Yes it is a magical ride. What amazed me was to look back and think that we somehow went through some of those seemingly impenetrable mountains. Qu’essor what once more you are staying in the same immaculate place we did

Harold’s calculations look correct to me. The thing is that that method gives an average grade. So parts of such a long climb may be steeper and others less steep. On the really famous climbs in France, there is a marker at each km giving the average slope for the next km.

Riding up Stelvio from Bormio, there were sections that were almost level and others that therefore would have been steeper than the average slope, but none were get-off-and-push steep (for me). In Tuscany, though, I had to get off and push more than once!

Yes downhill is nice! Yes I will be doing journal CGOAB under ebikes. I will publish early July. I am buying extra battery from Amazon.de & emailed for permission to have it accepted at Camp Batenstein in Woerden, my 1st stop, only 21 miles from Schiphol airport. I have stayed there in 2016, beautiful campground. I will stay 3 nights to get over jet lag. Yes going slow allows one to enjoy the moments. I am like you two, always looking around and dawdling. I am sure our paths will cross somewhere one day. I prefer later start as I like being in Europe in the fall season, cooler. Enjoy rest of trip! Enjoying all your pics & write up, lots of good info! You love pastries like me! Hahaha!

My RWGPS track says, for the descent: 24.6 km 1764 m -7.5%. The side we rode up was a similar grade according to RWGPS: 20.6 km 1472 m 7.5%. It’s not the grade that is the challenge here, it’s the unrelenting extent of it.

In Canada, a road designed to the requirements of the Highway Code is unlikely to be steeper than 8% (and if more than 6%, there will be a warning sign). Minor roads can be steeper—a lot steeper. But super-steep slopes are rarely very long.

I really don’t think so. That particular group would take all day to cover 30 km. They did, for the most part, have excellent balance. I’d topple over at their speed.

Both my brother's geometry (see the end of Day 57) and stuff I have read online give the Stelvio slope as 7% - that seems weird, because we take 16% to mean a real hill. Perhaps one can only do 16% for a really short distance.

Well Jacquie, we are also those slow cyclists. Everyone passes us. But like the tortoise and the hare, they all then stop at a radler treff for beer, and we sail past again!

That sounds like an exciting route. We will also be in Prague and Dresden, but little chance of overlapping, since we are racing toward our necessary departure from Europe in early July. Will you blog your trip?

Hi Steve!
Yes I did that little steep S curve on the bike path. I had loaded 60 lb bags on 60 lb electric bike so was cursing like mad! Hahaha! I was going to take highway but an man told me it was too dangerous & not allowed, so I told him 15% grade was too hard for me. He told me only very short segment & I could make it up. I didn’t think I could push the bike so put on highest power level and lower gear & just pedalled hard. Had to use my mountain bike skills to maneuver through it. Aaahhh!!! When I got to Traviso I went to Jesenice & over to Croatia in 2019. In the ebike section on CGOAB journal.
I also made it to Salzburg but went to Radstadt, took bus 11€ to St. Michael Im Lungau up the Obertauern pass & next day took taxi up Katschberg pass 25€ and ride down to Villach. If I go that way again I will take your route.
I plan to fly into Amsterdam to Arnhem, then Eurovelo 2 across to Berlin, down the Elbe to Dresden. Maybe into Prague then across on Eurovelo 4 to Hammelburg, Germany.

We followed the signposted route which seemed to start steeply uphill from the border station. Dodie ended up walking the bike since she finds she is wobbly when turning tight corners at the same time as pedalling uphill. Have you done that route? Where will you be in Europe?

Hi Steve & Dodie! I see you are having a nice time. I will be in Europe June 29. I was wondering if you took the bike trail behind the border control station? It was a uphill & S curve for a short segment? Or did you goa different route?

It seems to me the proposed itinerary for the route you are riding is aimed at non-cyclists, which you are not. We zoomed past a large group today (maybe 20 bikes) who were moving incredibly slowly on a flat (trending downhill, actually), paved bike route in the rain.

We just descended Stelvio today. 1764 metres down in 24.6 km, but that includes 48 hairpins. I found many of the right hairpins scary because you are on the inside of the turn (and I’m not good at tight right turns) and several times there would be a car cutting very close on its way up.

For what it’s worth, we didn’t really care much for Villach either. Probably our least favorite spot on the Alpe Adria.

So different from our experience. Come back in late September.