With thanks to Alan who posted a few pictures when I was half way through the ride ,readers of the Blog will know that I have recently ridden the Cent Cols Challenge in the Dolomites. The clue to the underlying nature of the event is in the title,it comprises at least 100 cols and it is definitely a challenge.Phil Deeker,the organiser and originator of this annual feast of torment proudly told us that he wants the Dolomites jaunt to be the extreme version of the Alps,Pyrenees and Italian options.And so it proved. Phil had driven the route the year before but this was the first CCC trip to the Dolomites and so we could expect a few "Deekerisms" where the measurements i.e. KMs and most importantly metres or gradients of ascent may not be "as previously advertised" and so it proved.
The idea was that to ride the Dols trip you had to have ridden at least one of the other CCC trips before and save for 3 or 4 poor misguided souls this was the case ,with the majority returning for more Deeker induced punishment.Or rather to indulge ourselves in long days on the bike making the most of the wonderful scenery and roads that Phil is genuinely so talented at uncovering .
When reading the blog I always enjoy the photos so please forgive me for liberally sprinkling a fair few below but I hope they will be the best way to give an idea of just how wonderful an area this is to cycle . I should say at that this point that we spent a fair part of the trip not just in the Dolomites themselves but in the South Tyrol.To anyone who has not been to the Dolomites -they really are quite superb.Numerous sheer walls of white and pink tinged granite while the Tyrol contrasted with more tree covered valleys but just as beautiful.The only problem for me is that a fair portion of the time I was so knackered that my ability to fully take in the natural wonders surrounding me was somewhat restricted.
For example,on the 6th stage we climbed the col di Manghen. This tops out at just over 2000m above sea level and was about 14kms long with numerous stretches of gradient in double figures.As the last climb of the day of note ,on a day when we climbed over 5000m and rode over 200kms ,though undeniably beautiful on a narrow ,tree lined road with a raging torrent on the lower slopes , with numerous hairpins,facing 15% stretches at the top of the climb as we came out above the tree line with the cliffs stretching sheer above us ,meant I was not able to participate fully in enthusiastic debate at the top about how wondrous it all was. A week later my memories are rather more positive of course.
Apologies for the photos being out of order but here we go.
there were 3 metal bikes,the rest of them all plastic.Lots of Colnagos, some Parlees, a Stork ,a Trek or two .
One of the best moments of the trip.Andy ,our mechanic-and a friend from home,replacing my wheels. I had bought some DuraAce tubeless wheels a few weeks before leaving which I decided to ride with tubes and normal tyres on the trip to avoid any possible problems………...They were much lighter than my Open Pro CDs and surprisingly to me -much faster.All went well for the first 4 days but then a few hundred metres into the descent of the Zoncolan,the front blew .A loud bang and then I was off and sliding down the road.The front had blown as I was going through a chicane which meant I had slowed down a bit but it did mean I had no chance to stay on the bike.The tyre was blown off the rim and the bead ripped off the body of the tyre. With another 12kms of descent it was not the perfect start to the first of numerous descents of the day.This was on day 4.On day 7 -another big bang and this time the rear tyre was blown off the rim and again the bead ripped off.This time the bad news was I was going over 60kms an hour-the good news was I was on a straight stretch and it was the back wheel and so after a few interesting moments I came to a halt still on the bike.Shaken but not stirred……
Three hours later -BANG -and this time the front had gone again but this time I was climbing ,not after a long rim burning ascent -and doing about 10km an hour.That was it.No more riding on those wheels .I rang Andy and he ,efficiently ,as always ,changed the wheels and I did not have any more problems.As yet the reason for the blow outs has not been found.
Day 7 was billed as a somewhat easier day -only 4000m of ascent and a trifling 188kms.Sadly,this did not prove to be fully accurate and it was another 5200m of ascent. After my wheels problems I finally got picked up by the van at 8.30pm ,in the dark,about 2kms short of the hotel.
The travails of the day-combined with a strained adductor which meant I could not pick up the left pedal on the up stroke meant I took day 8 off to make sure that I was able to ride days 9and 10.
lunch on day 9.We had heavy rain on days one and two but it was warm. On day 9 we had heavy rain and it was decidedly cold. See below Dave Ward ( a friend from home ) and me setting off in both wet weather and warm gear -for me this meant two pair of gloves and wool vest, summer shirt,arm warmers,gilet,and thick waterproof.At the top of the Tonale at 1900 m above sea level we both put on another coat on top for the chilly descent to our hotel.A little bit above the Tonnale fresh snow had fallen during the day on the hills.
Lots of arrows to follow .
Quite a few 12-13 hour days meant the odd start or finish in the gloom.
It was very,very wet on the first 2 days ….
First climb on day 3- the benign passo Cereda
Andy our trusty mechanic -with our Garmin sponsored van before a motorbike-of which we saw a fair few of especially in the Dolomites Park on our Sella Ronda trip on day 5 -rode into the van going too fast on a corner.
Rob -one of four Canadian riders.Rob has competed in the last two Cyclocross Vets World Championships -a nice guy and strong ride.
Lars,from Denmark,started with a fine pair of Liteweight wheels……..
after crossing this stunning gorge we had a terrific descent through 4 or 5 cobbled tunnels…….
Mark,my friend who had come over from Australia,on a stunning deserted climb with a fair few 20% stretches on day 3,I think.He and Phil are showing off the custom Rapha kit that we had.It was absolutely top quality kit and we were all delighted to wear it -whenever we had a clean set……..
Dave and me at the top of Zoncolan at the beginning of day 4. It is worth looking at on Youtube or other sites .It is a quite outrageous bit of road.The 5.5kms which come about 2kms into the 9.5kms climb are a bit of a test. There is no let up even on the bends -it really is like climbing 5.5kms of the White Down or the top of Horse Block Hollow-as people came over the top they were laughing at how ridiculous it was.
last ramp on Zoncolan.Our superstar rider Mike Simpson,who is the most superb athlete, is 4th on Strava ,for his time on Zoncolan.
End of the day on stage 4 coming towards Cortina -and some of the most stunning views of the whole trip.
Dave outside our wonderful hotel on our rest day -after stage 5.The hotels were all very good and the food wonderful.Both the food in the hotels -which often provided 5courses for supper and the food provided by CCC during the day -which without exception was excellent and always provided just the sort of nourishment you wanted with a feed stop at about 11ish ,a lunch and then a last stop mid-afternoon.The standard and variety of the food could not be faulted -all provided by the unfailingly cheerful ,supportive and helpful team who work on the CCC. It is an experience which requires a degree of commitment and focus from the riders and the same from the 4 or 5 team supporting us -and this they provided without exception ,even when they were under stress themselves.
Lots of views like this in the Dolo park.This on our circuit of the Selle Ronda.
The view from our hotel on the rest day.Slabs on the mountain next to the Marmolada ( the highest in the Dolomites).
Perfect weather and visibility on day 5 for the Sella Ronda day. This included climbs of Giau,Valpola,Gardena ,Sella,Pordoi and then as an absolute horror -the Fedaia.Each of these is above 2000m above sea level. It was an amazing day and I was very pleased to ride the majority of it with Dave who kindly hauled me round -or should I say up -the climbs at the best pace I could manage. I had not heard of the Fedaia -which finishes under the glacier which hangs off the Marmolada -but it is outrageously hard ,or at least I found it so.
Again like so much of the climbs we did-having numerous stretches of over 12% and steeper -far harder than anything in the Alps and everyone said than the Pyrenees as well. My decision to fit a 32 sprocket was a very ,very good move.
I have left loads out -not least the last day when Phil tried to combine mountaineering and cycling and I shall dig out some more photos including views from the top of Mortirolo for a later post.
A memorable trip……….
Nick
