This year's second cycling trip abroad started with a very early waking up time to face the long drive to Cuneo, Italy, which is part of the Piedmont Region. 15 hours in a car with two guys, Peter and Arjan, that I just met but with one common friend and a cycling addiction. That followed by 4 days in the French Alps and 4 days in the Alsace region cycling the Vosges mountain range. Great days with a nice group of guys. See after the jump the first part with the Italian rides.
Day 1 - August 9th Travel day
The drive was the usual Belgium, France and Italy highway and we arrived around 20:00 in the evening, after going thru some severe rains and thunder storms on the way, which drenched my bike that was on the bike rack and caused some issues (more of that later).
The other car with Paul and Cliff was trailing 30 min ahead of us and increased it to an hour, which gave them time to figure out the house for the first week for them and one night for me. I was staying in my own little apartment down the street after the second night and for the rest of the time in Italy. Perfect time to unload the car and go straight for dinner at a pizzeria just beside the hotel and talk about plans for day 2.
Day 2 - Monday August 10th - Bonus Ride to Prato Nervoso.
The first night was warm and in a restless sleep on the living room sofa-bed due to a lot of noise from the street. I woke up early and found a Carrefour at a 20 minute walking distance to get my breakfast. On riding days I don't like to change my breakfast routine of yogurt, banana and cruesly. On the way I saw quite some cafeteries already open and with lots of people getting ready to go to work as it was Monday.
At 9:00 am everybody was on time and ready to go, which was a good sign for the weeks to come. The plan for the day was a nice intro to Italian roads in the Mondovi area of Cuneo region (pronounced Cúnio) crossing perpendicular to many valleys. We were going in the direction of the biggest climb of the day with a funny name, Prato Nervoso, located between the Maudagnia and Corsaglia valleys. The flat roads towards the climb were OK and the drivers were giving us space, which is a good thing on busy roads.
Prato Nervoso - this climb is brutal. Both from being steep with 14% and 16% gradients but also because it was very warm and I wasn't ready for the altitude change yet. It was slow going with my lungs crying for more oxygen and I was immediately dropped. Arjan and I climbed close to each other most of the time. At some point Paul stopped to wait and it was a good reminder it wasn't a race: one is allowed to stop and relax a little.
After the quick stop, we pushed to the top, meeting Peter there. He was waiting for us for a long time. The two of us waited some time at the top for the rest and there I made a mistake. I was drenched in sweat and didn't bring anything to protect me from the wind, which was somewhat cold at the top. My body cooled too quickly and got me chills. That got me concerned.
At the end of the climb, we got to the Prato Nervoso village and found a nice cafeteria to rest, regroup and eat a great ham and cheese paninis (Italians can make the most simple sandwich into an art form) and enjoy the first fast descent. Great fun. Peter, Arjan and I got separated from Paul and Cliff and got back earlier, which gave me time to get the keys to my little place before they arrived. And right on schedule, Dave and Aaron arrived from Switzerland, completing the team. It was great to see them after 2 years and knowing that we will ride together for a couple of days.
Dinner was in a nice restaurant in the old city center, with good pasta with rabbit meat in champignon sauce and the ever present Pallanfrela salad (mozzarella de palanfre, tomatoes and sweetsour sauce). Nothing crazy as the plan for the next day was to rest and get ready for the planned 9 rides. At the end of the dinner, my throat started to get sore and in the back of my mind I was afraid that the chills I felt on top of Prato Nervoso was going to turn into something bad.
Day 2 - August 11 - Rest / Sick day.
My little apartment was nice and quiet. It was facing the inside courtyard and apart from the mammas talking to their kids, very quiet. But I woke up with a very sore throat and a runny nose. Not good. I went immediately to a pharmacy and asked for the strongest painkiller and topic antibiotics to try to avoid it getting into something worse.
But I knew that all I could hope was to keep it as a head cold for 7 days and not get it into the chest and fever. It would be a handful of hard days ahead to do all the rides in this state. That day, it was the village market with all kinds of stuff on display and the city was full. I did a little stroll but feeling bad I decided to head back to the apartment to rest before lunch. It would be a slow day.
Day 3 - August 12 - Colle di Tenda (20 kms @ 5.4% gradient)
First day riding with the full team. We all met and left on time, going south, first thru the city piazza, which is always a nice way to start. This would be a ride to go up the Colle di Tenda and turn around, following a different road after we reached the valley.
We rode easy towards the climb as it was not exactly flat but not uphill either. We did a quick stop around 45 kms into the day, just before the real climb started.
I was coughing a lot and decided to go up in an energy saving mode, keeping my heart rate around 145 bpm. I managed to keep going and didn't stop until the top, although I was going slow. It was really a matter of surviving the climb rather than riding it but it was better than staying in the hotel and feeling sorry for myself. This time I took a gilet and a buff and kept it until we were back in the valley. I think this and all the medication helped to keep the cold under control.
The descent back was really fast and for the first time I could put my frankenstein setup to the test: aluminum front wheel and carbon back wheel. As I still have rim brakes, I thought this combination would work for better breaking performance and still keeping the weight down. And it worked like a charm. I had a lot of fun on that descent and let the bike go really loose. Because on the descent the most important is the front brake, even on the rain we got later in the week it worked well. So, I'm not yet ready to spend the extra money on a new disk brake bike :).
On the way back, part of the team went to the second climb of the day, towards the Cappella del Malandre, a 4 kms climb at 8.6% gradient. It had some points of 14 and 15% and it was a hard climb. The church was a nice little one and after that it was a tight technical descent, where I could hear (and smell) the disk brakes of the other bikes. Good day on the saddle despite the cold.
Day 4 - August 13 - Colle de Sampeyres (25 kms @ 6.3% gradient)
During the previous day's dinner, the team decided to split the group in three. Aaron, Cliff and Dave would start one hour earlier to skip the expected high temperatures, Paul, Arjan and I would be the second group and Peter would start half an hour after us as he had a call to join due to work. He was the strongest by far and we were actually trying hard not to be caught by him before the top of the Col de Sampeyres.
We started riding easy but gradually we sped up when Arjan went in front and started driving tempo. He loves doing that and I also didn't want to be in front because I was coughing and sneezing and didn't want to get anyone else sick. But with less than one hour we got into a false flat and with very heavy traffic. I didn't want to stay too long in that road and I started pushing in front in the 3 to 5% gradient. It was a long push of 25 kms and we got to Sampeyres quickly but tired. I was exhausted even before the actual mountain and was contemplating turning around every 10 minutes.
We decided to take a stop in a restaurant and drink and eat before riding the 16 kms remaining of the actual climb. Two coca-colas, a double espresso and a nutella cake got me ready! That was great because I could recover a little, take painkillers (on top of all that sugar and caffeine) and start the climb feeling a little better. This day the cold was worse with headaches and muscle pain but less coughing. Trade offs in life!
In the climb I passed a local rider going up on a mountain bike with a very easy gear and spinning like crazy. Halfway thru I had to stop right after a ramp of 15% gradient to get some painkillers in (my head was exploding) and he passed me again. We did most of the climb together but he kicked my ass on the last 2 kms. He was a nice guy. On the way, we passed many Italians and they were cursing a lot especially at the top. If the locals complain then you know it is a hard one!
The top of the mountain is beautiful. You can see very far into the valley and the monument at the top is not the usual milestone. We chatted with the locals and took some pictures waiting for everybody to arrive. Descent was difficult because the asphalt wasn't in a good state and we needed to control not only the speed but the big bumps. We regrouped in Stroppo and went back home together but Arjan and I decided to skip the last climb of the day to save energy for the next day. Great day even feeling the way I was. The climb was beautiful and hard as they are supposed to be.
The dinner was at a very old and beautiful restaurant that Paul arranged for us. It was so nice that we got involved in getting our starters and drinks and missed the eclipse. All of sudden, the outside went dark and quiet and we try to run to the promenade to see it but it was too late. Well, there is another one next year but it was a pity to miss as we were in the right place to enjoy it.
Day 5 - August 14th - Medio Fondo Fausto Coppi - Col de la Fauniera
Because I predicted that this would be the day I would feel the worst (most of the time day 4 and 5 of my cols are bad), I decided to start with the first early group. First of all because they wouldn't be pushing too hard on the flat part and that would allow me to climb slowly later. Also, because this was the day of the medio fondo Fausto `Coppi, to climb the famous Colle de Fauniera, a hard 26 kms uphill where the monument for `Pantani sits.
We took a moderate speed towards Pradleves, where the climb of the Fauniera starts. I was in the back of the group the whole time trying not to infect my fellow riders but didn't feel good to not do a pull in front. We made a quick stop to get a coca-cola in the deserted village (which we were dutifully ripped off by the nice old lady) and started the climb. I tried to stay with the guys and when the gradient turned nasty, we all climbed at our own tempo. Aaron went ahead and I tried to keep him with visual contact but lost him on the steepest part.
The plan was to stop 1o kms to the top where there is a nice restaurant to have early lunch and wait for the second group. It was also a good idea because while the climb is hard with gradients around 9 and 10% in most of the first 10 kms, the last 2 kilometers before the restaurant had hard ramps of 14% and 15%. I managed to get there without stopping and even passed some riders (almost couldn't believe someone was actually slower than me), but there were moments of slow motion riding. Low in energy and power but determined to get to the stop.
We had a great lunch when Cliff and Paul arrived. Those stops are great to talk about cycling, bikes, politics, gender equality in the eyes of mid life guys in lycra and life in general. The weather was not too warm and the mountain was beautiful, the restaurant had good sandwiches and coffee and I could stay there for a long time. But we should get going and finish the last 10 kms of that climb. So, we started with heavy legs but high spirits.
Riders on the Storm - After that point the gradients were not as steep and the riding was going well. At one moment, I heard a strong thunder and saw some people running downhill towards the restaurant but was too focused on riding to really think about it. My head and muscles started hurting like hell and with 3 kms to the top I saw a water fountain and decided to stop to get some paracetamol / ibuprofen combo and refill my bottles. Right at the moment I stopped to get the painkillers, the rain broke and I ran for refuge in a small house. That was a life saver, as the storm really hit us with big hail stones and crazy wind. Cliff and Dave were just behind me and we huddled together, hoping Aaron and Paul were safe as they were ahead of us. Even motorcyclists and cars stopped. It was good to have those guys with me to keep company!
It took around 45 minutes for the storm to pass and I was feeling colder and colder. Twice I almost fell asleep standing, reclining my head on a door frame. Crazy. The mix of cold water still hitting us due to the rain spray, the head cold and tiredness wasn't really doing me good. In the meantime we got messages from the guys that they were safe, which was good to hear and I was happy to start riding again when the rain stopped and I could warm up a little with the effort.
On the top we took some pictures in a hurry and got ready to descend on wet roads and broken tarmac. Dave borrow me his arm warmers as he had a rain jacket and we were ready to go down. I told myself to behave and to go slow. The climb is kind of rugged and wild and the road is quite narrow. Almost a goad pass. But after the first 3 or 4 kilometers, the road got better and it was the most beautiful and exhilarating 20 kilometers of downhill of my life. Even better than Stelvio. It was fast and scenic and safe. Nice meandering roads with no traffic and great views of the open valley. I loved it.
At the bottom of the descent I waited for the guys for around 5 minutes but I was still wet and getting colder again and decided to go straight to the hotel. There was another stop planned just before Cuneo after a climb, but I decided to take the most straight line to Cuneo and the mix of slight downhill false flat and tail wind brought me home at an average of 40 kms/h. Great fun again! I met the guys for dinner to hear their stories but was happy to have time to rest.
Our last dinner in Cuneo was great. We went back to one of the restaurants we liked the most (Osteria dei Colori) and had a great time. We had great food and service sitting outside and at the end the waiter treated us to some shots (as a trade off to get us to free up our table). It was great to get some limoncello and mandarin shots to try to clear my throat! After that the guys went to a wine bar but I decided to go straight to bed to try to recover as much as possible. I wanted to be in shape when we got to the foot of Mont Blanc. On the way, I saw a rock band playing covers close to the piazza and was tempted to go in but once I made the right choice and went to bed. Next day was transfer from Italy to France and an opportunity to rest as much as possible.
Next in part 2 - one week in France back to the foot of the Mont Blanc and the Grand Ballon.
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