Race Report: TransALPs Stage 5 – Livingno to Ponte di Legno

Checking in through the start chute for stage 5 there was a certain nervousness in the air. Most of the stages up until this point were 70 to 80 km in distance with varying amounts of climbing. Today’s stage was 106 km long and had almost 11,000 feet of climbing. The energy in the starting area was definitely a few levels below that of day two or three. David and I were sore and our bodies were telling us to take a break. The only solace we had was that after today we would be beyond the halfway point in the race.


10 minutes before the start of the race we were informed by the race organizers that one of the race participants had died sometime during the evening in his hotel room. The cause of his death is still unknown. A minute of silence was held in observance and the lead up to the race start was quiet. All of the racers rolled across the start line for stage 5 in silence.

Out on the course we headed through town and immediately up a steep embankment. The mass of racers came to a screeching halt as the lucky ones in front scrambled up the embankment single file. The next 6 km of the race was carried out in similar fashion as obstacles were met. Eventually things thinned out and the long hours in the saddle started to accrue. For Stage 5, our bodies took a bit longer to warm up and our deteriorated hand-eye coordination was a bit of a disadvantage. It was like trying to brush your teeth after a night out drinking with the boys; you usually wake up in the morning with dried toothpaste on your cheek.

After 5 hours in the saddle we came to the monster climb of the day. The Passo di Mortirollo is the same climb featured in the Giro de Italia road race. A grueling road climb with 5,000 feet of steep climbing in a 12 mile distance! The only thing nice about going up was the cooler temperature. That is, until it started raining on us. I must make a note to myself that when traveling with an Irishman always carry a raincoat!

Over the pass we descended down some very technical single track. The rain had made all of the rocks very slippery and a lot of people with few off-road skills, or perhaps lacking common sense, were taking bad spills all around us. David, being an accomplished man from the wetlands of Ireland, just descended with a big grin on his face. Gravity and momentum are your friends, and those who resisted found out that gravity will still win in the end. As we made our way down the mountain we started to encounter small villages and wet cobblestone streets. The word “Slippery” should always be capitalized when riding on cobblestones. We heard the wail of ambulance sirens coming up the mountain to tend to those less fortunate as we descended down. Crossing the finish line in 8:40 was quite an accomplishment due to the extreme temperatures, total climbing of just over 10,000 feet, and some extreme descents over wet and slippery rocks. Lucy and Tracey were sitting up from the finish line waiting for us to arrive and it was wonderful to be back with them. They have been instrumental in helping us get situated and geared up for the next day.

Race Support Report: TransALPs Stage 5 - Livigno to Ponte di Legno

Breakfast at the Hotel Pare was the best we had had so far on the trip. Eggs!!!! Drew had been pining for eggs for almost two weeks now and here they were. The pastries were very, very good here, as they have been most everywhere. The yogurt is much runnier than we have in the U.S., but delicious nonetheless.

Tracey dropped the guys at the start gate and headed into town to do some duty free shopping while I set out to explore on my bike. I tried to climb a gravel road up a ski run, but it was insanely steep, so I took a rest and snapped a picture of the valley

and filmed from an overlook on the valley.



Along the ride, I found some great cows. (Sorry if the video doesn't work.  I'll try to reload it later.)



And then headed back to the hotel to meet up with Tracey. Along the way, I discovered an aerial skills park called Larix Park, which I mentioned to Tracey. She was game, so off we went to try our abilities on platforms and cables up in the trees.

Cameras were not allowed, which was a shame, because if I had been able to capture the look on Tracey’s face as she prepared to leap off the wooden platform 40 feet off the ground to catch a net in mid air and cable across to another platform on a tree 20 feet away, I would definitely post it! Another stunt had us swing on a thick rope like Tarzan from one platform30 feet in the air, then let go of the big rope to grab onto a large vertical rope net with both hands, then climb the net to a platform above. There were other tricks where we walked across from tree to tree on swinging logs, wobbly cables, and hanging stirrups, or clipped ourselves onto a zipline to zip from one tree to the next.

It was a lot of fun and adventure, but cost Tracey a sprained finger.




The next adventure involved Tracey driving for two and a half hours over two huge mountain passes

on sometimes very narrow and windy roads. (This is not the narrow part.)

Into Italy

We ran into a few traffic jams

And one angry Italian truck driver who rolled down his window to scream at us to move over so he could get his too-large-for-the-road truck by us.

After the injury and a stressful day on the road, Tracey and I were relived to arrive at Hotel Garni Pegra in time to get settled before the guys came in.





The hotel was expensive, brand new, and very stylish,

but the woman in charge was awful to us and the racers. Is it just that Italians are unfriendly? Anyway, it was in a good location 400 m from the finish line and along a path the racers rode on to the finish line.

Drew and David finished the day in 8 hours and 40 minutes on the bike! A long one for sure. This was the most difficult and longest stage of the race; it forced many teams to abandon and many others missed the 9-hour cut off time to be official finishers. But they did it!

Race Report: TransALPs Stage 4 - Scoul, Switzerland to Livigno, Italy

Note: This post is getting posted two days after Stage 4, when we finally had internet again.  I also must apologize for spelling errors throughout this trip's posts. When I run spell check, almost every word comes up as misspelled because Blogger must realize I'm not in an English speaking country, and I can't seem to find the setting to default to English.

We said goodbye to Switzerland, the gorgeous scenery, nice people, and immaculate towns to enter Italy today. The race stage today was to have a good bit of climbing and the riders would end higher in Livigno than they started in Scoul.  Here is pic of the page of the race magazine to show you the elevation profile.  I think today's distance was 73 km.

We saw the guys off in the streets of Scoul

This video of the start of Stage 4 shows the leaders lined up on the start line in their matching leaders jerseys and gives you a feel for just how huge this race is as the 1100 riders pass by. Drew and David ride by at 2:45.



Scoul has been our favorite town so far because it was beautiful, clean, and surrounded by unbelievably gorgeous mountains. The streets of town were narrow and the cars were small. Check out Tracey in comparison to this garage.

Tracey and I then hit the road.

Driving in the Alps is an adventure in itself. This 2 minute video gives you a little bit of a perspective on how windy the roads were, but it doesn’t really do them justice. Check out the bit starting at 1:25.



We crossed to Italy via this crazy tunnel. You need only to watch the first 30 seconds or so to get a feel for the madness. 



But finally we came out the other side.  The first 30 seconds of this video shows us emerging from the tunnel 6+ minutes later.  Post-note: I later learned that this tunnel is called the Munt la Schera tunnel (or maybe Forcola di Livigno tunnel?) and the one-way traffic is controlled by traffic lights on a 15 minute timer.  It was built in 1968 for transportation of materials for construction of the dam we pop out onto, Punt dal Gall dam, on the border of Switzerland and Italy.  The lake (Lago di Livigno) is almost entirely in Italy, but the dam supplies power for Switzerland.  We paid a toll at the station on top of the dam after we came out (about 20 Euros I if I remember right) for use of the tunnel



Which put us into Italy. The town of Livigno was larger than we imagined and it took a while to find the hotel and unload before meeting the guys at the finish line. The guys had a reasonalby good day today.  There were lots of flats and pavement, which is David's forte, so they ended up in pacelines pushing a good pace.  They are getting werrier by the day.  David’s rear wheel had had enough of the Alps, so he ended up buying a new set from Shimano for a really great price.

After we got that all sorted and ate some really fabulous lasagna at the finish line, we headed to the Hotel Pare, complete with pool and sauna.

The view wasn’t bad either

Especially for $59 Euros, including breakfast.

This is the first hotel we’d booked that had a pool, so we took advantage of it for a refreshing swim, and a bidet, which we didn’t take advantage of.

It also had the smallest elevator, or "lift" if you are with a couple of Irish folks, of any we’d seen.

Drew and I were both hungry, so we ate at the race pasta party, where we were just a little too tired to stick around for these local performers giving a show.

One thing we are thankful for is that we did not choose the camping option of the race. Folks that “camped” were in a gymnasium room with everyone else on the floor in sleeping bags. Shoes were not allowed into the camping room and had to be left outside, presumably because of the mud and smell they give off.

We did, however, have a few minutes in the evening to walk around the duty free shopping area of Livigno, where we didn’t buy anything, but got a flavor of the building style.

It is quite striking how different the Italian town of Livigno is from the area of Switzerland and Austria we’d just been to. It has a drier climate, the buildings look older and are built with more wood and stone, and they are not as well kept as we’d been seeing. The people are not as friendly and helpful and forgiving of American tourists either.

Tomorrow will be the hardest stage of the race, and I am hoping that the guys stay strong.

Still kicking

We didn't have internet last night and tonight it is only down in the lobby of the hotel, so I'm not sure when I can get a post up, but just wanted to let y'all know the guys are still riding well. Yesterday was tough but today was wicked.  About eight and a half hours today on really steep climbs.  Tracey and I have had big, grand, and hair-raising experiences.  We are back in Italy and the culture is very different from Switzerland. 

Until next time.
Lucy

TransALPs stage 3: Crossing to Switzerland. Ischgl, Austria to Scuol, Switzerland

Drew thought I might get to bed early with him tonight, but I just can't pass up free internet when I don't know when the connection will work again, and I wanted to share the day's happenings while they are fresh in my mind. It has been a great day, and here are some pictures.

Ischgl, Austria is a ski town, and they have tried to stretch the seasons to summer by catering to hikers and mountain bikers.  As such, the tram is running most of the day and trail maps and bike rentals are easy to come by.  I started Day 3 not by cheering our guys on at the start, but by attemping to capitalize on the mountain bike environment.  I rolled out well ahead of the racers but followed the trail signage for the race up, up, up the ski slopes.  The route, as Drew said, was straight up the ski area roads, both gravel and paved.  It was steep, but not unridable, and I had an excellent climb.  Even with a 38 minute lead, the lead racers caught me on the climb.  I rode 1 hr 42 minutes to their 1 hr 1 minute.  They're pretty quick!  I pulled off and watched racers go by, waiting for Drew and David, and had a bit of time to hunt for interesting ultrabasic rocks. I eventually started down the same way I came and shortly came across them, in high spirits and feeling good. It was great to know they were riding well today.

From there, I high-tailed it down, met Tracey, who had taken the tram up the mountain to have a look around and see if she could catch the guys, checked out of Hotel Yscla, and after a quick stop at the grocery store

we were on the road in search of Switzerland.  The winding roads were exciting, especially when intersecting the racers on the highway for a good 7 kilometers.  We finally made it to Scuol, a good half hour after the guys finished.  Not to worry, they had pasta and meat on a stick at the race finish line, so they were content for the moment. 

We noticed that now that we were in Switzerland, the architecture and style of ornamentation and decoration on the buildings and gardens became less Bavarian. 

We gathered them up and drove WAY up above the main center of Scuol to Scuol-Ftan, 4 km away and about 2000 feet higher. We checked into my favorite hotel of the trip so far: Hotel Engiadina.  It has a balcony, a Euro-style bathroom, and fabulous views all around.  Just being up here in this quiet and stunningly beautiful town is heavenly. 

After a quick walk around town to take some pictures,

we had the best meal I've had in a very long time here at our hotel on the patio.

There was pizzoccheri, a kind of pasta made locally with mostly buckwheat flour; a kind of gnocchi or something also made locally; refreshing beer;

and delicious desserts. We had flan, and Tracey had a sweetened chestnut meal shaped like pasta.

A quick stroll around town where we saw a pile of real authentic cobblestones ready to be laid

and watched the sunset on the mountains

and we're out for the night to rest for our crossing to Italy tomorrow.

Post note: After our return to the States, I was catching up on some reading of periodicals for work and ran across an article in the August issue of Earth magazine highlighting a worthwhile geologic trip.  Wouldn't you know, the article was on the lower Engadine Valley and Scuol.  Talk about bad timing! I had done a little reading about the geology of the Alps before this trip, but the sources I found were not place specific enough.  Here was an article talking about what to do and see from a geologist's and outdoor enthusiast's perspective.  We could have used that. The article said the rocks visible high in the mountains are from the African tectonic, which have been thrust over rocks in the bottom of the valley from the Eurasian plate.  That is a long distance. It also talked about an anticline that traps water and forces it to natural geothermal springs, which have been developed into the valley's famous public baths.  The guys really could have used that!  The valley is a result of a strike slip fault that allows water to more easily erode rocks in the fault zone.

Stage 3 TransAlps MTB Race

Stage 3 of the Trans Alps race is complete. Tonight we are in the town of Scuol, Switzerland. The Supersonic Tortoises have enacted plan 409-B successfully! The come from behind technique is serving us well after a tough 2nd stage when David had a bit of a back issue. After a good night’s sleep and some Aleve to relax his muscles he was back on his game today. We started the day with a massive climb up the local ski resort which took almost 2 hours to complete. The weather was perfect as we climbed above the tree line and up to the top of the mountain.

People from the tram cars looked in disbelief as a steady stream of multi-color jerseys climbed up from the valley floor. Cresting the top of the mountain we made a beeline down the back side to warmer temperatures and the next challenge. Brake pads have been changed out once already due to the fact that everything in this region pretty much goes straight up or straight down. Pumping the brakes and alternating them allow them to cool, but every once in awhile both would be necessary. Occasionally you would catch the smell of brake pads from racers in front of you as they applied their brakes. Looking back at today’s data from the Garmin I logged a top speed of 46.9mph. Crazy days in the saddle and crazy adventures!

The rest of the day consisted of smaller climbs and descents as we worked our way along the valley floor to Scuol. The last 15km of the stage today we once again found ourselves on gravel and paved pathways connecting the small towns. Pacelines formed and we jockeyed back and forth with several other riders all the way in to the finish. Completing stage 3 we had smiles on our faces and were happy with our performance.

Another long day awaits us tomorrow, but the weather has been perfect and the temperatures in the mid 80’s. We are looking forward to more of the same over the next few days.

Time is a bit short this evening, so no pictures today. We are in a wonderful hotel about 2,000 feet above the town of Scuol. The views are breathtaking. Hopefully with a little more time on our hands tomorrow evening we will get some more photos posted.

TransALPs Stage 2 Race Report: Imst to Ischgl, Austria.

Race Report Day 2
by Drew
Day 2 was a tough start with a major climb just 4 km in to the race. Unfortunately David was having some serious lower back pain today and it really took a toll on his ability to climb. The day was a bit longer than we would have hoped for, but we limped across the finish line and tended to David’s needs. Hopefully with the Shimanno crew working on his bike, a good night's sleep, food in his belly, and a few Aleve pills to help his back a bit he will be back on his game for day three.

by Lucy
After rain and thundershowers most of the evening, Sunday dawned partly cloudy and cool. Perfect riding weather for the guys and they were in high spirits as they rolled out at 9 AM. We packed up the truck and were set to go immediately after we saw them off at the start line so as to try to avoid the traffic, if there was to be any. It worked and we were to the town of Landeck with enough time to take a look around and spot these ruins on the mountain above the village

We calculated we had just enough time to get in a good hike up to these ruins and still make it back to a spot where we could see the guys ride by, so we scrabbled up the very steep trail.

We hurried down the mountain to make our way to the other side of the valley to Schloss Landeck, or Landeck Castle, where we waited for the guys to come by.



Unfortunately David was having a bit of a bad day with pain in his lower back, so they wanted to carry on quickly. After they went off, Tracey and I took a look around the castle museum where we learned that riding today they were traveling via Claudia Augusta, the path used in Roman times to travel through the Alps. You can’t do that in America!

The castle was much different than Neustwanstein in that it was very old and much simpler. Construction started in 1293 and continued in phases through the 1500s.

Much of the castle was original, including frescoes on the ceiling of the small chapel

and this wooden carved ceiling.

We also had a bit of fun with an interactive hat display.

We could go all the way up in the keep (tower) where we could see the route the riders were taking and magnificent views of the valley.

After our castle museum tour, which was all written in German so we didn’t get too much history into our brains, we passed by a most well kept cemetery.

And hit the road again. Because the mountains are so steep, the GPS has a hard time keeping a lock on our location.  Many times when we would come to a hairpin turn, the GPS would tell us to "turn left" or "turn right", as if any normal road would not take such a drastic turn unless it was, in fact, an intersection.  I guess summertime is road construction season all around the world.  Because of road construction, we missed a sign and entered a round about from which we did not know where to exit.  We ended up going around and around three times, just like Chevy Chase in the movie European Vacation!  We had a good laugh at that.  Another wrong turn fortunately took us into the village of See, where the riders happened to be riding by. Here is an aqueduct, probably swollen with yesterday’s rain, the riders crossed.

We didn’t have time to wait for Drew and David, but instead made our way to Ischgl (Austria) just in time to see them cross the finish line.

Our Hotel Yscla provided a bike wash, bike lockup, dirty bike clothes laundry service, and a 6-course gourmet meal in the price of the room, although a couple of the courses of the meal were a bit too Austrian for Tracey's liking (beefy noodle broth, cold fish with mashed peas, quail, and sauerkraut). A bit of supper (Drew had 3 actually), time to work on bikes and relax a bit and we’re ready for tomorrow and Switzerland.