Aberfeldy Half Ironman for MND Scotland

Well into 2012 and I've not written a blog post for ages, due to being too busy with other stuff and having nothing particularly new or interesting to write about.  My 2012 race season so far as been pretty mediocre  with a couple of decent rides but lack of time for doing much racing has meant my form hasn't been great and I have kind of lacked a bit of enthusiasm for the Scottish Road Race scene  - same riders, same races, same results.....  At the start of June on the spur of the moment I entered the Dunblane 7.5 mile Road Race (running), and got a really good result considering I haven't run at all in a very long time.  Encouraged by this I had a look at the triathlons coming up in the calendar and after a bit of swithering decided to jump in at the deep end and give the Aberfeldy Half Ironman a go.  The event is on the 18th August and starts with a 1900m swim in Loch Tay, followed by 90km on the bike and finishing with a 21km run.

I'm pretty confident that I'll be quick on the bike and reasonably happy with my running, but swimming isnt something I do an awful lot of.  Open water swimming is something I've never done at all, so I debated for quite a while before entering the event, but eventually decided I could definitely get through the swim even if not especially fast.  As its open water you need a full wet suit to take part, and although I have an old steamer from years ago when I did a lot of windsurfing all the advice I got was that it wouldnt have the range of movement round my shoulders and would be really uncomfortable for a long swim, so I bought a cheap speedo suit from wiggle.

Since the event is something new for me and quite a challenge I thought I'd use it as an opportunity to raise a bit of cash for charity.  Earlier this year a colleague from work died from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) so it was the immediate first choice.  Having set up a just giving web page where folk can donate and sent out a few emails the response to that has been really good.  I set a goal of £500, and so far have had over £250 donated which is amazing.  All donations are very welcome!  The charity does great work helping people suffering from MND and their families.

So at the moment I'm on my 2 weeks summer holidays. We're staying in a caravan up at the beaches at Arisaig, and I've been using the proximity to the sea, and time off work to get in some training, mainly getting used to open water swimming, and doing more running. I've set myself a target of one swim every day we're here and have so far managed 2 so its 100% so far!  The first swim I was pretty keen to get out of the way and get a better idea of what I'd let myself in for.  The conditions weren't exactly ideal - northerly, fairly chilli wind, not too wavy but enough to give a novice like me a hard time.  The cold salty water was a bit of a shock but I managed OK I think.  Going up wind into the waves was pretty unpleasant and my progress was very slow.  Coming back down wind was much better, and I started to work out a bit of a rythm with arm strokes, breathing, and looking where I was going.  I'm very glad to have this opportunity to practice though as there is definitely a lot of room for improvement.

This mornings swim was much better.  I got out at 7am, not wind, tide well out so much better conditions.  The cold water on my face was still pretty nasty having just got up, but I found my rythm much faster and swam a lot further today.  Coming out of the water and out of my wetsuit I was shivering big time very quickly, so I'm going to have to think about what to wear on the bike and make sure I am warm enough initially, but knowing that I'll warm up further into the ride.  I found the swim was actually pretty exhausting as well and even had difficulty getting out of my wet suit.  So still not especially happy at the prospect of the swim in Loch Tay, but at least I have time to get better.  Weather forecast for tomorrow isn't so good, so I'll need to find some motivation before tomorrows dunking!

Ben Lomond Loop

I decided to do something a bit different for last Saturday mornings run.  Since many of us ride CycloCross (CX) bikes during the winter I quite fancied making the most of their off road capabilities by doing a loop taking in some of the great forest trails nearby.  The route I had in mind took in the Trossachs Forest Drive by Loch Venachar and the Dukes, followed by a run up through the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park from Aberfoyle over to Loch Lomond.  At Loch Lomond side the route was south to Rowardennan, Balmaha and Drymen then home.

Richard and Eddie joined me for this winter epic.  Not the best day for it - howling westerly with horrible sleet showers.  I've ridden some of the tracks before but after all the mega rain in the last week we were a bit unsure how ridable it would be.  With a lot of the off road sections being well used for forestry work they can get quite broken up by logging trucks and in pretty bad shape.  We were all on CX bikes with 35mm CX tyres fitted.  These have a shallow tread, like an MTB tyre but are not as knobbly or as wide.  I find these are pretty good on the road as long as you dont try to go too fast, and off road they give great grip.

Eddie and Richard with snow capped Ben Lomond in background

Callander to Aberfoyle
The first section on tarmac up the Deanston Road we do all the time, but after Callander its onto the gravel and almost single track along the side of Loch Venachar.  We all had big grins on our faces after this: blasting round gravel bends and over wee jumps.  The climb up to the Dukes Pass from Loch Venachar was much slower on the soft gravel track than the usual route up, but it was good to do something different and the descent down into Aberfoyle was an absolute blast - it felt like driving a rally car, beasting round corners, ripping over the rough gravel surface.

Milton to Cailness
After Aberfoyle road and the short tarmac section up to Milton we crossed over to the Queen Elizabeth forest park, and back onto more gravel trails.  This gradually climbs up toward Ben Lomond.  The Ben appeared up in front of us from out among the trees and initially it was quite some distance away, with the top capped in snow.  Fortunately I'd plotted the trail into my Garmin, as there are a lot of criss crossing junctions in the forest and way finding can be tricky.  Having ridden round the forest before I'd often found myself having to stop and check the map to try and work out which way to go, but with the course plotted in the Garmin it was dead easy - just a case of following the line on the screen on my bars!

From Milton up into the Comer estate the trail surface through the forest is actually really good, much firmer than the climb up the Dukes, so we made pretty good progress.  It did gradually become more full of potholes and rough in places.  Almost at the top of the main estate road you pass a small cottage and there is a turn off the main estate path, through a gate and up a very steep, much smaller side track.  The gradient was getting on for about the limit of what we could ride up on the CX bikes due to the slippery wet surface, and gearing available.  After a while it slacked off a bit and it was just another few miles grind up a lumpy but ridable landrover track to the top of Gleann Gaoithe.  By the time we got here it was absolutely pissing down and blowing a gale and seriously cold, so we were pretty glad to see Loch Lomond appear almost directly beneath us.

The descent to Cailness was not really my idea of fun.  When you come over the top of the hill you start at about 350m and Loch Lomond is at about 10m and feels like its directly beneath you.  The track is about 25% gradient, rocky, broken, and was like a river in places.  Theres several switch backs, but the gradient is unrelenting.  Even going down it was tiring, especially on arms and shoulders.  I lost it in a rut at one point and took a header into the mud which wasn't very pleasant.  There was a 4x4 parked at the house at the bottom, but I found it hard to believe you could even drive down the track!  Riding up would maybe be doable on an MTB, but certainly not on a CX bike.

Mechanicals
Half way down the descent I discovered one of the crank arms on my chainset was coming loose.  I fitted a new chainset a few months back after the west coast tour and presumably didnt get it quite right.  The crank arm on the non drive side clamps onto  a post which comes out of the drive side crank, and the bolts clamping the arm on must have worked loose over time.  The arm with pedal attached was now wobbling about.  Richard had a multi tool, so I attempted to tighten the crank arm back on, but a mile or so further on it had worked its way loose again.  After Cailness we joined the West Highland Way and headed south toward Rowerdennan.  The surface is pretty rough along here too, and it was Eddies turn to have a mechanical next.  His chain jammed in the rear mech, and this caused the mech and hanger to be ripped off the back of the bike.  He managed to do a not bad fix up job, shortening the chain to run the bike as a single speed.  Fortunately from Rowedennan back to Stirling there arent any really significant hills, so this was ok to get him home

Unfortunately my crank arm kept on working loose and after a while it started falling off altogether.  After a several attempts at reattaching it I decided it the problem was terminal and it was going to prevent me managing to complete the full circuit.  Fortunately Laura was home and after a phone call she was able to come and get me about and hour later from near Drymen.  Eddie and Richard carried on back to Stirling along the A811, while I pedalled slowly, one legged back to Blamaha and as far toward Drymen as I could.

Broken TCX

The original plan had been to ride the route in the opposite direction, however on the morning we decided to reverse it due to the gale force westerly and the idea that riding westward through the woods would be better than plugging along the A811.  I think going round clockwise would be preferable if the weather was different as the trails are more rideable going the other way, and I'd rather push my bike up the climb from Cailness than ride down it again!  This route would be brilliant in the summer when the trails are drier and harder, and I think you could probably do the loop in about 5 hours if you went at it hard.  Having looked about theres quite a lot of other similar loops that can be made by joining up sections of gravel road.  The only potential problem with wanting to do more of this type of route is the potential maintenance cost fixing all the broken kit!

Am I a cyclo-holic?

I've got members of my family and friends who I'd say are work-o-holics.  Mates who have put on 4stone since we finished Uni together, and spend their time flying round the world for their jobs.  I think maybe it used to be trendy.  They obviously enjoy what they do at work, which must be nice.  I guess I sometimes enjoy work too, sometimes its interesting and stimulating.  But mainly I go to work to earn money to pay for the other more interesting things in life, like family and cycling.

I find if I cant get out on my bike I'm a grumpy bastard.  I need at least an hour a day normally.  I call it training or commuting.  In reality I could easily get the bus to work.  And I dont need to train that hard in November - what am I training for?  Theres months till the start of the race season, and I've been looking forward to the end of the 2011 race season for ages.  Yet if I cant get out on my bike at some point during the day then there's something missing.

I was turning this over in my mind during the day today while riding my bike.  I think there are several reasons behind why I spend so much time in the saddle, and why I'm so addicted.  Partly I actually really enjoy it, the outdoors, the weather in my face, the wind, spray, sun, the exercise.  Oddly its very relaxing as well.  Even when working hard my mind clears, worries and irritations seem less important, or in better perspective and easier to ignore.  My mind can wonder for hours, thinking about the most ridiculous rubbish.  And when I get home I'm not tired, instead I feel refreshed and invigorated - my woes generally stay where I've put them, out of the way.

I like to know I've been out and put my miles in.  When I get home I know I can relax, because I've done the hard work.  Theres not many people in Scotland who train harder than I do, and that thought lets me feel content.  I hate the idea that there are people out there training harder than me.  When I'm on my bike I feel special, and its a good feeling.

I know a lot of people who ride bikes. A lot of people who ride bikes an awful lot.  Guys like me, who are probably letting it take over their lives a bit.  Training sessions that eat into the time when they should probably be at home with their families, or maybe at work.  Spending evenings surfing the net for the latest 'must have' cycling accessory.  Chatting about nothing but cycling.  Going on cycling holidays.  Watching bike racing on Eurosport.  Reading and writing cycling related crap on internet forums.  It becomes a bit of a lifestyle rather than a mode of transport.

How do I justify it to myself?  I tell myself it keeps me fit healthy, strong.  It keeps me sane, and able to deal with the shit that life throws at me.  It makes me happy.... but does it.... or does it just make me angry when I cant have it?!  Whatever the answer, I've no intention of stopping any time soon.  Am I a cycloholic?  There are a lot of worse things I could be addicted to I suppose.

End of the Race Season

I haven't written a blog for a long time. Things have been super busy at home with Laura being ill, work, Oli starting school and the arrival of Sophie our new baby daughter, so I haven't really had the time. I've still managed to fit in a bit of racing though. The first half of the season I guess I focused mainly on road racing as most of the best races are held in April May and June. Scottish road racing seems to take a break in July, and then August, September and October don't have much to offer in the way of serious road races. There are however plenty of time trials on, so in the second half of the season for the last 2 years I've done mainly TT after July.

This season its worked out that my TTing has been more successful than RRing and I've had several good results in the last couple of months including a few wins (pic shows win at the Dooleys Memorial 25) and second places in the Tour of the Trossachs and Tour of the Campsies TT. These are pretty special races in the Scottish calendar with a long history and challenging hilly courses. The Trossachs is a pretty big event and the competition was tough so I am pretty pleased with my result as I was only 11seconds away from winning.
As well as this I think I've managed to win the Scottish Middle distance BAR competition albeit by a very narrow margin. The BAR - best all rounder - is a season long competition where you take the best times at fixed distances and the rider with the speed for these events wins. The Middle distance comp covers the 25, 50, and 100 mile events. I managed to put together an average of just under 27mph for these there events which is hopefully just enough to take the win which I'm really Jean to get!

The only event left to race is the Scottish hill climb in a couple of weeks time. I think I'm in pretty good shape for that event as I'm climbing well at the moment, despite having put on a bit of weight over the season. In some ways it'll be nice to be finished racing for the year and be able to do some more relaxed sociable riding but it also always seems a shame when the racing stops and it doesn't take long before everyone starts thinking about how good next season will be and the reliability trials at the start of the year!
Robin Wilkins

The season so far

Quite a while since my last blog and lots been happening, some good, some not so good.  There been a lot of racing going on, and a lot going on at the races!

After the Scottish Road Race I rode a very wet and windy 25mile TT in Ayrshire on the Wednesday night, setting a pretty quick time (55.19) and beating a few good riders pretty convincingly.  The following weekend there was the National 10mile TT up at Laurencekirk.  I wasn't expecting a podium finish, but was hoping to at least manage a top 10.  Being an early starter on the day I didnt think my time of 21.02 was going to be good enough, since the ceeded riders all start at the end of the sequence, however my time held up, and I finished in the bronze medal spot, only 3 seconds behind Evan Oliphant.  Things were looking pretty good, especially following the dissappointment from the champs. I've developed a bit of a mentality where I always want to do better.  In some ways this is a good thing as it pushes me to work harder, but in other ways its a curse as I'm rarely satisfied with my performance.  3rd place at the 10 was a great ride, but it was a shame not to get under 21 minutes and miss 2nd place by 3 seconds.

The same weekend as the 10 there was the Dundee Stage Race (which I won a couple of years ago but am now unable to ride).  This years race will unfortunately be remembered not so much for the racing, but for the stage that had to be abandoned on the Saturday.  An unfortunate fall out between the host club, and a well know local rider lead to the police attending the race, and taking a dim view on some of the riders behaviour on a section of main road where there was a strong cross wind.  The subsequent aftermath will no doubt have an effect on road races in Scotland for some time to come, as Commisairres look to stamp authority on races and cut out dangerous riding.  At the Davie Bell RR the following weekend the race was stopped in the early stages and we were all warned about crossing the white line.  At the Eastern Promise RR last week the winner and runner up were DQed.  There has also been much debate and controversy this year about the requirement for motorcycle outriders (NEG), since they provide a great tool for policing the bunch and making the race safer.

My view is that it should be possible to hold road races without NEG, although I agree that they are definitely good to have.  I dont like hearing about races being cancelled because NEG are not available.  With regard to dangerous riding I agree that commisairres should sometimes be stronger in pulling riders out of races if they break the rules or endanger others.  Waiting till the race has finished to DQ is not ideal, but without NEG I can see how it would be hard to remove individual riders.  Assuming the offence isn't severe it might be appropriate to follow the example set in continental races and demote the riders finish position - for example to the back of whatever group they finished in.

The Davie Bell was an exciting race on paper - the first Scottish road race to go 'off road', the race featured 2 sections of gravel forestry commission road - about 12 miles in total, out of a 70 mile race.  Exciting from a spectators point of view and I know a few riders were really pumped up for it.  Out of the 80 entrants only just over 60 actually turned up to sign on though which was a bit disappointing, but I don't know if anything should be read from that.  What I found a shame was that of the 60 odd starters there were only a little over 30 finishers, and I was one of them.  I punctured along with many other people on the gravel section.  I was in the lead group at the time, but my tyre gradually went down and it wasnt safe to continue.  Since so many other riders had punctured the service vehicle was nowhere to be seen, and by the time I'd got a spare I was 20minutes down - no point in continuing really.  The service guys did the best they could, but as an amateur race there just wasnt the equipment available that there is at a race like Paris-Robaix.  The race therefore became something of a lottery - will you puncture or wont you?  Puncture and its all over and thats a shame.  What would improve that race would be proper service points along the gravel section or supplying the NEG riders with wheels.

Coming away from the Davie Bell I was once again feeling pretty dissappointed - 2 road race in a row with results I wasnt happy with.  Time trailing was going well though and there was the national 25 coming up, where I was hoping for a good result.  The 25 was yesterday however, and it didnt go as well as I'd hoped.  I rode a reasonable time - 55.02, but it was only fast enough for 13th place on the day.  I dont feel like it was a particularly bad day or paced it wrong.  I had expected to go faster, but when it came to it that was the time I rode.  I was a bit surprised and dissappointed to be beaten by so many riders that I've gone faster than recently, but cant explain that - they just rode faster than I did.  I suppose thats the beauty of time trialing - if you ride faster and stronger than the competition you'll get a result, where as in a road race you can be strongest there but still not win.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season the focus is mainly on TT from now on, but I'm even feeling a bit flat about that at the moment.  Every Sunday for months now I've been racing.  I've already done a seasons worth of racing.  July will provide a good break and maybe I'll have new enthusiasm in August.....  The season so far has been a total mixture of highs and lows.  Podium finishes in several big races interspersed with races plagued by punctures and dissappointing results.  Road racing highlights have been the 2nd place at the Dick Londragon, 3rd at Rosneth and 54th at the Tour DoonHame - seems like a long time ago!  Time Trial highlight has to be 3rd at the 10, but also my ride at the Couriers 25 showed what I can do.  Maybe theres more to come on the TT bike....

Scottish Road Race Championships 2011

The Scottish Road Race champs were held on Sunday over 12 laps of an 11km circuit at Balfron.  Fortunately although the weather was pretty poor for the womens race in the morning, by the afternoon the sun had come out and although it was very windy we had some good conditions for the race.  The race had a full field of 80 riders with most of the best Scottish riders taking part (the exception being James McCallum who was racing elsewhere).  Our Velo Ecosse team had a decent number of riders taking part again, with the usual guys - me, Eddie, Phil, Lewis and Tom.  I was also surprised and pleased to see Fin return after his crash at Tour Doon Hame.  Stirling Bike Club were well represented as well which was good, with Richard, Eddie and Mark all lined up.

We had a chat pre-race about tactics and the view was that judging by the circuit, and how recent races had played out, that the early break away attempts would most likely get chased down and it would take some time for a break to form.  We judged that the guys to watch were Evan Oliphant, Robbie Hassan and Michael Nicholson - we figured these guys were the key riders and the break would form with them.  The plan was to conserve as much as possible for the first 50 miles (6-8 laps) before doing anything aggressive.  I was pretty happy with these tactics, as I agreed that the early breaks were unlikely to stick, and following the Sam Robinson the previous weekend (when my legs died toward the end) it made sense to be conservative.

The race started with a climb to Boquhan followed by a fast rolling section toward Fintry.  I was just following wheels in the bunch, making no effort to attack, and letting others chase after moves.  I therefore wasn't really paying full attention when a group of 8 or so formed on the up wind section coming back toward Balfron.  The group steadily pulled away, but I wasnt fully aware exactly who was in it.  I could still see Robbie and Michael in the bunch, so I thought "when they go i'll go with them, and we can bridge across, or maybe the break will still get pulled back later anyway".  With some many riders in the bunch it took a hwile to work out that Evan was in the break, plus some strong time trialists (Arthur Doyle, Ali Robinson, Ali Thomson) and 2009 Scottish Champ Ross Creber.

The gap gradually stretched out, and I made a several attempts to get clear of the bunch and form a chase group.  Eventually after several laps trying we got a group of about 10 away, including 4 Endura (Hassan, Young, McCrossan and Cowie), Paul Coates (Via Manzini) Craig Adams (JLS Racing), Ross Crook (ERC) and Peter Murdoch (Cyclelane).  We started working together pretty well together, and made some small inroads into the breaks lead, bringing it back from 2mins to 90seconds.  It was obvious that some of the guys either didn't have the legs for it or didn't have the belief as more and more often riders were missing spells and the chain kept breaking.  The gap to the break then went beyond what we could close, quickly going out to 3 minutes.

Robbie and I were becoming increasingly frustrated with the other guys in the break and made a few attempts to get away together, but it seemed that although the other riders were unable to work to close down the leaders, they did have the legs to chase after us.  Eventually our group did break up.  I ended up with the 2 Murdochs, but by that stage it was race over and we were just hoping we might catch some riders dropped from the break.  I wasn't especially happy riding with 2 big riders from the same team, but I felt pretty good and at least capable of staying with them to sprint it out at the finish.

Up front Evan had dropped his break away companions with a 2 laps to go apparently, and rode to a solo victory.  Very impressive!  Gary Hand took 2nd and Ross Creber 3rd.  We eventually caught Ali McNicol who'd been dropped from the break, but managed to sit in behind us.  The final sprint up Balfron High Street was pretty cool, lined with crowds.  I was expecting it to be tougher and had selected the wrong gear so had to change down mid sprint, which didn't help and took 3rd from our group of 4, and 11th overall. Behind us the bunch were wheeling round.  Eddie made several attempts to get away, but couldnt shake off the pack.  He put up a good sprint though and got 18th.

I was pretty disappointed with how it worked out as I felt strong enough to beat a lot of the gus in the top 10, however I wasn't paying enough attention and strayed away from my usual tactics of attacking early.  Leason learned hopfully.

Passo dello Stelvio

Bormio, and the Mountains above the Stelvio

With the Giro d'Italia heading into the Dolomites and Alps this weekend I thought I'd look back at one of my favourite days cycling from 2010, when I spent a morning riding over the Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps.  OK, so the Giro isn't going over the Stelvio this year, but the Stelvio is one of the most famous, and highest passes in Italy, and I've not ridden over the ones they're going over this year!  We were on holiday in Italy in July last year and rented a motorhome from Milan airport for 10 days to tour round the Italian Lakes.   The Italian town of Bormio is at the foot of the Stelvio on the western side and sits at the top of the Sondrio valley, about 2hours drive from the northern end of Lake Como.  So after a few days visiting Lake Maggiore, Lake Luggano and Lake Como, we worked our way up to Bormio for a couple of nights.

Bormio is clearly a regular feature of the Giro and is a pretty wee town.  I think the 2010 Giro had actually passed through the town a couple of months earlier on route to the Gavia Pass which is also near by. Having planned ahead I obviously had my bike with me and had done some web based research into potential riding for the holiday!  I found a great article on the Pez web site in which the riders completed the climb to the Stelvio twice in one day, from either side with a short hop over into neighbouring Switzerland, and decided this looked like an excellent route and the one I would follow too.

Preparation!

Being on holiday with the family means buggering off cycling all day doesn't make you particularly popular, so there was some compromising to be done....  In order to complete the circuit I estimated I would need a maximum of 6 hours.  Its approximately 60miles and I couldn't be sure what kind of average speed I might hope to achieve over such unfamiliar terrain!  To keep Laura happy I promised I'd be home by 12noon.  So a 6am departure was required!  This wasn't really a problem apart from the temperature at that time in the morning was bloody cold.  It meant I had the roads virtually to myself for the first ascent.

The hairpins are numbered on each side starting at 40 I think in Bormio and 49 on the eastern side.  Setting off I thought the numbering must be for the whole thing, i.e. 20 on one side and 20 on the other.... but no, its something like 25km and 40 hairpins from Bormio to the pass, at 2760m.  Having read the description on Pez
it mentions a waterfall and power station approximately half way up, but when I reached this point I simply could not believe I still was only half way there.  Then I passed a marking on the road - 15%, 10K... you're bloody joking.... The power station is at the top of a long valley and you can see it from a long way off.  As you approach it looks as though it must be the top of the climb, as its basically a wall with the road snaking back and forth across it.  Then as I got to the top to my horror I realised it just lead into another valley where the road continued to climb.  And the whole time there was a freezing cold block head wind!

Switchbacks at the Power station, halfway up, on the Bormio side

Through the second valley section the road climbs past a couple of old mountain refuge and the top of the pass gradually appear in the distance.  Cars occasionally pass, and you can watch them progress up the switch backs watching where the road goes and seeing how far there is still to cover.  A few miles before the summit there is an old closed hotel where a road branches off north toward the Swiss border.  First of all I had to tackle the final few K to the summit though.  This high up there is nothing to provide shelter and the road just weaves across the mountain side.  The pass featured a few hotels, people skiing (in July!) and the usual tourist shops.  By the time I got to the top it was 8.30.  2.5 hours of solid climbing.  Better crack on I thought if I was going to meet the 12noon eta!

1st time up!

The next section I descended back the way I'd just come up to the junction with the road into Switzerland and took the turn to the north over the Swiss border.  If I was cold going up I was frozen solid descending!  The descent into Switzerland stages off pretty fast and open with exciting switchbacks, but after a few K it turns into a gravel road surface which make it even more sporting.  Fortunately this doesn't go on forever and before long its back onto asphalt.  The final section of the steep descent was actually really good fun, tight switchbacks through pine trees, before passing through a small village and joining the main road.  This then takes you whizzing on down the hill, back across the border into Italy.  Finally starting to get warm by this stage!  Theres then a few miles along the valley floor to Prato allo Stelvio before the ascent on the Eastern side begins.

Trying to remember what I'd had to eat, and I think all I'd had was a couple of croissants and some juice, so by this stage I was starting to feel peckish.  I was hoping to find a nice wee cafe serving nice coffee and good cake, but unfortunately I couldnt find anywhere and ended up riding up the pass praying I'd come across something before I properly got the knock.  Fortunately there was a wee hotel a couple of K up the climb where I got good coffee and more croissants to fuel me a bit further.  Must have been about 9.30 by this stage, and other cyclists were starting to appear on the road.  As I climbed I starting coming across what seemed to be some kind of rolling road closure, but since I was on a bike the police let me ride through.  After a while they'd let the traffic go and I'd have literally hundreds of motor cycles roaring up the switchback after me.  I gradually worked out that there was some kind of sportive cycle event on and the police were closing the road for the cyclists, as I started picking off slower riders as I climbed.

The switchbacks on the east side of the pass are never ending, 49 of them each nicely numbered to let you know how many are left.  There obviously not all the same distance apart though which I found slightly annoying (being slightly OCD) as I couldnt set a target for ticking off switchbacks!  The final 5K you can clearly see the summit, and its not far away.... but the road goes back and forth so much it takes a long time.  I was very pleased when I reached the summit again to discover the sportivos had a big feed station near the summit, and since I was on a bike they didnt seem to mind me helping myself to a healthy amount of food!

My own personal road closure?

So finally the descent!  Mid-morning by this stage the traffic was much heavier both bicycles and motorcycles and cars, trucks, motor homes etc.  I  found another cyclist who seemed to have a fairly large pair of cojones and made it my mission to try and stay with him on the descent!  i was doing pretty well till I go to the tunnels. These are terrifying - 200+meters long, terrible road surface inside, and one has a bend in it, so you literally cannot see a thing.  Plus coming down in bright sunshine in sunglasses at 40mph into total darkness isn't my bag!  So I lost the wheel, and just enjoyed the remains of the descent and the stunning scenery.

I timed it well and made it back to the motor home almost exactly at 12.  Surprised how slow I was I guess, but totally pumped after an amazing run on the bike.  Unfortunately there wasnt time to try the Gavia or Mortirollo Passes which are also very near Bormio.  In the afternoon we went out in Bormio for lunch and a potter about, and the next day after a ride on the cable car to the near by ski station we drovn down through Aprica (finish town for an epic 2010 Giro stage) and on to Lake Iseo for a couple of nights, before coming home.  Unfortunately most of these pics were taken on a mobile phone, so they're poor.