Stelvio triplo by bike

The Stelvio (Stilfser Joch, 2758 m) is the most famous Italian mountain pass. It is located in the Ortler (3905) mountain range and connects Prad in the Vinschgau with Bormio in Veltin (Lombardia). A third ascent starts in Santa Maria in Graubünden, Switzerland, and is known as the Umbrail pass. Doing all three climbs in a day is the Stelvio triplo or gran Stelvio challenge for hobby cyclists. Here is the Komoot track: https://www.komoot.de/tour/1253100196 

Initially Dietmar, a cycling friend of mine, and I wanted to do it at the beginning of August but I came down with a cold and so we had to call it off. However, I recovered and could take the 10.08.2023 off . So I booked a hotel in Pfunds for the night before and then in the morning of the 10.08.2023 I drove to Prad and got onto my bike.

The first ascent from Prad to the Stelvio is 1800 altimetres of climbing and I had optimistically planned to cycle with 220-240 W. The legs are fresh and this power output feels easy at this stage. Here it goes up straight and there many cyclists, motor cyclists and cars on the road. It is just about OK on weekdays but hell for cyclists at the weekend, so avoid. 

Here, a little higher up comes the village of Trafoi with a view to the retreating glaciers of the Ortler... 

... and here two cyclists are just ahead of myself. 

It is never too steep but sustained with 23 uphill kilometres. After half of the ascent you cross the tree line and then climb the famous "tornantes" (German Serpentinen) or hair pin curves all the way to the summit.

I reached the pass roughly at noon. Up there are shops, food stalls and good fun Italian chaos and noise.   

As it was only 6 degrees, I put my jacket on and quickly descended 1500 metres of altitude to Bormio in the South. Plenty of motor bikes and cars. 

Here is the market square of Bormio. I sat down in an outside restaurant and ordered something starting with "T", expecting Tagliatelle or some similar form of pasta. However, it was a plate with Italian ham and some cheese. Not the fuel I wanted and needed but better than nothing. 

Back on the bike and 1500 m back up to the Stelvio. Choosing the right clothing is tricky because it was above 20 degrees in Bormio and only 6 degrees at the top. I was wearing an undershirt, a merino cycle jersey and opened it for the sweaty first part of the ascent. The climb from Bormio is long but only 1500 m altitude, so 300 m less than from Prad. 

Here a vulture near the summit... 

... and here some Alpine gentian (German: Enzian). 

Again the Italian circus at the top and back down. At around 2500 m of altitude there is a T-junction and this time I turned right. A wee ascent to reach the top of the Umbrail pass. 

From there a long, curvy descent to Santa Maria in Graubünden, Switzerland. 

The climb back up is steep and mainly hair pins but there were fewer cars than on the main road. I also was mentally tired at this stage and lay down on the grass for 10 min to refresh myself. Here, a descending cyclist near the top of the Umbrail pass... 

... and here is the T-junction where the Umbrail meets the Stelvio. The bealach of the Stelvio is behind the house in the distance, just 250 altimetres more. 

I stopped to take photos of these pretty cows, named Balu Beatrix...

... and Casper Candy .

At this stage my legs were heavy and I only managed to produce 160-180 W, far below the expected 220-240 W. Cycling mountain passes is relentless because there is no descent or opportunity just to roll a bit and so this makes you more tired than when cycling in the plains. 

By the time I reached the pass for the final time, people were packing up. 

I again put my jacket on and descended all those tornantes back to my car parked by the side of the road. 

Here is the altitude profile of the day. It was 4664 m of ascending and I felt it. 

I drove past Nauders with the much photographed church tower in the reservoir... 

... and ordered a take away Pizza Magherita and an alcohol-free beer and drove all the way back to Munich. 

In summary, the Stelvio triplo is a great challenge for hobby cyclists. Get plenty of training in and get used to pace yourself up a long mountain pass. Nutrition and drinking is important. I made rice cakes using this recipe https://www.siroko.com/blog/c/how-to-make-bike-ride-rice-cakes-and-how-to-wrap-them/. Highly recommended as you get plenty of carbs in and as they are easily digestable and not too sweet. You should aim for probably 60 g of carbohydrates per hour of ascent (= 1 Muesli bar or 1 banana is roughly 30 g). You do not need a super bike but a disc brake makes the descents much easier and arguably safer. I used 30 mm Continental 5000 tyres with inner tubes inflated to 5.5 bar. These wider tyres are great on the sometimes bumpy road and add safety. Finally, plan your clothing well. Prad is below 1000 m and the summit is at nearly 3000 m, so expect a temperature difference of more than 10 degrees. A light rain or wind jacket is essential for the first part of the descent. Good luck for your attempt!

HW

Mike Hamment's last Munro on the 27.05.2023

The Munros are Scottish hills over 3000 feet (914.4 m) and when I did them in 2005 there were 284 of them. However, two were downgraded since then and so there are 282 left. On Saturday, the 27.05.2023 Mike Hamment compleated his round of the Munro and this blog entry is about Mike's compleation. 

So what are the Munros? In the late 19th century, Sir Hugh Thomas Munro from Kirriemuir near Dundee visited higher Scottish hills and measured their height. He then published a list of hills over 3000 feet in the 6th issue of the Scottish Mountaineering Club journal in 1891. Munro climbed all but two of them. Hugh Munro's list soon became known as "the Munros" and "bagging the Munros" is today the most popular challenge for Scottish mountaineers. Reverend Archibald Eneas Robertson was likely the first to climb all of the Munro's in 1901 although some question, based on his notes, whether he had actually climbed Ben Wyvis. Today, the Scottish Mountaineering Club maintains an online list with all the "compleators" (the "ea" is not a typo!) which is here https://www.smc.org.uk/hills/compleators. To date 7422 mountaineers have compleated.

So how did Mike from Oxford start his round of the Munros? Mike was a close friend of the late Roger Ramsbottom who was my best friend  in the UK. After I moved to the UK in 1997, I met Roger during an exercise physiology conference and Roger and I soon started hillwalking in the Lake District, in the Alps and we had one winter trip to Scotland where we failed to ascend neither Ben Nevis nor Sgurr nan Gillean on Skye, due to a gale and verglas, respectively. However, I realised that Scotland had stunning scenery and that the Scottish Munro's were a real challenge even for someone who has done several 4000ers in the Alps. In 2002, I started as a lecturer at the University in Dundee and one evening with Roger and Mike before that I bet that I would do the Munros in three years. For three years the Munros became my obsession and I compleated in 2005 as Munroist number 3346. 

Roger got married to Waew but Mike had caught the bug and in 2007 he declared that he was now a Munro bagger. For him this was a much bigger challenge than for me because he lives in Oxford and had to travel to Scotland for each Munro trip. Roger and I joined him frequently and there are stories, stories, stories, and even more stories. 

Fast forward to 2023. In February, Roger had died because of melanoma which was a great shock to us. Roger was our Munro brother and we despite his cancer diagnosis we hoped that he would be there with us when Mike would do his last Munro. It was not to be. And then Mike set the 27.05.2023 as a date and declared that the Cairnwell, the easiest of all the Munros, should be his last Munro. This is where the story of this blog entry starts. 

On Thursday the 25.05., I first flew to Frankfurt and then on to Glasgow where I arrived very late. Because of the queue at the taxi stand, I decided to walk a bit more than a mile to my hotel in Renfrew and went to bed long after midnight. In the morning of Friday the 26.05., Isabelle, a french Munro bagger who had done Blaven on Skye with Mike and Roger picked me up and we drove to Glen Lyon to meet Amanda and Mike at the dam to climb Stuchd an Lochain (960 m), Mike's second to last Munro. It was great to see Mike and to walk the Munro in perfect Munro weather with great views to e.g., Buachaille Etive Mor. It was as if I had never left. 

Here are Isabelle, Amanda and Mike setting off at the dam... 

... and here we are already some metres up the hill with the lochain below.

After the steep part of the ascent the angle flattens and you can just see the corrie with a loch plus the summit of Stuchd an Lochain.

Also, in the distance are the hills of Glen Coe. We could see Buachaille Etive Mor. 

We finally reached the summit cairn of Mike's second to last Munro. Here we are!

Here, Mike points towards Ben Challum, the last Munro that Roger Ramsbottom climbed in 2019.

On the way down we saw a ptarmigan...

... and had good views towards Glen Lyon. 

Here is Mike knowing that there is only one Munro left!

In the afternoon we drove to Ballater near Balmoral not far from Aberdeen. Here is the main street.

Ballater is probably the most royalist place in Scotland because the locals benefit from all the Balmoral visitors. Here is evidence for that...

... and here is the beautiful Dee valley from the local hill. 

We then drove to Ballater youth hostel, had a rip off price but average food menu in the Clachan grill (avoid unless they come to their senses) and after wine and some Arran whisky we went to bed and the Saturday arrived. 

We drove to the Glenshee ski resort where Mike's family, his Munro companions and James the piper were meeting at 11.30 h to start at 12 h. I also met my winter climbing partner Simon and his wife Christine who joined Mike's big day. And roughly at noon our group  of 40 walkers, from children to seniors, women and men, started to ascend the Cairnwell (930 m), Mike's last Munro. 

Here is Mike in front of Ballater hostel dressed for his last Munro...

... and here James the piper and all others set off. Mike walked with the people towards the back so that everyone would have a chance to see him compleating his round of the Munros!

Here is Mike higher up...

... and here is James the piper, piping half way up and near the summit with 360 degree views to the other Glenshee hills, Lochnagar and the central Cairngorms. 

Finally the big moment arrived. We all formed a guard of honour and Mike walked in the middle and ascended the cairn whilst everyone cheered him on and whilst James was piping. 

Who has just compleated the Munros? It is Mike Hamment, Munroist number 7000 and something!

After champagne, tablets and cookies we all descended, returned to Ballater and met at the golf club dressed with at least a wee bit of tartan. James piped again, we had a photo on the golf course...

... Mike got an award...

... and after wee talks by myself and Simon, Mike presented photos of his round of the Munros mentioning everyone who joined. I am sure the Hamment family has a new hero now and understands why Mike was obsessed with compleating his round of the Munros. All of us also thought of Roger Ramsbottom who seemed to be Mike's twin brother. 

Finally on the Sunday, Mike had organised a trip to Balmoral castle. What a great idea as I had never visited it despite living in Aberdeen which is down the road. Here is the castle...

... and when we arrived there was an oldtimer meet with many Rolls Royce parked outside. 

Here is another one in front of the tower. 

... and here is the spirit of ecstasy, the figure on the bonnet of a Rolls. 

On Sunday I went to Glasgow and had to visit the Duke of Wellington now with a traffic cone on the Duke and on its horse. The Duke-traffic cone combo is now a sign for Glasgow. 

Finally a visit to George Square, a bus to my hotel in Renfrew, a very early start and 6 am flight first to Frankfurt and then home to Munich.

Congratulations  again Mike, compleating the round of the Munros is a bloody hard thing to achieve! It was a fantastic time and I am looking forward to seeing you again soon. 

HW

Tossa de Mar Cycling

Here is a report of cycling in Tossa de Mar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tossa_de_Mar). Tossa lies at the Costa Brava, roughly 1 h 15 min by car from Barcelona Airport and it is 40 km to Girona. Marc Chagall called Tossa the blue paradise (paraiso azul). In my opinion, Tossa is the first really nice town on the coast north of Barcelona. Here is a photo of Tossa...

In Tossa, you can rent bicycles from Lukasz at Tossa Cycling. Here are Ralle and Niels returning their bikes after 4 great days of cycling. The website of Tossa cycling is: https://tossacycling.com/en/. The rental prices are normal for the quality of bike that you get and Lukasz will give you a quality bike that is well maintained. Just ensure to book early and bring your pedals. Lukasz and his wife also serve coffee and beer and speak many languages including Polish, Spanish, Catalan, German and English.   

Tossa is 40 km away from Girona. The city became a centre for cyclists and endurance athletes when Lance Armstrong moved from Nice to Girona in 2001 and lived there until 2005. Girona since then attracted other cyclists and triathletes like Jan Frodeno and Emma Snowsill. As a consequence, many pro cyclists and other endurance athletes live in Girona plus many locals cycle at the weekend. Girona has become an alternative to Mallorca for cycling holidays and the locals take care with cyclists and overtake only with some distance. Here is a photo of the centre of Girona. 

Living by the coast in Tossa has advantages and disadvantages when compared to living in Girona. The advantage is that you can cycle easily along the mediterranean coast. And few routes are more gorgeous on this globe than the GI-682 clifftop coastal road that goes with 365 bends and lots of ups and downs over 21 km from Tossa de Mar to Sant Feliu di Guixols. Here is the road sign of the GI-682...

... and here a typical view. You are all the time about 100 m above the Mediterranean. 

Here is Ralf cycling it. Pine trees and views of the sea... 

... and here a view of Tossa de Mar at the Southern end of the road. There are several miradors (view points) en route.

Here a group of Estonian triathletes just to the South of the GI-682 up my local hill. 

The disadvantage of living by the coast is that there are no routes to the East, as there is the Mediterranean. During my three visits to Tossa I have cycled around 15 times and now have a good idea of the area. Here are some of my favourite routes:

Cycle loop 1: Sant Grau d'Ardenya 51 km, 980 m ascent https://www.komoot.de/tour/1075380912. This is a short loop but you must climb nearly 1000 m and so for many it will not be an easy day! Start by cycling on the GI-682 out of Tossa and then up through pine forests to the Roman church of Sant Grau d'Ardenya. There is a coffee place but I have never been. After that a bit further up and then a long and a wee bit bumpy descent to Llagostera and from there back via the smooth road of the Tossa pass into Tossa. Here are cyclists passing Sant Grau d'Ardenya...

... and here Ralle descends to the coastal road  on a day when we did the loop the other way round.

Cycle loop 2: Coast Calonge Cassa 104 km 1640 m ascent https://www.komoot.de/tour/1073873725. This is a good 100+ km ride first along the coast starting with the GI-682. After that the coastal resorts of Sant Feliu de Guixols and Platja d'Aro and then over a small pass through pine forests via La Bisbal d'Emporda (or bypass it to the West) via the Santa Pellaia climb to Cassa de Selva and then home via the Tossa pass to Tossa. Here is a photo of Sant Feliu...

... and here one of Palamos (actually a wee bit North of the loop).

Cycle loop 3: Els Angels from Tossa 107 km 1620 m ascent https://www.komoot.de/tour/1005837563. This is the classic route for Girona-based cyclists and still a good ride for cyclists based at the coast. After the Tossa pass, cycle on the busy C-65 to Girona if you want to go direct. The whole of Els Angels is now new tarmac and so a smooth ride up and a smooth ride down. After that cycle through  pretty farmland and bonny Monells to reach the Santa Pellaia climb to Cassa de Selva and hthen ome from there. There are several videos on the Els Angels ride like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwO7jfoiSFg. Here is the Els Angels monastary. From behind the monastary you have some great views towards the Pyrenees... 

... and here is a chapel near the top of the Santa Pellaia climb with views towards the gulf of Roses ("Roses" is a town by the cost).

From Tossa the direct way to Girona is the busy C-65 route. It almost looks like a motorway but it is not and there is a broad strip on the side of the road for cyclists. A less busy longer route is to go from Llagostera to Caldes de Malavella and then turn right at the beginning of the village and cycle on this road. 

After that cycle through Sant Andreu de Salou. The road is a bit rough in placest but the scenery is rural as is shown here...

... and here...

... and here...

Cycle loop 4: Montseny 167 km 3200 m ascent https://www.komoot.de/tour/1075416309. This is the hard one with more than 3000 m of ascending. Start on the busy coastal road via Lloret de Mar and Blanes towards the Montseny massif. After that climb to over 1600 m of altitude on a good road. After that more up and down and then back to the start. Here is Montseny from the distance...

It does not look tall but its highest summit is 1700 m. Here Ralle and Niels on their way to the foot of Montseny. This is initially not the most beautiful ride but it serves its purpose of getting to the foot of the mountain.

Then the long climb that takes to to above 1600 m.

Here is Niels reaching a patch of snow near the summit. The last bit of road is a bit rough.

After that a long descent. Ensure that your bike and especially your brakes are in good order. 

Overall Tossa, Girona and the nearby costa brava are great places for cycling if you are fine doing some altimetres. It is a great alternative to Mallorca.