Conquering the Italian Alps: Biking the Epic Stelvio Pass + Photos.
If you love biking & mountains, you will enjoy this epic adventure!
It’s early morning in this sleepy town called Bormio.
The day just started and I am already pumped about the upcoming ride in the Alps.
Bormio is a small tranquil town in the Italian Alps. A 3-hour drive from the City of Bergamo, where you can fly from anywhere.
Love the slow pace in this town.
I have been dealing with cold the last few days, and to my luck, it has been rainy all week, yay! The family-owned boutique hotel, Albergo Adele, where I am staying, is just what I need to get better.
The family and staff were super friendly, delicious, and generous buffet breakfast and the views were just what my soul was craving.
Okay, enough of my ecstasy.
Stelvio Pass was on my list for a while, I am so excited to be here.
Stelvio is 2758 meters or 9000 feet in elevation. The climb itself is about 1800 meters in elevation.
I have to do this, I am here now!
In the middle of the week supposed to be sunny, the only day in the whole week. That’s a sign!
So I rented a gorgeous Bianchi road bike and got ready. Doped with paralen (the Czech version of US Tylenol), and filled with homemade pancakes I was ready for the adventure.
It’s 7 AM, the roads are quiet, perfect biking conditions.
The climb has begun. I felt miserable for the first hour of the climb, my body was tired, but the views were breathtaking! What a dream to bike next to these steep giants.
It takes about an hour of a decent climb before you get to the famous “snake road”. After passing a few waterfalls and tunnels, the views started to open up.
I inhaled every minute of the climb.
There were a lot of bikers on the road, all passing me, as I wasn’t in shape for this.
I told myself, just suck it up and take it slowly, you will get there.
The more I climbed, I felt my body eventually give up the fight and I started to feel okay. The lack of oxygen in the elevation change was definitely felt.
I slowly transitioned from worrying about my physique to admiring every view, every mountain I passed.
There were some 60 yrs old bikers who were just killing it. How inspiring! I want to be that guy in my 60s and do this climb!
Everyone had a big smile on their face. How could you not, right?
As the climb progressed, I made it to half of the path. There it was, a mountain cabin by the waterfall. It was a small restaurant to rest and catch your breath.
Ah! The views!!
Looking down I felt confident I can finish the other half.
The final part was equally hard, with some 10% to 18% climbs, but it felt good, looking down at how much you have climbed already!
As I arrived at the top, an immense feeling of accomplishment and happiness poured over me.
I was overjoyed.
That’s where I thought to myself, sometimes you just gotta suck it up. It’s worthy!
The temperature naturally dropped from 20C to some 5C, so it was cold. But who cares, look at the views!
The ride down was equally mesmerizing. A pure joy.
Upon arrival back to Bormio I got delicious minestrone soup to feed my tired body.
Feeling grateful.
For the rest of the day, I had a silly happy smile on my face like I climbed Mount Everest, lol. I rested, ate good food, and enjoyed the views.
Here is my short video from the climb.
Next time you are in doubt, maybe sucking it up is worth the experience.
But don’t be silly like me, listen to your body and get a full rest, lol.
Btw, if you like the path less traveled, check out my hidden European gems.
I hope you get to visit Stelvio one day.
Keep thriving fellow travelers!
