Ride Story - on a mission to the Blockhaus in Abruzzo
Discussion
I've been going to this part of Italy for 8 years now, it is a relatively unspoiled undiscovered part of the country. I have a Scottish mate who lives there full time and is very into cycling having done the Haute Route twice, and we go out riding whenever I am there.
There is an actual Blockhaus, a refuge for hikers, but in cycling terms there are three starting points that all converge on one shared final section. From the coast, the west side, is the route I have been thinking of and according to Climbbybike this ranks as the 138 most difficult climb in the world; the route from the NW Lettomanopello is 75th and third route from Roccamorice is 158th.
For comparison, Mont Ventoux is 177th in the world and 21.4km, Aple D'Huez is 673rd; Ditchling Beacon (my nearest toughest hill) is 7759th and 1.55km. Most of the route I am taking is 7-10% gradient but at 29.6km it is a long hard drag. Especially as my borrowed Giant TCR has a 53/39 chainset and 12-28 cassette...
Saturday morning started beautifully -
So it was time to get on the bikes. The first 20km is a nice gentle warm up, riding through the Val di Foro, climbing a mere 290 m. We turned on to the "main" road to head west, and picked up a local who was happy to share the work and we did 2km stints on the front each. It was a bit harder than I wanted to go but I thought the payback worth it. The mountain is always looming in the distance though, dominating your thoughts...
After the picture postcard town of Pretoro is a roundabout; the first turning takes you back down towards Lettomanopello and the really hard climb, but the second is the one for me.
The National Parks of Abruzzo are home to wild boars, bears and even wolves, although this is the closest we get to that today.
I'd split the climb into 4 sections for my sanity's sake; the first to Pretoro, the second to Passo Lanciano, where I had been forced to abandon my previous attempt in the August heat, the third to Hotel Mammarosa, and the last to the summit.
I had gone down to the small ring and big cog at the back before Pretoro in an effort to meter out my efforts. Once past Pretoro you are getting away from civilisation, heading to Passo Lanciano. The road seems to just keep going up, all kinds of corners and a few straights, in and out of the trees, and I was alternating in and out of the saddle, but I don't remember changing gear once. More on THAT saddle later.
We arrived at Passo feeling good, and deserving an espresso and cake stop. This was where we saw the first snow piled at the side of the road.
The next chunk of the climb to Mammarosa starts with a wooded section on a road with a disintegrating surface. At the speed I was going it didn't matter much, and although it was markedly colder in the trees the sweat was still running off me. When you come out of the trees the scenery changes to ski country, although it hadn't snowed enough -
On the right of the pic you can see the Hotel Mammarosa and the line beyond that is the road zig-zagging up the hill.
That would be Gordon spinning away on his compact equipped SuperSix with the £2k Zipp wheels...
Nearing the MammaRosa the road is suddenly super smoother and you could land a Jumbo on it, it is so wide. Still grinding inexorably upwards though.
Above 5000 feet now, and this is becoming an increasing obstacle. You still get dopes in 4 wheel drives trying to squeeze past you, even in bike-friendly civilised Italy.
Picked the bikes up cyclo-cross style for this 40m stretch of impassible snow and ice. The ice in my cleats would have made it impossible to clip back in, if I'd been going anywhere -
We were forced to stop around 6000 feet, another 800 feet to go. My head was saying I could have done it, not sure my quads agreed!
Note unused gear shifters and brakes! Went all the way through the range in the first 10m going back down the hill, and didn't get out of top gear for about 18km! Flew back down, wind-chill made it damn cold for half the descent, and we were baulked by an old boy in an estate who was filling the road trying to stop us passing him, but we got him on the brakes going into a hairpin and then left him for dead.
Looking north-ish towards Campo Imeratore, setting for a real action adventure story in Mussloini's life -
And the Adriatic is down there under the clouds.
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/3I3CrLQU.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/ObR9t5k0" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/ObR9t5k0.jpg)
Here's the Strava file - http://www.strava.com/activities/214493656
There is an actual Blockhaus, a refuge for hikers, but in cycling terms there are three starting points that all converge on one shared final section. From the coast, the west side, is the route I have been thinking of and according to Climbbybike this ranks as the 138 most difficult climb in the world; the route from the NW Lettomanopello is 75th and third route from Roccamorice is 158th.
For comparison, Mont Ventoux is 177th in the world and 21.4km, Aple D'Huez is 673rd; Ditchling Beacon (my nearest toughest hill) is 7759th and 1.55km. Most of the route I am taking is 7-10% gradient but at 29.6km it is a long hard drag. Especially as my borrowed Giant TCR has a 53/39 chainset and 12-28 cassette...
Saturday morning started beautifully -
So it was time to get on the bikes. The first 20km is a nice gentle warm up, riding through the Val di Foro, climbing a mere 290 m. We turned on to the "main" road to head west, and picked up a local who was happy to share the work and we did 2km stints on the front each. It was a bit harder than I wanted to go but I thought the payback worth it. The mountain is always looming in the distance though, dominating your thoughts...
After the picture postcard town of Pretoro is a roundabout; the first turning takes you back down towards Lettomanopello and the really hard climb, but the second is the one for me.
The National Parks of Abruzzo are home to wild boars, bears and even wolves, although this is the closest we get to that today.
I'd split the climb into 4 sections for my sanity's sake; the first to Pretoro, the second to Passo Lanciano, where I had been forced to abandon my previous attempt in the August heat, the third to Hotel Mammarosa, and the last to the summit.
I had gone down to the small ring and big cog at the back before Pretoro in an effort to meter out my efforts. Once past Pretoro you are getting away from civilisation, heading to Passo Lanciano. The road seems to just keep going up, all kinds of corners and a few straights, in and out of the trees, and I was alternating in and out of the saddle, but I don't remember changing gear once. More on THAT saddle later.
We arrived at Passo feeling good, and deserving an espresso and cake stop. This was where we saw the first snow piled at the side of the road.
The next chunk of the climb to Mammarosa starts with a wooded section on a road with a disintegrating surface. At the speed I was going it didn't matter much, and although it was markedly colder in the trees the sweat was still running off me. When you come out of the trees the scenery changes to ski country, although it hadn't snowed enough -
On the right of the pic you can see the Hotel Mammarosa and the line beyond that is the road zig-zagging up the hill.
That would be Gordon spinning away on his compact equipped SuperSix with the £2k Zipp wheels...
Nearing the MammaRosa the road is suddenly super smoother and you could land a Jumbo on it, it is so wide. Still grinding inexorably upwards though.
Above 5000 feet now, and this is becoming an increasing obstacle. You still get dopes in 4 wheel drives trying to squeeze past you, even in bike-friendly civilised Italy.
Picked the bikes up cyclo-cross style for this 40m stretch of impassible snow and ice. The ice in my cleats would have made it impossible to clip back in, if I'd been going anywhere -
We were forced to stop around 6000 feet, another 800 feet to go. My head was saying I could have done it, not sure my quads agreed!
Note unused gear shifters and brakes! Went all the way through the range in the first 10m going back down the hill, and didn't get out of top gear for about 18km! Flew back down, wind-chill made it damn cold for half the descent, and we were baulked by an old boy in an estate who was filling the road trying to stop us passing him, but we got him on the brakes going into a hairpin and then left him for dead.
Looking north-ish towards Campo Imeratore, setting for a real action adventure story in Mussloini's life -
And the Adriatic is down there under the clouds.
Here's the Strava file - http://www.strava.com/activities/214493656
Edited by Daveyraveygravey on Sunday 2nd November 11:26
richardxjr said:
Awesome. Bet your mate was hot climbing in those tights.
He went up in a jacket and full-fingered gloves too! I had shoes, toe covers and overshoes, plus tights and bib shorts, and a long sleeve base layer and short sleeve jersey and mitts, going up, and was fine apart from about 5 mins after the coffee stop. We'd cooled down and emerged into the trees so until the heart rate went up it was cold. At the top I put on a jacket and full fingered gloves and I was still damn cold for half an hour. We descended 1800 m in 35 mins, I had hoped to video some of it but that would have been stupid. I think the temperature at the top was about 10 degrees, but in the sun it felt warmer. Going back down through the trees at about 35-40 mph, my eyes were streaming, wrists were hurting from hauling on the brakes, but what a day!Was back there last month, third time lucky, cracked it! Four hours to get up, hour and a half to get down...
https://www.strava.com/activities/387242308/overvi...
Picked up a pinch puncture on the descent, around 5000 feet back down. I'm a lot less ballsy descending since an awful crash in the summer, back brake pretty much on all the way down. The rear rim was coated in brake dust like I've never seen before, and I transferred that to the back of my new white jersey fishing out tools and a tube.
https://www.strava.com/activities/387242308/overvi...
Picked up a pinch puncture on the descent, around 5000 feet back down. I'm a lot less ballsy descending since an awful crash in the summer, back brake pretty much on all the way down. The rear rim was coated in brake dust like I've never seen before, and I transferred that to the back of my new white jersey fishing out tools and a tube.
Reviving this thread, because the Giro is going back to the Blockhaus!
Not only is it going to the Blockhaus, it's going through "My" village for the first time ever!
This was taken from the clock tower. The Gruppo will be coming from behind, down the road on the left which is a long downhill with a vicious right left bend just beyond that big house on the left.
The only trouble is my niece has her wedding the day before. I can't miss that, and I don't think I can get a plane on Sunday morning that is going to get me there on time.
Not only is it going to the Blockhaus, it's going through "My" village for the first time ever!
This was taken from the clock tower. The Gruppo will be coming from behind, down the road on the left which is a long downhill with a vicious right left bend just beyond that big house on the left.
The only trouble is my niece has her wedding the day before. I can't miss that, and I don't think I can get a plane on Sunday morning that is going to get me there on time.
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