Blog

Over the top

The whole campsite had gone to bed at 9pm. Torrential rain accompanied a spectacular thunderstorm overhead.

Fine by me, as I was already planning a dawn summit raid. The Gotthard Pass is irresistible to petrolheads so I wanted to avoid them as much as possible.

A french couple joined me at the soggy breakfast table, plying me with coffee and muffins. Who was I to refuse?

Fuelled up, I was first out of the gate. Although it’s hard riding, it’s also spectacular to have something like a high alpine pass to yourself. I revelled in it.

The top came quicker than I’d allowed myself to believe, only 90 minutes chugging uphill.

There’s always someone crazier than you though. At the top I met an Italian guy who had ridden his specially adapted recumbent tricycle all the way up the other side in the dark, in the thunderstorm! Not only that, my mate John reminded me later on the day that he’d run up here as part of his 50 marathons from “Rome to Home.”

Didn’t stop me enjoying the descent. I started on the new road, not wanting to take the cobbles of the Tremola track, the old route. I swapped half way down though, spying that the Tremola had been mostly tarmacked.

Hard on the breaks and frequent rests to regain hand strength. Pretty exhilarating.

The sweetest descent was actually further down the valley. Not too steep, so much better paced.

My GPX unit was playing up though, meaning I kept missing turns. I tried to restart/reset to no avail. It’s absolutely essential so I’m praying the problem rights itself overnight magically. Not sure what else to do, but I will need it fully functioning.

At Bellinzona, I was reminded I’m still in the Alps by a sharp hill with a height gain of 500m in a short distance.

Once over the top I could cruise in to my campsite on Lake Lugano. Ever since coming over the top everything – language, restaurants, culture, architecture – has felt Italian. The campsite price reminded me I’m in Switzerland.

Tomorrow it’s a ride around the lake, a quick visit to Lake Como, and then down for a night’s stop in Milan.