Stelvio, at last!

So today I climbed Stelvio. It was a beautiful climb and it got a heap of positive feedback from people around the world, but some of it was a bit puzzled, and a few people asked why. To be fair,

 it wasn’t really the most practical and efficient route. But here’s the thing. I first heard of Stelvio when I was about 14 years old. I was told of a massive climb, a monster that could make legends. Or break them. So I decided I would ride it.

It wasn’t until I was 29 that I found myself at the foot of it, with a bike. Alas, on that day, it was not to be. Other things meant that l didn’t get to climb it. 

A few years later I was back, though at a different point (there are 3 ways up). But I had no bike. About a year after that I was there for work. I knew where I was going, and I took my bike with me! Alas, the project turned bad – I worked day and night to get it back on track, and had no time to ride. 

The year I followed the Giro was finally going to be the year. The race went up there, and I couldn’t wait. That was the year that they cancelled the stage because of the weather. 

Now as we are all far too aware, life is short, so you should fulfil your dreams today, not wait until it may be too late. Having said that though, if I’d been doing better in the race I would have gone the quick way!

So basically, the answer to why is because it was a long term goal. And because I could. 

The rest of the day was good, but hot. During one random detour I passed on of those signs that shows the temperature – it said 39. Just before I stopped for dinner I was feeling grateful that things had cooled down, then I saw my Garmin said it was 31. Those numbers may not be accurate,  but they certainly suggest a reason why I was wondering if my camelback had a hole in it. I was a bit disappointed by my first Italian Pizza for the trip, but my dinner has finally arrived and it looks excellent, so it’s time to wrap this up and eat!