My sleep was restless last night, thinking about the climb. I’ve been training on hills, but I was still apprehensive. As I packed my things this morning, my heart was already racing in anticipation of the climb. It raced even more when we had to run down the stairs, in cycling shoes, and back up to the correct train platform. (I opted to take the train to Como and start from there rather than starting in Lugano. That way I didn’t add 40 miles to the ride.)
The ride from Como to Bellagio was on a narrow road that traversed along the banks of Lake Como. Lots of ups and downs as the narrow road weaved it’s way for 20 miles. It was gorgeous seeing all of the tiny villages, waterfalls, tunnels, and stonewalls as we overlooked Lake Como.
We had a brief stop in Bellagio to have a mini Cliffbar - which are very hard after 9 months waiting to be eaten! I also checked out the high tech ½ Euro toilet. Put your coin in, the door opens and shuts automatically, push button toilet paper dispenser, automatic soap and water faucets. Push the button to exit and when you walk out the door closes automatically and then the WC has a self-cleaning cycle!
Then we were off….it wasn’t marked, but we figured it must be the road up and out of Bellagio. Soon we saw the official starting line, and we were off. Not far after the start I saw a 14% grade sign; YIKES! I knew I just had to go slow and steady, and at my own pace. I remember thinking mile 24 would never end. Every time I looked at my computer it said 24; how could that be? Once I passed 24 miles, the miles seemed to go faster. I felt like I had permission to feel tired when the cars that passed were really chugging away up the hill. However I also thought, if the car motors had to work hard, what must my legs be thinking trying to climb this hill?
I drained the last drop of my Camelbak about 2/3rds of the way up. I stopped at a park to try to get water, but no such luck. We continued on through a town and still couldn’t find a water spigot. Finally I saw a restaurant and they were very nice and filled my Camelbak. The only problem was that it was on a fairly steep grade, and I’m not very good at pushing off and getting going fast enough to get my pedals clipped in. I took off perpendicular to the road and still fumbled with my cleats for a few strokes before I got clipped in, scary! Only two more miles to go!
To my total astonishment, just after we got going up the grade, I saw the sign for Ghisallo! I really thought we had two more miles to go! What a welcomed surprise!
I was thrilled to have made the climb (thanks Sue Anderson for your inspiration and motivation) and appreciated wandering around the park, checking out the church with all of the old bikes, jerseys and medals offered to Our Lady of Ghisallo; Madonna of Ghisallo - the patron saint of cycling. It was a bustling with many cyclists.
We went the short, steep route up to Ghisallo, and the longer way back to Como – no steep switchbacks! I was even able to get into a tuck a few times during the10.4 mile descent! Then there were a few rolling hills to get back to the train station in Como, and up the hill to my apartment in Gentilino.
What a perfect 50 mile day! Now I need to focus on hiking to be ready to climb Kilimanjaro in just over a month. I hope the summit surprises me like Ghisallo did!
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| Our Lady of Ghisallo; Madonna of Ghisallo |
552 meters up, 1811 feet
Steepest grade – 14%
Average grade - 5.2%
6.6 miles
