Cover photo: Angus Sung

01.08.2019

When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t sure exactly where I was. High and raw ceiling, interspersed with wooden logs, did not make it easier, and it was only when my alarm started yelling that I remembered why I was in the stable, and that I was racing The Transcontinental Race. It was the first time after 5 days of riding when I woke up with quite severe knee pain. It wasn’t going to be easy morning, and I was ready for a real crisis day, but I decided not to worry about it, hoping it will just disappear. At three o’clock I returned on my way to Italy.

Initially, I rode the main road No. 100 but a dozen kilometres before the border I went back to the bicycle route, which was leading me straight to the Italian „ciclabile”, into to Brunico, from where it was already close to the obligatory section of the checkpoint, starting from Passo Gardena. The presence of the Alps has become a fact and I began to accustom myself with the thought that 1000 m above sea level is actually quite low. The night was much cooler and the morning was even colder. The first open Italian cafe fulfilled its task perfectly. I spent too much time there, but I allowed myself a bit of luxury, knowing that the whole Alpine day is approaching. Ciclabile to Brunico was fantastic. It kept me away from a busy SS47, mostly descending on the asphalt and gravel surface. This part was a great wake up call for a good Italian coffee. In Brunico, I turned south into the majestic land of the Dolomites.

The knees recovered well. Passo Gardena was a magnificent and very pleasant climb, despite the fact, that before noon, traffic was exceptionally heavy. The whole section allowed me to get used to the tunnels, which were many on the way from Brunico. Indescribable is the snarling noise of oncoming cars, which gives the impression that they are several times larger and right behind my back. This is something that you never forget. At the top of the pass, I just took a quick look at the beautiful views and went down the over 30-kilometre descent. The lower I was, the temperature increased to reach 35 degrees in the valley. This third parcour was generally like this: climbing above 2000m and descending to 200m, climbing to 1300m and descending to 300m, another climb to 1300m and again downhill to 200m. It was a devilishly constructed parcour, but I loved this construction. Each successively overcome difficulty made me expect the next one even more, and each subsequent one was even more difficult. For the first time in a long time, I met a few riders with whom I had the opportunity to spend a few or several minutes, to talk about our adventures, share euphoria, impressions and problems. I met David (no. 112) with whom we climbed together on the 26% wailing wall behind Bolzano, sharing our longing for our families. I met Kosma (no. 159) with whom we rode together for quite a while, through pleasant up and downs before Merano. Again, I met Chris (no. 18) in Merano, where he complained about the lack of warm clothes. Each of these meetings, however, had one common theme, the majestic Timmelsjoch Pass. It was officially open to traffic only during the day, but we were all supposed to reach the bottom of it in the evening. The main question was „Are you going through Timmelsjoch tonight or in the morning?”

In Merano I found a cafe and ordered theoretically everything I could; Coke, milk, coffee, rolls, croissants and cakes, consuming them while standing at the bar. Anna and James (organizers) who chased us in the mountains, collecting interesting stories, were here also. We spoke for a while, I told them about my plans and set off, packing two take-out rolls into my triangular frame bag. For me, there was no other option but to go to Timmelsjoch through the night. As one of the cafe employees summed it up, „It may not be the most sensible solution but it will be a fantastic adventure for sure.”

It was already dark when I hit the road. I could feel the smell of an adventure, which always appears before something great and exciting. In St. Leonard in Passeier, what is theoretically the foot of the mountain, my Garmin trail disappeared, even though it should not end until Austria by the bank of the river Inn. The only thing I had there, were waypoints. I lost a lot of time to make sure that I am on the right way and that I certainly do not have the option of taking some other road, once I reach the top of the pass. A bit angered, I went up, hoping that this problem concerns only this one section of my route and that when I get to Austria and upload the next bit, everything will return to normal. I started my climb, and at the same moment, I saw lightning in the sky, high and far ahead, exactly where I was heading. It was the storm somewhere around the Rombo Pass. I saw another open cafe, with a handful of people outside. I approached them and asked if they knew what’s the forecast for tonight regarding storms in this area. The waiter sais why I’m asking, so I say that I’m going to Rombo and would like to know what to expect there at the top. This news scared him a little and everyone began to persuade me not to go there because it is a dangerous and closed crossing at night etc. I replied that I’m in a hurry, and I have no other choice because I’m on The Transcontinental Race. The waiter almost jumped from excitement and said: „Transcontinental? Well, of course, you have to go! You cannot wait.” He pulled out his phone and checked the weather. „The storm will be but here at 1 am. Until then you can go up.” It was 22:30, I knew that I would not make it to the top before that, but I decided that I will ride as much as I can and then I will see. The climb itself wasn’t really bad, sometimes steep but generally stable. Its biggest difficulty was probably its length (29 kilometres) and of course the conditions at the top. The vision of 18 narrow tunnels increased my blood pressure, but at the same time gave me hope for a safe climb, taking into account the thunder and lightning I saw high and far ahead. The whole night was very magical. I felt as if every next kilometre, this mountain was calling for me, but only to defeat and crush me at the top. The higher I was, the thunder was louder, until suddenly at about 1700m high, really strong wind appeared and the storm broke loose for good. I considered to wait it out in the small tunnel, but the sound of thunder spreading out inside of it was too frightening. I pushed myself to ride up, and I was really happy when I found a small shed, probably for wood, attached to a small, empty house that looked a bit like a summer house. I got in there with my Hultaj, turned off the Garmin and SPOT, wrapped myself in an emergency blanket and waited. There was no way I could ride on. The wind and the rain were raging, and the lightning thundered like crazy. I was sitting down, facing the road and watching the rocks in front of me appearing now and then. It was cold but given the conditions around me, my situation was quite comfortable, although I felt I was imprisoned here.

02.08.2019

I opened my eyes. As it turned out, I was woken up by the silence. A bit surprised that I fell asleep, I went out on the road and saw a beautiful clear sky above me. „This is the perfect time for a peak attack,” I thought and quickly got on to my way. A moment after 4 AM I have entered the tunnel at the top of Timmelsjoch Pass, the one with a gate that was not 100% sure if it will be open or closed for the night. I felt like I was a big winner. Riding Timmelsjoch through the night was something very exciting for me, and I was wondering about it at the stage of planning the race already. On the Austrian side, the temperature was much lower and if the visibility was quite good at the top, several dozen meters below, the air got foggy and the road was wet and slippery. 25-30 km/h was the maximum I could afford. The descend turned out to be very long and cold. The Rombo into the Austrian side was practically 60 km down to the town of Otztal, which still lies at an altitude of 750 m. a.s.l. In the first town on the way, I spent over half an hour at the gas station, bringing back some sensible temperature to my body.

Being close to the Inn River, using „the tongue is your guide” principle, I found a route along the river, which I originally planned to go, and when I got to Roppen I uploaded my next trail. Everything worked fine again in my Garmin, so I rode a little more calmly, although I was aware of how much time and stress it cost me to navigate this last bits. Three hours later, I was already at CP3 where I entered together with Job (no. 240), who caught up with me a moment before Gasthof zur Traube.

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The TCR checkpoint is a small interplanetary station where you return for a moment to the world of the living, reality, civilization, normal conversation, often friends or old good friends. This was exactly the point in Tyrol, Austria, where I have been welcomed by fantastic volunteers, and also Bjorn, Jean-Pierre and Rory. On that point I learned that both Fiona and Ben (race leaders) went through Switzerland, practically bypassing Italy. All the chasing pack that arrived with me on CP3 that day was planning the same, and then I realized that I am the only one who has completely different plans. It scared me a little, but a moment later pumped me up even more. I could smell another adventure.
Due to the fantastic people I met on CP3, it was very hard for me to ride further. Despite this, I left this Austrian heaven quite quickly and moved on, paradoxically going back the same way I came from. I planned my way to the south, through Tyrol along the Inn River, to which I had to return a few kilometres. I will not forget the face of Chris (no. 18), who was coming to CP3 from the opposite direction, shouting at me in surprise „Where are you going?”. „To Italy” I shouted back and got up from the saddle pressing the pedals even harder.

Austria is a country that does not provide much information to StreetView users. My fears that I had at the planning stage on this last Austrian section proved to be well-founded. After a fairly pleasant piece of cycling route south along the Inn River leading to Switzerland, I came across a road that turned out to be the express road. Fortunately, a smaller local road led parallel to it, but unfortunately, it had much more elevation than my plan had assumed and once again intuitive navigation consumed a large part of my time and speed. The downpour that hit southern Austria that day did not make the task easier, but I still arrived in Switzerland quite well. Completely soaked, I stopped at the border and experience this crime on my wallet. Coffee and two croissants for 15 euros are a bit like genocide. Especially since you get the rest in Swiss Francs, with which you can’t do much elsewhere. Crossing this country with nearly zero stops was my main goal, predestined by the wealth of my wallet. I was travelling through the Swiss Alps two years earlier on TCRNo5 and it was for the third time in this race when I was crossing the section of the route which I had the opportunity to ride two years earlier. In 2017 I was riding from Davos towards Merano through the famous Fluella and Ofenpass. This time it wasn’t so painful when it came to my route planning. The short distance from Susch to Zernes was the same road that I rode two years ago.

Switzerland this year was practically 80 km up through Susch, Zernes, St. Moritz to the beautiful Maloja Pass. I must admit that riding in the Swiss Alps is fantastic. Good quality and scenic roads without many heavier climbs. I set myself very well on this long, fairly flat ascent, knowing that on the Italian side there was a B&B waiting for me. I ordered it using a restaurant phone in Zernes. Sitting in this restaurant and waiting for coffee, a couple of young Swiss joined me. Seeing me in quite an unusual state, they asked what I was planning. I told them about the race, mentioning that I was going to Italy. A little surprised they began to ask where I came from etc. When I started numbering the passes I went through in the last 24 hours, I was surprised myself and for a moment I saw this whole situation from the side. In their eyes, I had to look like a real madman and I’m not sure if they believed me. Anyway, they moved to another table. I drank my coffee at once and moved on. The descent from the Maloja Pass was astounding. Already in the dark, I overcame these endless, steeply planted hairpins, admiring the breathtaking view of cars climbing from below to this quite low (1815m) but from the Italian side a relatively steep and technically very difficult pass.

An hour later, just after midnight, I was already in Ponteggia, at the door of a beautiful Italian villa, in which I had previously booked accommodation. With some difficulty, I was able to explain to the owner that I need to have a bike with me, that I would leave before 4 am and not stay for breakfast and that I would gladly buy something to eat for now. Finally, with the help of her tablet and internet translator, we agreed and I was able to sink in a comfortable bed, after an even more pleasant, express hot shower.

To be continued…

My ride on STRAVA (data from GARMIN etrex 30x)

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614767254

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785707

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785899

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785731

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785728

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785789

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785780

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785886

https://www.strava.com/activities/2614785811