a mile to go – it seemed so near & yet by this point I was only travelling at 4 miles an hour & it felt like some kind of torture! Finally at the summit, we celebrated with a coke, took some panoramic photos & prepared for the final descent back into Cortina.

The descent was truly amazing, with hairpins upon hairpins as the road plummeted down the mountain. There was hardly any traffic, as by now it was 5.30pm & most tourists were long gone, which allowed us to use most of the road on the way down.

We finally arrived back in town at about 6pm & stopped for a pint so we could absorb what has been one of the epic days in the saddle. No words or photos can describe the climbs, descents or scenery, but I’ve given it my best attempt!

Daily Cortina Trivia Feature (stage 4) – The 1956 Winter Olympics took place in Cortina d’Ampezzo. We rode past the original ski jump on today’s ride, however you’re more likely to recognise it from the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. More useless trivia tomorrow!

Passo San Antonio, Lake Misurina & Passo Tre Croci

Passo San Antonio, Lake Misurina & Passo Tre Croci

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Devilish Dolomite Delight – Day Two (July 2017)

After yesterday’s monster day of climbing with relatively low miles, we decided to switch things around today & do a longer ride but with less climbing. The plan was to do a 75 mile loop, with 3 medium difficulty ascents in the 2nd half of the ride. The weather had defied the forecasters again & we were greeted by the sun & blue sky, much better the rain that we were expecting!

We set off from Cortina d’Ampezzo at 9am in what the route described as a ‘power descent’ for the first 25 miles – I now know this means you can get into an aero position & let gravity do its stuff as we dropped downhill & reversed the final 18 miles of our Sunday evening’s car journey from Venice. After about 5 miles, we stumbled upon a cycle track that followed the route of the old railway track & would take us all the way to Pieve di Cadore – this was a real bonus, as the road was busier than we expected & we’d already been passed by a large petrol tanker & a couple of logging lorries with additional trailers.

The cycle path took us through meadows, along the edge of a pine forest (which seems to be the tree of choice in the region) & gave us a great view of a deep river valley several hundred feet below us. All this scenery was wearing us out, so we decided to stop at a small café on the cycle path & build up our energy levels ahead of the climbing fest later in the day. Today’s delight was a scrummy apple roll (picture a sausage roll, but filled with apple!) & cappuccino as we overlooked huge views of the mountains in the distance.

After our refreshments, we continued downhill for another 7 or 8 miles before we came across the first of several lakes on today’s route. Due to the glacial sediments, the water had an un-natural greenish/blue tinge & it marked the end of our long descent. At this point we had the first of several surprises, as the cycle path that avoided a 2.5 mile tunnel was closed & that meant we had to either miss out an 18 mile segment of the ride, or brave the tunnel…. 2.5 miles later we were back in daylight – let’s face it, you knew that’s what we’d do!

We were now in a wide open glacial valley, cycling the opposite way to the flow of the river, so at some point we’d have to climb our way back to freedom! The road rode gently for the next 6 or 7 miles & then as we reached the village of San Nicolo di Comelica, we started the proper climbing – nothing too serious but enough to warm the legs up for the bigger challenges to come. We were now 39 miles into the ride & the climb had temporarily flattened out, so it was time to recharge the batteries with a lunch stop. We found a great little restaurant that rustled us up some pasta & sauce, even though they were just about to close – we were so hungry, I forgot to get a photo of lunch!

After lunch we continued along a shelf road for another couple of miles, before making a left turn at Padola for the ascent of Passo San Antonio. I hadn’t been able to find out anything about it, except that it was approximately 4 miles long & rose about 700 feet. On the face of it, one of the easiest climbs we’ll do all trip & that’s how we treated it….until it ramped up to 11% for the last but one mile (pretty much all the climbing was in the middle two miles!) Surprise number two delivered.

The start of the descent was incredible, steep long straights & wide corners, giving clear views of the road ahead. As we dropped down, the road began to twist & turn as it followed the contours of the mountain. After a mere 5 miles, we were in Aurenzo di Cadore, where we found another lake where the water was of the purest green.

Aurenzo also marked the start of the day’s longest climb, the 10 mile ascent rose 3,000 feet up to Lake Misurina. The alarm bells started ringing when after 5 miles we’d been climbing a 2% to 3% gradient in the big ring – if the stats were right, we were in for a torrid 2nd half to the ascent! The good news was my stats were right, the bad news, was also that my stats were right!

The final 4 miles of the climb didn’t drop below 11% & it regularly hit 14 & 15% – luckily there were stunning views every way we looked, but this was also where I found out how much top end fitness I’d lost in the last 3 weeks – this climb would have been tough whatever my fitness, but my arm, back & legs took it in turns to object to the stresses & strains they were under!

The climb topped out at the tourist friendly Lake Misurina, with incredible views up to the Tre Cime de Lavaredo (The three peaks of Lavaredo) – the spot where Vicenzo Nibali won the penultimate stage on a summit finish in driving snow storms & secured overall victory in the Giro d’Italia in 2013. After a pit stop of shortbread dipped in chocolate & a coke, we were ready for the final short, sharp ascent of the Passo Tre Croci. Just as we were puffing & wheezing our way up another steep ramp, we were overtaken by two JLT Condor professionals, who were sprinting up it in the big ring – a huge reminder of the difference between keen (but old) amateurs & the pros! This area’s a cycling mecca, as yesterday we saw the UAE Bahrain Merida squad heading to the Passo Giau on a training ride.

Once we’d crested the climb, we stopped long enough to absorb the surroundings, take a quick photo & then descend back into Cortina. It was another high quality road, with plenty of long, sweeping corners, which made for a fun last few miles – the final surprise of the day was to take a left turn into the town, only to realise it was a one way street! No harm done, as the road was empty, but another reminder of the need to concentrate all day!

Daily Cortina Trivia Feature (stage 2) – the ski chase in the James Bond film ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (starring Roger Moore) was filmed in Cortina d’Ampezzo.  More useless trivia tomorrow!