Day 17- Morbegno to Bormio
Today was going to be a longer ride so we awoke at about 5.45am to have an in-house breakfast of muesli and yoghurt and fruit to fuel up for the day.
After packing our panniers we were on the road by about 6.50 am!
Must say the sun rises in these parts at about 5..15 am so the early mornings are relatively easy to cope with!
Today the weather was almost perfect for riding with a temperature of about 16 at the start of the ride and warming up to the mid-high twenties during the day. There was virtually no wind.
The ride out of Morbegno was a little complicated with streets going everywhere and we seemed to be riding into the sun.
After navigating our exit, it was pretty much on a cycle path all the way to Bormio. The path had a gradual climb pretty much all the way and it was alongside the Adda River. Over the journey we climbed about 1200 metres with 2 steeper sections where gradients were over 10%.
We stopped for morning coffee at the 25km mark at Sandrio. I had a croissant and 2 cups of cappuccino which was a welcome top up for the ride ahead.
We had a lunch stop at Tirano ( 55km mark ) and enjoyed a panini of ham, cheese and tomato washed down with water which again was a good top up.
Shortly after this at the 75 km mark, Steve started experiencing some difficulty with his rear tyre which was out of shape badly. It was just okay to ride on to Bormio where there were many bike shops.
In some ways this was a blessing as we could enjoy the scenery en route as the gradient increased.
During this time the number of road bikes on the cycle path. They were all on expensive bikes with the latest riding apparel. Many of the bikes were Bianchi which are quite expensive. The interesting part of this was the determination on their faces as they rode and the fact that they did not respond to our waves or ciao calls to say hello. Funny how some people behave!
After nursing Steve into Bormio we searched for a bike shop to get the back tyre checked. Got to say there are some very hip bike shops in Bormio who are set up for the trendy road bikers.
In the end we found a Trek shop that replaced the tyre thankfully.
Whilst I helped Steve with his bike, Chris made his way to our accommodation which is a lovely home situated above the town with some lovely views of the mountains.
All day we have been blessed with stunning scenery of big mountains as we progressed along the valley to Bormio. Some of the vineyards on the side of the hills are quite amazing and it beggars belief how they prune and pick grapes! You really need to be a mountain goat!
The other interesting thing is the change in the style of housing…. The more we head towards Switzerland and Austria the more the housing reflects what is normal in those countries with wooden balconies, sloping roofs and flowers in bloom on the balcony. Also a lot of the signs are in 2 languages.
At Bormio, you can see the ski areas and ski infrastructure with chairlifts going right to the top of the mountains. I have heard that Bormio is a real Mecca for skiing in winter…. Let’s hope that it is not like that when we travel to Stelvio in a couple of days!
Today was another stunning day of riding leaving me quite tired after doing over 100 kms and climbing in excess of 1200 metres…..glad we are having a rest day tomorrow.
Today’s pictures are:
Our route
The cycle way which was typical of the surface for most of the day
5 pictures of the scenery for the day
The last picture is our accommodation for the night…. We are on the ground floor basement! Good news is we don’t have to climb stairs at the end of the day.
