Epic Camp Day 9 - Last Day and a Livigno triathlon

 Epic Camp Day 9 - Friday 26 June.

The Final Day !  It was an early start as we were doing a "handicap triathlon" . Or perhaps triathlon for the handicapped was more fitting given it was the last day. 

After another night of subpar sleep in the tropics of the room, it was an early start for a quick brekky . day bags out and myself and a few of the others left to navigate the bike paths out of town for approximately 6 km until we got to the offical start of the 26km TT.  The end point of the ride was at the top of the second climb around 9 km before Livigno....with around 1100m of ascent although it was pretty moderate 5/6% climb apart from a few steep pitches on the smaller second climb and very pleasant winding through a couple of small towns to reach the Passo di Foscana then a small descent and a climb back up again to the Passo di Eira which was the finish line . It looked suspiciously Swiss and rightly so as we were v close to the border. 

I started 20 mins after the 0 starter and somehow was first to the end of the 26 km which was stoked with, the small descent was v wide and curvy so didn't lose too much time there, for once! 

Once everyone arrived and obligatory photos snapped, we descended down to Livigno which sits at ~1840 m and is a popular altitude training spot. T2 was at the swimming pool ar park and next up was a 10 km run, since I was first , I was starter zero and whoever finished behind me started with that amount of time on the run. It was hot by now and when I started running my legs had this weird wobbly feeling plus deja vu with the hot/cold chills we had experienced up the Stelvio, which I can only put down to altitude in combination with all the other silly stuff. Wasn't running too bad pace wise so just tried to keep it consistent and not be too ambitious and risk explosion, plus Iain had 10 mins behind me so needed to ensure he wouldn't run 10 mins into me. Luckily had learned from mistake on day 1 and had a gel around 3 km in which did the trick and ran a 52 min 10 km and kept my lead.

A few salty crisps and a cup of coke later, it was time for the swim. This was a to be 1600m in a 50 m pool, again first person goes off first and the time differentials after the run is where you start behind The facility in Livigno was the most amazing pool I have ever seen, down to electronic wrist bands that let you in, opened doors, locked and unlocked your locker!   We had 3 lanes booked so instructions were up the LHS of one, down the LHS of the next and the 3rd lane was 2 way then duck under ropes and start again. You can imagine what kind of melee that would be by the time everyone was in the pool.I was expecting to feel absolutely awful swimming, which I probably did to begin but the water was at the appropriate temp for swimming and not like a bath so eased in. Iain did catch up to although would have been a few lengths behind then over took me then I was on his feet and probably slapping his toes ( sorry ) as I think I sped up a bit which is usual for me swimming; takes an age to get this old duck warmed up in the water - and he possibly slowed down. The breathing was a bit laboured due to the altitude then I caught my watch on the lane rope and it pulled the strap out of the socket and the watch fell to the bottom! OMFG... big deep breath and down I went to get it, must have been blue in the face by the time I surfaced and kept swimming. Finished but was told I hadn't done enough, needed another 200m ( despite Garmin saying 1700m although I know it had added an extra 50 or 2 as I went under r the ropes) so duly swam another round and then finished but was still first and victorious ......I couldn't believe it . Shane our super mechanic managed to fix my watch ( RELIEF) then it was time for a quick lunch of peanut butter sandwich and the dread of having to climb back out of Livigno in the reverse of this morning's ride and get home.. It was a pretty steady climb and nothing too fierce...suppose that's all relative now after Tre Cime and the Stelvio ...we grabbed a Fanta at the top as a cold drink and more energy was needed and I made it through al the tunnels without incident and a then it was ~25 km of downhill to Bormio.

We fittingly ended the ride at the gelato shop and celebrated with a coconut gelato. YUM. Then back to the hotel to pack up bikes . organise luggage, shower and be down for drinks at 6.30 and a photo with our Epic kit on. I took home the red jersey for my triathlon win today, although felt a little undeserved given didn't do the mahoosive ride on day 2 but maybe that's also a bit of wisdom with age and experience and understanding my limits !! Who knows eh . 

So that's it for another Epic camp and another reason to keep this blog going, I vowed this was my last one and that I would retire after this but of course that may be a lie. 

For now tho I have 3 days left in Milan ( it's 36 degrees here.) and basking in an air conditioned room. Bliss. Then onto Singapore for a night and back to reality - but can't wait to see Bella and give her cuddles. I thought about my Barry every day while I was here and just asked him to look after me and he certainly did. 

Epic camp Italy Day 8- Ballers+ Bettys do Bormio

 Thursday 25th June

Today's plan was a bit of an unload day as thankfully John decided attempting the Mortirolo and the Gavia might be a little ambitious the day after the Stelvio. You would sense the wave of relief sweeping the camp!

We had walk/yog round town by the river for 5 km before brekky  then after brekky the new plan was to ride 30 km with a climb uo the Torra de Fraele. You ride about 5 km out of town on bike paths then climb up a narrow, winding road  which was v pretty and not so busy, although we were on a parallel road actually until we joined the proper road due to Garmin mapping snafu. Well - tired peeps with the fatigue brain scramble. I had a panic attack as somehow couldn't unclip as my left foot was stuck in the pedal, hard as I tried to  literally sprain my ankle ligaments to get out it still wouldn't budge and I had to keep rolling up a steep road with internal voices catatstrophising and screaming about what would happen if I still can't get out, but Cam, one of the other campers from NZ came to the rescue and sprinted up the road in his bike shoes and grabbed my bike and was able to unclip so gave my pedal a clean and a quick lube of chapstick from Julie then we went up the switchbacks and made it to the top. It felt like mediaeval type of road and a little further down was a lake - was interesting to look down at the road and all the zig zags set in the hillside but the climb felt pretty sedate - suppose everything will do now after the Stelvio!

I gave my pedal a good clean and realised there was some muddy stuff/ small stones which had stuck and made worse by the chapstick but it caused no issues after that. The descent was my least favourite and felt relieved I made tt down without incident or gravel rash :-)

The rest of the day involved a little sightseeing, shopping, a trip to the pool in Trentino ( lame effort by me to do 700m. Just CBF but recovery was good!) then of course a drink at the hotel and dinner.

Again we are in a very salubrious place, well designed for the ski season but not so much for the 28 degrees outside so the bedrooms are intensely hot like a sauna and even with the balcony door wide open and a window, there is little air flow and any  that does draught its way in is also warm. No amount of HRT can fix that discomfort so I'm hanging out for a decent nights sleep; maybe an igloo might be the answer.

Last day tomorrow which , as with Epic tradition, is a triathlon.......ride  40 km to Livigno ( which sits at 1800m, its 1200m here) with a 26 km tt in the middle. Run 10km then swim 1600m in the 50 m pool at the alititude training centre. Then ride  40 km home.  I'm already having nightmares about it. Handicap start!

Epic camp Day 7- Scorcher up the Stelvio

 Woke up at 4 .20 am today, WTF?!!  Decided against a morning run  to ensure no piriformis/ glute flare ups and went for a walk round the block with a little stop in at the pasticceria/konditorei for ride snacks then back to the hotel to finally get a coffee ( ..why is nothing open in Europe before 8am....sigh....) and another invasion of the breakfast buffet.

A small group of us decided to get a lift in the van to Prato and avoid the navigating of the bike paths to get there as potential for getting lost and it taking forever especially in the inclement weather ( = heatwave). It was hot enough at the rear of the van to arrive in Prato slightly frazzled so felt absolved of any self deprecating inner voices that I was soft, lazy, too old for all this kind of carry on etc etc...yeah right!

Of course Epic camp being what it is, we were ascending the Stelvio the hardest way. 25 km up, 48 switchbacks avg grade 7% but wikipedia warned me there were a few 12% pitches thru the forest. Prato sits at 913m and the Passo di Stelvio sits at 2873 so you get the picture.

It was so f***** g hot , I can't describe the heat any other way. No shade at the base either, but all you can do is pedal and keep the intensity as low as is feasible knowing it will get cooler further up!  I only watched the elevation and profile on my Garmin screen and concentrated on watching the metres go by. Stopped for a stretch of the glutes and my back then on again until came across a water fountain spouting fresh cold water. ....that felt like Christmas! Tanya caught up to me here so we spent the rest of the way about 30m apart. The road is so busy with motorbike and cars and other cyclists and it's not particularly wide. So many very tight hairpin bends to swing the bike around without colliding with any oncoming traffic made for several adrenaline spikes , worst through the forest section which had several 12% pitches, as anticipated. However the shade of the trees was a bit of reprieve from the heat. Once out of the trees we were met with a startling view of dramatic mountains with a few small. patches of snow and that sense of how we humans are just tiny specks amongst the majesty of Mother Nature. It was getting a little cooler up here and I was getting strange shivery periods then feeling hot again when we hit a patch of sun but I figured was normal given the heat down below, the altitude and general exertion of doing silly stuff like this at age 52 :-)

It was so gratifying to watch the numbered switch backs tick off and tell myself "Only Mt Pleasant road to climb". "only to the sign of the kiwi" etc etc. Arrived at the top to a Piccadilly Circus of motorbikes, people, cars and general chaos but found the support crew, jacketed up and had a snack and a rest then we had a quick stop at the shop to purchase a fridge magnet then it was down the long descent to Bormio. The road was definitely better on this side in terms of surface and slightly wider in spots. I'm not a fan of the tunnels though as the amplified noise of motorbikes while you ride through is downright spooky ( and terrifying).

Stopped to disrobe as the hot fan appeared again and after an eternity and cramping triceps, we made it to Bormio and our hotel- which was good enough for the Swiss ski team at the Winter Olympics so good enough for us lot!!

As you can probably imagine there was a whole bunch of wasted but satisfied people in the dining room that night, enjoying a wine or two and an impeccable dinner. Man, could get used to this lifestyle !  

Two days left and then we are finite. John has scrapped the idea of the Mortirolo tomorrow, realising  we are all 50 and over ( apart from one) and smoked with the heat . Well that's a relief as I wasn't going to do it anyway with my 36-28 and an avg grade of 11% for 12 km.

Stelvio was def one for the Grinder :-) and filled my bucket in a weird type 2 fun kinda way

Epic Camp Day 6. Medium Rare.

 Day 6  ( Tuesday  23rd June).

Schedule was - morning elimination run before brekky, minimum 1hr or 10 km

                                  -bike from Canazei to a lake somewhere . Option of 91km or 50 or 40 

                                 - swim at lake

                                - bike 17km from lake to Bolzano.

The title sums up accurately my state of being on day 6, partly due to the efforts of the previous days and partly due to calorie deficit. I could barely get moving this morning and it was a monstrous effort to get the body moving, aside from legs like wooden planks; the whole body felt like I was a donkey dipped in cement. Thus was eliminated in the first round ( YAY) so filled in the rest of the time with a slow trot through Canazei.

Back for a big brekky, coffees and the usual lugging of luggage and various bags for various vans then we set off. John assured us it was an easier day, and after making it through the treacherous hazard ridden bike paths, then it was up , up and up a gradual climb and it was HOT. I felt bloody awful on the bike today. Sciatic pains starting  from the l glute and radiating in weird places down the leg then the right piriformis etc, not to mention my foggy brain finding it hard to concentrate. and it felt like a struggle ! Took us 3hrs as 1100m climbing in the first 50km so was more depleted by the time we got to the van. Some of the others had taken the van to the 50 km and were riding the 40 downhill to the lake but I packed a sad so got in the van and a lift down the hill then through miles and miles of apple orchards, vineyards in around 35 degrees then we arrived at the lake, had a quick bite of lunch thanks to support crew then swim time. 

It was so warm out John designated a non wetsuit swim #grateful. have you ever tried to get tight rubber over an already  sweaty body ?! My that water felt so good to jump in !  

We were informed it was a swim elimination race with handicap starts, 2 laps per round and 3 gone each round. My handicap was 13 secs , likely after the woeful performance at the 800m pool TT. Somehow I managed to stay in the game and finished in the final 6 amongst good company, which was even more astonishing after the pathetic whingeing mess of a cyclist I had been prior. Managed to get 1750m in then dressed and only 17km to Bolzano, our home for the night.

It was a light downhill and solely on a network of excellent bike paths. God, I love Europe and the culture where everyone rides a bike- to get places. We arrived in town and after a slight missed turn were back on track and found the hotel. This was a much less touristy place but very pretty. A little confusing as it's in the German speaking part of Italy. 

Luckily only one night here as was in the smallest hotel room ever, twin share and we had to put the chairs in the wardrobe to allow room for our bags. BUT they had aircon units in each room which was a massive plus given it was 35 degrees outside and only dropped to 25 overnight!

Next up for the Wednesday is the Stelvio as we are off to Bormio for the remainder of the camp. I have to say I am mildly alarmed at the prospect having just looked up the stats on Wikipedia and of course, we are doing it the hardest way ( from Prato side)

Ah well, it's not Easy camp as John says. 

                                   -

Epic Camp Day 5- Swimming Special Olympics, Sella Ronda and a slovenly shuffle

 After a subpar sleep due to the tropical conditions , having to open the balcony door fully at 2.30am only to be woken by the rubbish truck doing its thing at 4.30am , I was not feeling particularly chipper this morning. 

Add to that no coffee available anywhere at such an early hour so the trip to the pool was met with zero enthusiasm as I had an inkling of what was in store.

We warmed up then started with a 50m kick race ( no boards). Then a 50m sprint race. Then a slow/ fast towing swim comp, then a  handicap relay race ( our team Europe won thanks to ex pro support crew Christine...phew!) then an 800m time trial which I admit, I didn't time trail as needed a few rests.

Swimming altitude is the absolute worst. Imagine a fully blocked nose then trying to mouth breathe through a very narrow straw....only a few strokes and you feel hypoxic! I muddled through another 1900m after that and didn't make the minimum 3k but that was enough.

The breakfast spread here is a magnificent feast fit for a king; or perhaps Epic campers is more apt! So had a massive brekky then time to roll out as we  were riding the Sella Ronda clockwise. What a fabulous ride- it's down there with one of my faves of all time. 

I was feeling pretty good given my shortened ride the day before so hung with the bigger guns on the first climb and rejoined them at a set of traffic lights after the first descent as I'm a cautious descender ( = a bit terrified at tight switchbacks). We then spread out a little and I rolled along ensuring to take in the scenery and listened to some good music. I can't say much more than that, rolled in to the hotel with a ~ 4 hr ride time. 

We had a compulsory run to do either an hour or 10 km, whatever came first. I had a bit of food fatigue today, perhaps from my gorge at breakfast or possibly chewing felt like too much extra kJ to burn.... so only managed a slice of cold pizza post ride and 2 boiled eggs ... prob not enough calories  but managed to slog out an hour , feeling horrendous as if I had wooden fence posts for legs+ similar to how it feels 25km into an IM marathon when you are about to hit the wall. But got 'er done.

I was awarded the red jersey for the day as John presumed I was doing some kind of FTP test  behind him on the Sella, well, I wasn't as only had the mapping page on and didn't even glance at my power - but guess it made him feel better about his ride?!  Haha.

Dinner was the usual salad, soup then I had spare ribs as wasn't tempted by the veal with tuna sauce for main course but the sheer mental and physical effort to prise meat off the ribs became too much so I hadn't really eaten enough for dinner . 

The heavens had opened and a thunderstorm was on outside which cooled the night down . Thank God !!

This would bite me a little today ( Tuesday) but you will have to wait for the next instalment for the low down:-) 

Epic camp Day 4. Trail tootle, "no chain" and a dismembered pedal

 Sunday 21st June

Finally a decent nights sleep thanks to massage and possibly the fine vino Rosso I had at dinner. 

This blog will be in brief bullet points as its Monday evening now, have another day to write up and I'm a bit knackered!

- Up early, sourced a coffee from the signor at reception then we bundled into the van, back up the hill to a trail head to take us to Lago di Sarapiso. Judging by all the cars already there, it must be akin to Roy's Peak and one with views for the gram. 

It was stunning, we didn't make it down to the lake as it was pretty technical and rocky so was more of a hike in places and by the time we returned it was a highway of trekkers coming towards us.We  ran down a ski field track to the van and made it up to 10 km, a slow 10 km at 1h 45 but it loosened me off nicely

- Demolition of breakfast buffet and bags loaded as we are on to Canazei tonight

- Departed on the bikes and back up the Falzarego as per day 1 except no turn off for the Giau this time. I can safely say I felt a hell of a lot better climbing today, in fact I felt smooth and a "no chain" type of day. We descended and luckily saw the turn off on a VERY sharp corner which took us down a quieter road ( less motorbikes. Omg they are so courteous towards cyclists as are most drivers here but the noise just ruins the serenity of such a beautiful place and there are SOOO many of them ). and we ended up in a small village called Caprile so the 4 of us decided to stop for a quick espresso before we tackled the Fedaia.

-Left the coffee shop and I couldn't clip into right pedal; the rear plate which catches the back of the cleat was half hanging off. Eh?WTF?  I pushed it back in but as soon as clipped the cleat in, it came loose. 

So that was the end of my ride  as certainly wasn't attempting a 13km ascent one legged ! Waited an hour for the SAG then spent another couple of hours doing support duties and filling bottles etc for the others still on course. Who assured me it was hot and  the last 2-3 km were NASTY. Humph would still have rather had a ride but anyway, c'est la vie.

-Arrive Canazei, sort gear. It's very hot. The hotel is very salubrious although there doesn't seem to be any air con and it's so hot inside it feels as if central heating is on. Great for the ski season I guess

-Had time for a bimble around the town and found a cup of tea that I had been craving for about 4 hours then dinner in the sauna of a dining room, which also had poor acoustics so was glad to return upstairs for a cold shower and put my ear plugs in.

Monday's schedule starts with a visit to the pool which John has booked for 2 hours, yikes. That means swim races and other atrocities ahead .We are riding the Sella Ronda after that which I am looking forward to. Pedal has ben screwed back together so fingers Xd no  more mechanicals.

- Back tomorrow with Monday's musings :-)

Epic camp Italy day 3 ( Sat 20th June) .Shut Up Legs!!

   Today's plan was to ride from our base in Cortina back up yesterday's descent and then on to Tre Cime de Lavaredo  and do a small trail run at the top then bike back down with a stop for a swim in Lake Misurina on the way home.

Easy right !!  I had no reason to be complaining given the previous day when the others had endured a mammoth ride , also in the heat ( although seems we received the worst of the thunder storm and rain, guess that's penance for being slack)

It was a pleasant climb with a freshly surfaced road, smooth like velvet. A delectable treat for those is from NZ who understand how much the big chip seal sucks the lifeblood ( and velocity). That was until we hit the last 4 km where the road suddenly hit 15% for eternal stretches and my cadence hit an all time low of about 20, the Grinder was struggling to grind!  It wouldn't have been so bad but was moving so slowly I was weaving a bit and the sheer terror of large buses also attempting to get up there and swing round the bends was making me more jittery .....rounded a corner and saw a few of the others had dismounted as there was a small lay by and we all needed a reprieve. My quads were actually trembling at the effort. Sadly , it was nigh impossible to get on and attempt riding again as the pitch at that point was still 15% and I didn't like my chances of not ending up like a squished possum so I did something I have never done before and walked the bike around 1-1.5km up ( calves screaming , cycling shoes aren't built for pedestrians) until the road "flattened off" to 11% so was able to ride the last ~ 2km to the car park. Bloody Oath!

We got changed and I went to spend a euro then scrambled up a steep trail and realised I was supposed to way down below and didn't have a map so yogged back to the car park and then set off with a couple of the others so we just did an out and back as would have been out of time... we got to see the Tre Cime though, breathtaking ! The Dolomites are spectacular. Did you know the actual stone IS called Dolomite. My inner geography nerd had to google it last night.

Managed to get down the descent without incident and  stay on my bike, we stopped at Lake Misurina with John stating minimum swim was 20 mins. It was not highly appealing and the floor full of triffid like weeds - but actually, felt so good to swim and get a bit of recovery. Just as we were getting changed a few plops of rain appeared then it was properly raining - you gotta be kidding, right ?!! Deja vu from yesterday... but actually was nowhere near as heavy and it had ceased by halfway down and certainly wasn't cold. 

Kylie gave me good pummelling on the massage table in the evening, I'm such a cry baby on the massage table but I felt soooo much better for it today. The support crew certainly look after us well! if only life was one big Epic camp right ...:-).... well, as long as I could bring my dog of course.