Rose shedding kilos

Switchback 11 on Mortirolo and the Pantani Memorial

Two monsters tamed, what an awesome day! The lesser known Monte Padrio followed by infamous Mortirolo, one of the greats. Along the way I said hello to Marco Pantani, got chased by a peloton of flies, and was thankful when the gradient come down to 12% as it meant I could have a rest. Today was a day I would repeat.

So once again the Thunder Storm Warning was yellow. Still don’t know what that means but it does sound serious. Accuweather said there was not going to be any rain until 3pm though so I cracked on. Off I toddled without all the bags attached to Rose making her 7kgs lighter. As I was doing a loop back to the accommodation I only took spares, food and clothing like I would for a normal ride and left the rest in my room.

The first part of the day was all downhill to a place called Lombro where I would start the first climb for the day, up Monte Pedrio. From the map that seemed like the more interesting route up the hill, and it didn’t disappoint. From what I had researched I had expected a tough climb, averaging just under 10% for a little under 10kms. I was therefore quite surprised to see the warning sign at the start for 25% roads. 25% is very steep but hey, without the additional weight this will be a breeze eh.

Ummmm, seriously?

It wasn’t, but it was one of the most entertaining climbs I have done so far. Most of the way up you have amazing views of the valley below as the single road winds its way through old farm houses. The road does get steep, and the first couple of times you think “they seriously expect me to go up there?”, but you do. In between the super steep parts there are some flatter portions as well mixed in so you can get your breath back before the next one. The variation adds to the interesting ride.

Typical farmhouse on the way up

There are no kilometre countdown signs like most other climbs, but from about 4kms to the top some friendly person has spray painted it on the road. At 2km to go the road enters a forest and the view disappears, but the road also eases a bit…for most of it.

There is no fanfare at the top once you finally get there, just old mate with his spray paint marking the road with a line. It isn’t even the top if you continue to the other side but in the absence of anything else it is something I guess.

Yeah that looks official enough. Top of the Padrio

After a muesli bar and putting on warmer clothes it was a white knuckled descent down the other side. The road is quite rough, there is green moss and autumn leaves on the road as well, and it was also wet. Not the best concoction for a safe road on skinny bike tyres but I took it easy and got down in one piece without any worries, but I was super cautious with it.

Once down the bottom I made the journey to Mazzo di Valtellina where I started the climb for the second climb of the day, Mortirollo (or Passo della Foppa). I was really looking forward to this climb as it is one of the Giro greats and is infamous for how hard it is! It doesn’t muck around either; as soon as you leave the town and pass the first sign for Mortirolo is goes straight to 16% and I only recall twice when the gradient went below 10% for the 12kms after that.

In terms of entertaining climbs, Mortirolo doesn’t really register; you are surrounded by scrub most of the way up so there is little to see other than green shrubs and grey road. The gradient is also fairly constant all the way up as well. In fact, on the way up I was thinking that the Mortirolo is probably one of those ones that are famous and have history but you tick it off and never go back.

I did have company on the way up though; a peloton of flies started slipstreaming me up the hill. I am going to say there were hundreds back, although it was hard to count them and ride in a straight line at the same time. I read somewhere that to get rid of midges you need to go over 10 miles per hour (16 kmph) so had a crack at sprinting and weaving to get them away. Alas, flies may be able to withstand the higher speed than midges….or considering it was a fairly steep climb my guesstimate of 16kmph may have been slightly overcooked. Either way, I am just surprised I only managed to inhale a few of them on the way up.

The Mortirolo also teaches you relativity. Normally at 12% I am in the lowest gear grinding away up the hill. Because the Mortirolo is constantly at a higher gradient though but at times you feel things get a bit easier and the gradient come down, your cadence automatically increases, and you are happy for a bit of an easy spell to get your breath back, a couple of times I even gave myself another gear as I felt it was a bit easy. It was only then that I looked down too see the gradient had eased to 12%! Relativity; if you have been at 16% then 12% feels like a rest, if you have been at 10% then 12% is a push.

Remnants of the Giro

Just by hairpin 11 is where there is a memorial to Marco Pantani in which I gave my respects. I didn’t have a bandana to leave him but did say hello. Although the hairpins countdown as you climb, there once again is no distance countdown. Once again though, old mate with his spray can has done a good job from about 6kms to the top which is nice. The gradient does have larger spells of flatter road mixed in with the steeps for the last 2kms so you can really put on a show of sprinting for the cows watching if you are in to that.  

By the time I was at the top of the climb I had changed my mind about it. Maybe it was the challenge and the feeling of achieving the climb, maybe it was getting wrapped up in the history, maybe it was writing on the road from past Giro’s giving it some ambience, I don’t know, but I would actually do it again without too much thought.

Top of the Mortirolo

Thankfully the road down was also a lot better, wider, dryer, and cleaner so the descent was also great! From the bottom it was just a wee ride back to Vezza d’Oglio for a cheeky gelato to celebrate.

So today was the start of a string of big names I will be doing over the few days with Gavia next followed by Stelvio. Looking forward to it!

Highlight: Although the bike was 7kgs lighter today without all the luggage, was still really happy with how the legs were today and in particular after the rides with fuel still in the tank.

Lowlight: My bar tape unravelling mid ride…how un-pro does that look! All fixed now though.

Lesson Learned: Removing 7kgs of weight didn’t make me faster I don’t think, but just meant I worked easier on the uphills giving me more endurance. I was expected to be naturally faster without the weight but alas, no.