Early season target set to be fit for Strade Bianche. Entry submitted, just have to hope for a nice warm, dusty event. Would have been OK this year for the Sportif on Sunday had it not been that I could not get out of the UK due to snow causing my flight to be cancelled. Despite having a day in hand I could not find another flight at anything like and affordable price. So hoping for better next Spring. Anyone else going? Entries are still open. Plan is to get there a day early to chill out in Siena and then a few days in Florence post event before flying back.
Hmm – no wonder I thought the MedioFondo was as hard as the GranFondo 2 years ago. This year the MedioFondo had 1,695 m / 5,564 feet of climbing and 2 years back the GranFondo had 1,438 m / 4,718 feet! No wonder that “shortcut” appeared quite tough.
Well, I’m knackered. It might be “only” the Mediofondo Strade Bianche but it’s a toughie. On the long route there is a lengthy rolling road section that adds most of the extra 40 Km or so. On the Media route the “short cut” is a long undulating Strade section. A great section but it takes it’s toll. Constant punchy climbs. I didn’t realise until later that I came close to bonking and the second food station came just in time. Definitely preserved myself over the last 15Km in readiness for the final climb up to the citadel. Glad it was… Read more »
Glad you had a successful day. It reminds me that my February and March training has been dismal. I’m definitely not prepared for some of the late spring big rides coming up here.
Only 2 weeks to go. Following my challenges of 2018 (which some of you know about – and for those that do, things have gone really well and I’m in a really good place at the moment, just hoping it stays that way) I think I will have to just do the shorter route as the old saddle to rear interface is still subject to some side effects on longer rides – and with the pounding of the Strade sections the full route is probably not a good idea! Given where I was a month ago on the fitness stakes… Read more »
I think your mantra for 2019 should be “quality not quantity.” 2018 was a rough one so relax and enjoy Tuscany.
Testing adding a photo…….Strade Bianche finish 2017. Yes it was wet!
It looks cold as well as wet…. but you’re smiling!
It was, that was 2 years ago. The smile is because that was the finish. The sting in the tail was that our hotel was probably less than half a mile from the finish and I did 3.5 miles trying to find the darned thing! I was knackered and brain dead. Seems that entries are now full for 2019.
Oh No! That’s a bummer after the travel fiasco this year 🙁 Have you ever ridden in Colorado? If not, maybe you might consider doing something completely different and doing a Colorado ride this year instead! It’s no Strade Bianchi, but there are some great roads up in the Rockies with beautiful scenery, and the “People’s Republic of Boulder” is worth a visit.
Murf
We used to have a Condo in Crested Butte that was our winter home. Always wanted to go back in the Summer and do some cycling but never had enough leave. We sold it a couple of years ago as my knee is knackered and so skiing is rather off the cards these days. Always fancied doing this loop sometime though. Photos are from when we drove up to Taylor at the end of one season. The loop turns to gravel when it swings away from the reservoir. It would be a great loop – though not straight out from… Read more »
Those pics capture the essence of CO riding. Blue skies, crisp snowy, but still probably about 60 degrees (15C) so beautiful to ride, even in the winter often. Well, if you guys get the inclination to come and ride in the summer for a bit, I have a spare en-suite bedroom in my basement for visitors. The main room that would probably be a big TV room for most people has 2 bike trainers with a TV to run “FulGaz” or watch races while I’m on the trainer, and a little weight gym. It’s available for any fellow travelers who… Read more »
I looked at that Taylor lake Loop. I’ve ridden some of the roads around it. I did the “Big Mountain Enduro” last year and the first stage was down “Doctors Park”, so that involved going up a good bit of the first part of that loop. And I’ve ridden up to Tincup from the Collegiate Peaks side. There is some great riding on the old roads there, as well as the old railroad track above the town of St Elmo. It get’s a bit gnarly when you get up top, but it’s beautiful. I think it’s called the CDT Alpine… Read more »
So did you get to ride that crazy steep section up to the finish? Is it as steep as it looks on TV? Must have been hell in the rain!
My Gravatar is just coming up to the top of that climb. Yup it’s F&^*ing steep! Especially the last 20 metres or so. I was dreading spinning out in the wet as the cleats I had at the time were on a high setting and I could not get out of them in a hurry. If I had stopped I’d just have keeled over sideways which would have been mega embarrassing. They are large granite slabs so potentially not a lot of grip.
Your pic reminds me of the steep section of the Uhlerstown climb on Flèche Buffoon last year. Short … only 0.2 mi … but f*cking steep … 23% (that’s average gradient for the segment). My smallest gear was 36×30 and I just barely kept the cranks turning. My motivation to get through it was the same as yours … I really couldn’t have stopped without keeling over.
If you look at the doorways in the background it gives you some impression of it. I’ll take a sequence from the city gate at the bottom while I’m there.