Dying on the the Stelvio biking day 2016

Welcome to our Radltour!

26-Sept-2016

thru

28-Sept-2016

Participants:

Heide,

Iris, age 71

Road bike tour to Stelvio (Italy)

In order to participate on this years bike day - Sept. 27th 2016

(No motor vehicles - just bicyclists)

Review of the bike tour

The author of this review: Iris from Austria - now retired

We traveled by train and bus to Nauders (Austria), which is located right at the border between Austria and Italy.

Nauders is rather high elevated. A lot of people know the passo Rescia. That's the place.

We found best weather conditions (Kaiserwetter!)

A real warm day - round 35 grad Centergrade. Phuuu...

On the day of the Stelvio ride, my lack of training put me much behind all the others.

The good thing: there are so many riders, one can never be the last...

Participants from all over the world.

We have seen riders from New Zealand, USA, etc.

This is what the say on the original Stelvio webpage:

8.415 cyclists went up to the Stelvio Pass from the South-Tyrolian side of Italy and 2.986 went up from the Lombardia last Saturday the 27th August 2016. ALL IN ALL 11.401 CYCLISTS HAVE REACHED THE STELVIO PASS!

see:

http://www.stelviopark.bz.it/en/radtag/

(copy the link into your browser)

48 breath-taking bends and 1,869 metres of altitude by bike ... This all happens on 27. September 2016, when the legendary mountain pass road to the Stilfser Joch is blocked for normal traffic.

Lowest point (START): Prad am Stilfserjoch (910 metres)

Highest point (FINISH): Stilfser Joch Pass (2,758 metres)

Distance Prad – Stilfser Joch: 24.96 km

Difference in altitude Prad – Stilfser Joch: 1,848 metres

Maximum ascent: 15%

Average ascent: 9–11%

On that day, the road belongs only to cyclists! It’s not a race, but being there is everything! The final destination of this cycle tour is the Stilfser Joch at an altitude of 2,760 metres above sea level, one of the highest Alpine passes open to traffic. With the descent via the Umbrail Pass (2,503 metres), also free of traffic, you will come to Santa Maria in the Munster Valley (Switzerland) and from there to Glurns. This makes it a truly beautiful circular tour.

Enjoy the report and the pictures!

Good luck to our followers

1. day (September 26, 2016)

traveled by train and bus to Nauders.

biking:

"Norberthoehe"

leave Nauders, ride down to Martina (Switzerland).

"Norberthoehe" is climb of about 7 1/2 kilometers to an elevation of 1.405 meters.

Good training to get prepared to die on Stelvio :-)

2. day (September 27, 2016)

on the bike path from Nauders to Prad

it looks so easy...: (the sign says: closed for motor vehicles - but...)

and then... up, up, up (go Iris go!)

Look back to your work

close to the top:

street paintings are motivating to continue... :-)

clever guys: they left the "2km sign" out - I was waiting badly, but once the "1km sign" appeared, I said, it is done

close to the finish line

3. day (September 28, 2016)

leaving Nauders, riding down to Martina (Swiss border) and continue riding the Inn-valley ("Engadin") towards Landeck. The Austrian railroad company, once known as bicyclist friendly didn't provide bike carriage places.

So, we decided to ride further to Innsbruck. We thought, there would be more chances to find a bike carriage place.

Wrong thinking: no chance "there are no places on all trains today", they railroad company lady said...

As it was late, we decided to wrap our stripped of bicycles into rather huge plastic waste bages.

This day, we made good about 110 kilometers.

this are the photos from our ride:

view to the winding road from Nauders

we are already down in the valley...