TCRNo6 part 2: East is East

Alpine High

Stunning views and tight rolling switchbacks vie for attention on the descent to a village incongruously littered with high rise hotels. Checking my route I am reminded that the tunnels after the village are banned in the race rules. I’ve planned a route around them but the route isn’t detailed enough and I end up retracing my tyre tracks back up the hill twice. Arriving at the final and longest tunnel I take the gravel path to the left up onto the roof of the tunnel. The path peters out above a steep loose rock strewn slope. I trudge back up the path and remember some instructions about having to enter galleria to find the road that avoids the rest of the tunnel. I coast down and stop at a barrier where the road drops from sunlit galleria into a dark tube diving down into the mountain’s interior. There’s no way I can go in there, within minutes more riders arrive puzzling the same conundrum. To ride into the tunnel would risk disqualification. One by one we each take the track off to the side of the galleria ignoring the “Entritt Verboten” sign on the gate, it’s the only way to avoid the tunnel although we’d all prefer not to climb the extra 100m of switchbacked track the diversion forces on us. 

Next stop Innsbruck, but that next stop seems unreachable. A strong headwind resists every pedal stroke, I drop low over my handlebars to dodge it but progress along the wide valley bottom is painfully slow. The temptation keep stopping is hard to resist and hours pass before the approach to Innsbruck is marked by a British Airways 737 swooping low overhead near the airport.

The monotony of the climb up the Brenner pass on the old road is tempered by a long chat with a woman who is cycling home from work. We converse using a mix of German and English about family, Brexit, cycling and lots more besides. It’s one of those random meetings that restores your spirits and before I know it I’m descending into Italy. I happen on a hotel early evening and get a good rate for a room. Pasta, weissbier and a comfy bed are enjoyed but my rather meagre 140 miles mean I need to be away for 4am the following morning.

German seems to be the language of choice in the Süd Tirol despite it technically being Italy, it suites me, I was once fluent and it’s good to be using it again. The bike paths through this area are some of the best I have ridden, I follow one ribbon of smooth tarmac for hours as it flows eastwards up a broad valley in the shadow of the Dolomites. I love this scenery, wide valleys of alpine meadows with tall limestone peaks standing guard to either side. I make a mental note to return here. Later in the day there are climbs but they are welcome after hours on flat bike paths. It also rains, a lot, but it’s similarly welcome after hours of 30 degree heat.

I bump into a Nick and Doug at the Austro-Italian border further east. We all take the opportunity to stock up in the filling station knowing that we will soon enter rural Slovenia where there are very few shops. The service area is busy with truckers having a beer so I don’t hang around. 

The Quiet End of the Alps

Slovenia is beautiful; quiet roads, Alpine scenery and little else. The CP2 parcours is a steep climb to the 2000m Mangert saddle. It starts off vicious with 15% gradients but soon relents and I’m pleased to catch a few riders on the climb. Unfortunately the competitive side of my brain then won't allow me to stop for photos. Except, when sheep block the road and all I can do is wait for the herd and their shepherd to pass on the tight single track road. I’m on a high once more, these mountain views coupled with the sense of achievement from reaching the CP2 parcours is better than any drug. The descent to checkpoint 2 is a hoot, I pick up another couple of places and arrive at the checkpoint hotel wearing a massive grin. I dine at the hotel with a couple of familiar faces and we procrastinate over renting the last available hotel room but I wind up sleeping under a tree outside the hotel entrance once the umpah band in the town centre pipes down.

 

day 3

day 4