After letting ourselves sleep in this morning and enjoying a big breakfast at our hotel, we decided (well mostly I decided) that our legs needed a chiller day today. Gunnar had proposed a 9,500ft day, but I put the hammer down on that. After scoping out some mtb trails on our ride yesterday, we figured we might as well take the day to rent some mtn bikes and do the Stella Ronda lift assisted route – which strings together an epic ride with minimal climbing thanks to a combination of lifts, gondolas, and trams. The first half of the ride was pretty mellow with double track and nice views. On the second half of the ride we hit some really awesome trails. After descending into Val Gardena valley, we took the Ciampioni gondola (which is used for the World Cup downhill) to access a near-DH style trail. Luckily we had a friendly Canadian and Australian to show us the way, and give us a heads up on some of the tricky sections. After this trail we took our final gondola ride, and descended down the Cir trail – a flowy trail with mellow berms and some cool bridges/wooden features.

We cruised back to town, dropped off the bikes, and hit up some delicious gelato (much needed, considering we never stopped for lunch). Then we cheffed up another killer dinner in our small but mighty hotel kitchen. Once inside, we could tell just how much dirt our bodies had collected throughout the day (as pictured below…).

We packed up in Bormio this morning and drove up Stelvio and down the backside as we made our way over to the Dolomites and our hotel in Badia. As we got closer, we drove thru a few historic World Cup stops including Val Gardena and Alta Badia. We pulled into our hotel and were lucky enough to be given an apartment on the second floor that looks out on the Alta Badia GS hill. It’s steep and we won’t be riding it, but it looks like it’d be fun to ski. After some pasta and a quick nap, we headed out for a quick 40 miles and ~6k of climbing. Dubbed “dinner” but more famously referred to as Sella Ronda, this ride takes in 4 mtn passes and some incredible views.

We finished the ride by climbing up to Jimmy Hütte only to find they were closed for dinner and only serving beer. Unperturbed, we managed accordingly.

Descending back down to Badia through the sun and shadows, the afternoon was complete.

Another photogenic location has the Strava Servers undoubtedly bracing for additional stress over the next few days. Tomorrow we stay on the road seeking high mtn passes and rapid descents. Legs are feeling rested and strong. Stay tuned loyal followers 🤪

strava.app.link/hE9uTx0WRX

Today was hottt (yes, with three T’s!!). Reaching almost 105° in the valleys, the European heat wave was real and we felt it in its full effect. Pedaling out of Bormio around 8:45 this morning, we went straight up Passo Stelvio to 2,786 meters (9,000ft). After 1:45 of climbing and some truly unreal tunnels, switchbacks, and views we hit the summit. There were some local ski teams training up above the summit, and your classic crowd of motos and sports cars at the top.

Peering down the backside, the switchback glands were watering as banked switchback after banked switchback continued until we could not see any further. The switchbacks on the north east side (what we would be descending) are numbered in descending order from the top. Starting at 1 closest to the summit, there are 45+ more on the descent making for a rollercoaster ride down mixed in with motos and cars.

Not much in the way of more descending pics as speeds approached 45mph and the roads were not built by the Swiss (Italy’s food wins, but could use some pointers when it comes to asphalt). After the ~14 mile and ~5k ft descent, we swung left and headed for the days low point (both altitude and outlook). We pitstopped in Glorenza to snack on our sandwiches and slam agua while the temps really set in. Feeling a bit warm, we took our time, downed a bottle apiece during lunch, and set off on a slow pace up towards Passo Umbrail. We crossed back into Switzerland momentarily and immediately the roads improved, the cows seemed but happier, Mo started craving chocolate and I felt total hakuna matata.

Unfortunately, Switzerland proved to be just as hot as Italy this day and we stopped a few times to chug water and pour it all over to keep our body temps in check. Mo simulating before and after a water stop

We finally reached Santa Maria and started up the true Passo Umbrail which features endless switchbacks (Mo is a big fan as am I), Swiss horses, incredible vistas per usual and generally cooler temps vs. what we were battling in the valley

It was a dogfight! But we made it to the top after an hour and a half of climbing

From here, it was all gravy as we descended the 11 miles and 4K ft back down Passo Stelvio into Bormio where we promptly hit up the supermarket for some yogurt drinks and a cold beer before finding a cold river (silt included) to ice the legs

Dinner tonight was a pasta sampler featuring two different varieties of Panzaretti and another one which we’ve since forgot the name of (and consumed all of so cannot send photos for our loyal followers to weigh in). Either way, we chowed down and not a single calorie was left on a plate

We are off to Badia tomorrow to do a little Selle Ronda loop and then stay in a hut on Sunday night.

Yesterday we got a late start to the day – letting our bodies sleep in and enjoy some much needed rest. After breakfast we headed out for a morning loop up torre di fraele – a decent sized climb with a lot of switchbacks, but also some ancient towers at the top. We hammered up this climb, with heart rates in the 160s-170s for 30-40 minutes.

We then did a figure 8 loop around the lake at the top, which gave us a great chance to spin out the legs and enjoy some chill, flat gravel.

Then began the killer descent back to town, which was debatably just as challenging as the climb. Steep grades mixed with unforgiving, loose gravel made it quite demanding on the fingers and hands. However, about halfway down we merged onto the lower half of the Stelvio descent – a nicely paved road that brought us right back to town. We took a little lunch break before heading out for some more dirt. We wanted to ride gavia pass, but with Gunnar’s detective skills we learned that part of the road was closed due to landslide concerns. Undeterred, we found an alternative route leading up to gavia on dirt roads. This turned out to be an amazing alternative – with no cars, stellar views, and remote homesteads along the way.

While cruising back down to Bormio on the paved road, we spotted a gelato shop and decided it was the perfect opportunity to snag our first Italian gelato. We were not disappointed!

We finally made our way back home. After a little tire swapping in the exceptional bike room our Airbnb offers, we cheffed up a delicious dinner of seafood pasta and salad. Capping off a great day while also recharging for what would be an even bigger one the next.

strava.app.link/0FlWfsmXMX

Anytime you ride 10k+ vertical feet in a ride, the body needs some time to recuperate. Anytime you do that twice in the span of four days, your body needs to recuperate and a beer. Luckily, Andermatt was able to deliver both today during our “chill” day here. The Airbnb we are in has a washing machine which is a complete blessing. After doing one load last night, we hit the hay for a long sleep. Waking up to blue skies again, we strolled to the COOP for food supplies (bfast lunch n dinner). Post breakfast, Mo took a much needed mid morning nap while I set out to check out Oberalppass

The trail map here had me salivating profusely – lifts after trails after trams after wide open bowls – it looks endless and I’d love to come back here in the winter. After a quick descent back to town, Mo and I set out for Gotthard Pass. We followed a MTB signed route up which avoids most of the highway and takes you through a pasture dubbed the “Adoration of the Cows”. Also, this route follows the traditional Le Tremola cobblestone road which is simply incredible – this road was built out of cobblestone in the late 1880s, the history of this pass is truly endless

We reached the summit and refilled our water. Fortunately, the summit for cars is not the highest one can go. We continued to follow the MTB route up another ~500 vertical feet on a single lane semi-paved route which afforded even better views

Reaching the max elevation for the day, we turned around and started the descent. Only 20 seconds in however, I heard an extremely loud bang and felt my rear tire collapse as I was cruising along down the road at ~20mph. Cranking on the brakes I came to a quick stop and found a massive sidewall blowout right near my stem

Fortunately, I had a 10 CHF bill in my bar bag and a spare tube. After some tlc, the tire was momentarily repaired and miraculously lasted the entire descent. Definitely riding on borrowed rubber at this point however, and will be replacing my rear tire tomorrow. In the meantime, behold, Frankenstein

We are hopping on the train to Lugano tomorrow morning and headed to Bormio. Switz has been a blast, but looking forward to some pasta/pizza/pesto and espresso

We woke up early this morning to get a head start on a long day. After enjoying our last breakfast at hotel caprice (which we will dearly miss), we packed up the rest of our gear and headed up grosse scheidegg for one last time. Gunnar set a startlingly fast pace that put me in a grumpy mood for most of the climb, but quickly dissipated once we headed down the back side and into innertkirchen.

After the glorious descent we began the long, grueling climb up grimsel pass. Unlike grosse scheidegg, this route allows cars – and we soon found out that it is a heavily trafficked area for motorcycles. The climb dragged on and on, with each little peak bearing another one behind it. About two hours and 5000ft later, we finally summited and enjoyed a nice little snack and rest break at the top.

Up next was a quick 1000ft descent to the bottom of furka pass via about 10 big switchbacks (fun!). Then began our last climb for the day – up and over furka pass. Our legs were really feeling it at this point, so we took it pretty mellow to the top.

Serendipitously, the tour de Suisse was projected to pass over furka (in the opposite direction) about an hour after we summited. Having finished all of our climbing for the day, we decided it made sense to bunk up, sit back, and watch some really fast riders. With perfect weather, you couldn’t have asked for a better end to a killer day for the legs.

We then cruised down the 3500ft 12 mile descent into andermatt, where we picked up bags at the train station and checked into our airbnb. The vibes here are much less touristy than grindelwald, which is a great change of pace. It didn’t take us long to find a cute little restaurant where we enjoyed our first fondue of the trip – bodies and souls rejoicing.

Chill morning with some rain in the forecast led to a big breakfast and some mech. work for Mo’s bike before getting the pedaling going. New front and rear brakes installed, we set out on the climb up Kleine Scheidegg (no train assist this time). Roughly ~3.6k of vert later and zero breaks (!!) we reached the saddle to cross over down to Wengen. Good vibes on the climb keeping hr in the zone (aka below 150) and talking to farm creatures…

The descent into Wengen is a gravel road prime for bikes like ours with great views and even a quick crossover of Lauberhorn downhill (the section just before the final two turns). At one point we could even spot the Hundschopf with a patch of snow still in the landing.

A quick lunch in Wengen and we began the trek down to Lauterbrunnen. By trek I mean we hike a biked for 20 minutes down 20-30% grade “trail”. And finished in a nice pasture where slalom turns kept our speed low enough for survival.

The last 8 miles we pedaled back up to Grindelwald while passing racers competing in the Swissman triathlon. Without looking it up, we heard these racers had been going since 5am (it was now 4:30pm) and still had the 3.6k climb up to Kleine Scheidegg once they reached Grindy. Some people really are sick in the head. A little light rain escorted us into Grindy as we hit our daily 5k quota of climbing and made it back to the hotel where we washed our bikes and then sent a bag to Andermatt (our destination tomorrow). Dinner was a nice salad, a burger, and some rösti which we inhaled before watching “The World is Not Enough” (great skiing scene – pierce Brosnan rips!) gonna be a solid day manana

We decided that today would be a good day to switch things up, and check out some of the mtb routes around grindelwald. After a delicious breakfast at our hotel, we headed up the road to a bike shop to get outfitted for the day. The guys at the shop got us dialed in (a giant trance for Gunnar and a liv intrigue for me). They also gave us some insider tips on where to ride for the day – which turned out to be invaluable.

The first part of the day started with yet another climb up to grosse scheidegg. Our legs were definitely feeling it after yesterday’s climbing, plus the added weight from mountain bikes.

We then traversed/ climbed over to First, and then bachalpsee lake. It had been raining intermittently and I had gotten pretty cold, so Gunnar was kind enough to lend me his shirt – I guess you call that love! The lake was beautiful but still quite snowy.

We then began the ~3500ft descent back to grindelwald. The first section was pretty snowy with a lot of rocky parts. We tried to find another trail part of the way down that the guys at the bike shop had recommended. With no signage, this turned into a bit of a bushwhacking expedition. We ultimately ended up finding a little more single track through the dense mossy forests leading back to grindelwald, although it wasn’t what we had planned to ride.

We took a break in town for about an hour – chowing on some rosti for lunch and dropping a bag at the train station so that we have clothes when we get to andermatt in a few days. Then we took the train up to kleine scheidegg (legs were very grateful), for the second part of our ride. We rode back down to grindelwald on an epic trail that the guys at the shop told us about. It’s technically not an mtb trail, but it sure was fun!

It was a little damp and slippery in the woods. One of the bridges simultaneously took Gunnar and I out – but luckily our bodies and bikes came out unscathed.

After crushing the rest of the way down, we returned our bikes to the shop before hitting the sauna and steam room at our hotel. Then headed out for dinner, where I can confirm that Gunnar consumed more wine than he ever has in his life (a full two glasses!).