Apple World: Bolzano to Gomagoi

September 4, 2022

There was a price to be paid for all that downhill yesterday: namely, a whole day of uphill today. But it was mostly fairly gentle uphill, at least, and once more on great paths, through lovely landscapes.

I wrenched myself away from my (very good) hotel -- I think I'd accidentally booked myself into a much glitzier (though no more expensive) place than my usual fare, visible not only in the really excellent breakfast (pancakes! prosecco! [I had the former, passed on the latter...]) but also in the spiffiness of the room.

Perhaps a good job that I only noticed the 'pillow menu' in the morning or I might have been tempted to order up all six, princess-and-the-pea style...

It was a beautiful morning, and I joined the flow of elegantly-clad, immaculately-equipped Italian mamils on the path out of Bolzano. They were mostly cheerful enough as they whizzed by, though, even if I did get the feeling I was lowering the tone a little bit on my increasingly squeaky old tourer.

I'd earmarked Merano as a good place for a coffee stop, inspired by others' accounts of the beautiful old town. Somehow, though, my route managed to bypass the nice bits of the city entirely, focussing instead on parts which were more reminiscent of the outskirts of Stockport (if you don't know what this entails, consider yourself lucky...). I did find a cafe, though, and with it the energy to keep going.

Spotted in Merano. Any of you tandemmers fancy an extra challenge?

The caffeine boost was useful for getting me over the climb out of Merano, after which the route reverted to its gentle progress along the river, and through the apple orchards: really, really nice riding.

I like that they number the hairpins, even on the cycle path.

Perk of climbing a hill: views! (Though I'm not quite sure what the frame is supposed to be framing, tbh...)

The rest of the day continued in the same vein: occasional lumps (and the odd bit of gravel), but mostly just steady progress through the orchards and along the river.

As I'd been cycling, it had dawned on me that perhaps I should check that the place I was staying tonight would be able to feed me (I've been nervous about this ever since pitching up after an extremely long ride at a middle-of-nowhere hotel in France earlier this year, only to be told that no, they weren't serving food, and no, nowhere else in the village was either...). Their website was a bit alarming: it talked only of multi-course gastronomic tasting menus, and was festooned with Stern Instructions about the necessity of pre-booking (which I hadn't done). The other place in the village also looked a bit fancy. All of which is why I found myself raiding the vending machine at the petrol station in Prato allo Stelvio (this being a Sunday afternoon, and all shops firmly closed), assembling a variety of unhealthy snacks which I hoped could see me through to breakfast tomorrow if necessary.

That done, and panniers stuffed to bursting, I set off on the last leg of the day, which was also the first few kilometres of the climb to the Stelvio pass. After the gentle riding of the last few days, this was a bit of a rude awakening: it was steep, and hot (though a kindly racer paused briefly as he sped by to reassure me that 'it gets cooler higher up!'), and there was a bit too much traffic for comfort.

The Stelvio is open. Good news, I guess...?

A good thing, then, that I wasn't going very far up the pass today: just as far as the tiny village of Gomagoi, where I toppled into my hotel. The lovely woman running the show declared me 'crazy!', reassured me that (of course!) there'd be no problem having dinner with them (they had a less-gastronomic -- though still very good -- bar menu for residents), and directed me up to a perfect room, from which I could enjoy great views back down the valley (better not to look up...), as what seemed like hundreds of swifts darted in and out of the eaves: a really magical end to the day.

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Today's ride: 91 km (57 miles)
Total: 528 km (328 miles)

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Rachael AndersonSpectacular photos! I understand your concern about food, I would have stocked up also but I’m glad they had food.
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