The Glory of the Alps

Just another day on the full moon...

The ride is called ‘The Glory of the Alps’.  Duration: 2 days.  Distance Covered: 165km.  Difficulty: Demanding.  Our Lonely Planet describes the ride this way:  “It might make you cry.  How beautiful the enormous jagged mountains and rugged valleys are.  Or the watering eyes might just be from the pain in your leg muscles.”  For some reason, we thought it would be a great way to start our cycling adventures in Italy.

The streets of Sampeyre...

Day 1 (Vigone to Sampeyre): We left directly from Vigone, having packed up our bicis, and set off for Sampeyre.  Our plan was to ride about 70km, south and west from Torino, towards France, into the foothills of the Italian maritime Alps.  We pedaled through some beautiful Italian farmland and some quaint little towns, from Vigone to Saluzzo, and then into the Valle Varaita to the ski town of Sampeyre.  The road was pretty flat, with a slight but noticeable incline for the last 30k or so.  70k may not sound like much to our triathlon friends – we regularly ride about 80k in about 3 to 3.5 hours during a half-iron race.  But our bicis are not racing bikes, and as you start to climb uphill, even slightly, you begin to notice all that luggage strapped to the back of your bike.  And so we arrived in Sampeyre, about 5+ hours later, with tired legs, but hungry for the Alps that would come the next day.

A view of Sampeyre... from early in the climb up Colle de Sampeyre

Day 2 (Sampeyre to Marmora): Today we planned to cover about 80km and climb 2 Alps – one in the morning, then lunch, then another in the afternoon.  I emphasize the word ‘planned’.  We had already started hedging our bets… acknowledging the possibility that we might decide one Alp was enough, rest in the afternoon, and tackle the second Alp the next day… especially when some of the friendly Italian cyclists on their beautiful road bikes raised eyebrows when we described our plan for the day.  But honestly, how long could it possibly take to climb one Alp? 

First ascent of the day: Colle de Sampeyre – 16.5km of climbing, up… and up… and up, 1400 meters of elevation gain.  For our triathlon friends out there, picture climbing Big Blue… on a mountain bike… 10 times in a row… without any downhill breaks in between… with Dony strapped to the back of your bike.  That’s pretty much what it’s like to climb an Alp on a touring bike.  Initially, we’d go about 3km, and then take a break.  Then it was 1.5km between breaks.  Then it was whatever our bodies could handle. Of course, the hardest part about taking breaks on a long and sustained climb is getting back into your pedals and starting up again – we’ve gotten really good at uphill starts. 

At times, the Alp had the better of us...
but pavement never seemed so comfortable!



Amy said she could literally see my face thinning, as the sweat poured off of me as I pedaled up the mountain.  Mario and Luigi were creaking under the strain of the climb.  At times, we were going so slowly that it didn’t seem like our bikes would stay upright.  At other times, the road was so steep that the front end of our bikes -- with all the weight of the luggage in the back -- would literally lift up off the ground -- temporarily turning Mario and Luigi into unicycles!

At around 14km, my legs cramped.  Not individual muscles – just all of them, all at once.  At around 15km, we passed three little old Italian men hiking down the mountain.  They shouted ‘Bravo’ and gave Amy a helpful and sustained push up the mountain.  (Amy thought they were being good Samaritans… but what we really learned is that Italian men of any age will find any excuse to get their hands on a beautiful woman’s bottom). When we thought we could climb no more, we crested the last rise, and we were there… the summit of Colle de Sampeyre… 5 hours after we’d started climbing.  

By the time we rolled into Marmora, the little village where we were initially thinking we might have lunch, 44km from Sampeyre … it was 6pm.  I think we’ll save the second Alp for tomorrow.

We spent the night at one of our favorite places yet on the entire full-moon, Pensione Ceagli, which is a little cycling mecca in a quaint, medieval-looking, stone village.  When we asked if there was room available, our hostess replied, “por cyclistas, siempre”.  We ate very well, we slept very well, and we woke up the next morning ready for our second Alp.

A cyclist mecca:  Pensione Ceagli in Marmora



Day 3 (Marmora to Demonte): Today was the Colle de Esischie, one of the more famous Italian cycling summits, followed by the Colle dei Morti, at 2500m, where there is a monument to the famous Italian cyclist Marco Pantani.  Yesterday, the Alps definitely won… but today, we had our revenge.  We shattered our previous record, climbing the 18km in a mere 3.5 hours.  Yes, that’s pedaling uphill for 3.5 hours straight.  But we conquered the Alps today.  Lunch atop Colle de Esischie easily became one of our top 5 lunch spots during the full moon. 



This is what it looks like...
after you've climbed up a whole long way...

From the top of the Colle dei Morti, it was all downhill… with the occasional obstacles thrown in:  at several points, giant snow-packs blocked the road… and when the road was clear, dodging the marmots that would dart across the road, playing chicken with our bicis.  Distance covered:  47km.


The monument to famed Italian cyclist, Marco Pantani, atop Colle dei Morti




Too bad Mario and Luigi didn't come with skis!



Day 4 (Demonte to Cuneo):  Yes, our Lonely Planet claimed that this ride was a 2-day ride, and we’re now on Day 4.  We completed our “Glory of the Alps” ride with a quick 35km downhill ride to the city of Cuneo, where we will catch a train to Genova, and on to Sestri Levantri, to cycle Cinque Terra.  No more Alps… but still some impressive hills ahead.

Until then, Ciao, bicis!

We totally crushed the Colle de Esischie!

 



But there's no feeling quite like conquering your first Alp...
even if the views were a bit clouded over

 

It’s quite a feeling, to climb an Alp.  It’s also quite a feeling to finally be able to stop pedaling uphill.  Seriously, Amy and I both fall asleep dreaming that we’re still pedaling uphill… and if you stop pedaling, you’re going to topple over.  At the top, we met a wonderful fellow cyclist at the top and had what we think was a lovely conversation in Italian with him.   Unfortunately, the clouds had rolled in and the views were pretty poor.  But the clouds broke on occasion during the long (and well-earned) descent, revealing some really stunning scenery. 



Atop the summit of Colle de Sampeyre... one tough climb!