Chasing Stelvio

I did a lot of training this weekend. While I deviated a bit from my schedule in terms of destinations, I did longer and harder rides than I had scheduled. While riding I had a lot of time to contemplate my trip. In short, it’s going to be a beast.

Riding Maloja, Stelvio and Gavia passes in a five day span is going to be comparable to running a few marathons. I can’t ride anything here remotely close to these passes for training purposes, nor would I want to because of the physical toll it would take. I’ve never climbed anything close to any of these passes but having done a few difficult mountain passes last year I know what it’s going to require. Most important (and obvious) is leg strength. You need them to feel like pistons firing in an engine. I’m not quite there yet but I can feel them starting to gel. I need to keep the momentum going. One less obvious consideration is hand strength. Applying brake pressure while coming down the backside of a mountain pass can cramp your hands pretty quickly. Once your hands cramp they are toast. I’m going to get some of those hand exercisers to use during the day at work. Finally, every pound counts. I brought way too much gear on my trip last yea r and need to be more efficient this time around; however, it will be easier now that I have some experience. I also need to lose weight on my body. My goal is 205-210 lbs, down from 220 lbs. I’ve gotten down to the 215 lb range already but each incremental lb is going to be a challenge because I will be adding muscle mass during training.