1001 Miglia Green Reverse 2024
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| PC: Chandana Puttalingaiah |
"The 1001 Miglia Italia has two lives. The first is the adventure, hard, engaging. The second is the story. When you finish pedalling, the adventure ends. The story, however, begins and is immortal" - excerpt from the ride material provided by the organiser.
2024 Edition (this is the 7th edition of this ride)
16 August 2024 to 22 August 2024
Distance: 1,630 kilometrs
Start time: 16 August 2024, 7:38 pm
1001 Miglia Green Reverse (1,600 Kilometre Brevet):
As the name reads, this is a 1,001-mile (Miglia = mile) ride through the beautiful landscapes and medieval towns in Central Italy across the Italian Apennines. It was being held every 2 years with the first edition being held in 2006, however, since 2016 this has become a once in 4 years event, with the 2024 edition being the 7th edition of this ride. The ride is touted as the toughest randonnee event in Europe and has gained popularity in recent years; it is possibly the 3rd largest randonneuring event in terms of participation after PBP and LEL.
Why 1001 Miglia 2024:
- The allure of riding in Europe, especially with Italy being advertised as very scenic
- The amount of support is not as much as we get at PBP or LEL and therefore makes this inherently tougher than those rides
- Packing a lot of climbing in a short distance, this would be a test of the climbing ability
- Having been unable to travel in 2020/2021 for the 6th edition due to Covid restrictions, the eagerness to ride in Italy had increased
Equipment and Set Up:
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| The machine |
Bike: Trek Emonda ALR 5
Frameset: Aluminium
Group set: Shimano 105 11 speed (50-34 at the front and 11-32 cassette at the rear)
Tires: Continental GP 5000
Lights: Cateye Volt 300 and Cateye AMPP 400 for the front and Niterider Cherrybomb for the rear. Used the Cateye 300 through the ride and the Cateye AMPP 400 was used for the last 50 kilometres
Top Tube Bag: Decathlon bag - Phone, 2 cateye batteries, clear lens, 20,000 mah power bank, few candies and 1 chamois cream pouch
Saddle Bag: Trek N Ride Canguru Bag – Tool kit, Lube, Tire levers, puncture kit, Showers Pass Rain Jacket (till 2nd drop bag point - till 1,000 km), DHB Aeron Winter Jacket (from 2nd drop bag point - after 1,000 km), Gore Cold Weather gloves, pump and 2 spare tubes
*The items which were kept in the drop bag instead of carrying on the bike were - tire, brake pads.
*The decision to carry the rain jacket was made on the day before the ride. I checked the weather report and it did have a 20-30% probability of rain in the first 3 days, with night temperature being in the 18-20o C range. However, the night temperature was forecasted at 16-18o C after 1,000 Kilometres, so the winter jacket was kept in the 2nd drop bag location. Given that it was hot during the day, I decided to use the regular base layer and covering for the legs instead of the merino wool base layer and leg warmers.
Would the decision to not carry cold weather gear back fire only time would tell.
Navigation:
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| Garmin unit |
Device: Garmin Edge 520 +
The 1,600-kilometre route was divided into 18 segments. There were 18 control points and four secret controls; the organizers had shared the 1,600-kilometre route and also 18 files for the control to control maps. Having had a good experience with loading segment routes instead of the full route, decided to go with the segment routes and load each segment when I reached the control. This helps as the control points wouldn’t be missed as opposed to the full route where the control locations will not be marked.
Note: The Italy map was downloaded from OSM before the ride
Weather update:
The weather plays a key role in influencing the difficulty of the route. The distance and elevation are fixed; however, the weather is not constant and can enhance the difficulty level of the course. The weather forecast for the ride was head winds, temperature during the day about 30 - 35oC, and the night time temperature in the 16 – 20oC range. Rain was forecast during 17 August to 19 August 2024.
Total Time:
The total time for the ride was 134 hours. A little confusion on the total time for the ride, although the total time as per the chart provided had 134 hours, the end time printed for the last start time of 9:00 pm was 10:30 am, which meant that the total time was 133.50 hours. I did not want to risk this and stayed with 133.50 hours as the total time for the ride. (This was noticed on the day of the ride when I received the brevet card after registration).
My start time was 8:00 pm 16 August 2024 and I had to complete the ride by 9:30 am 22 August 2024.
Plan:
This ride was very different as compared to the other rides for me since I was unable to plan for this ride as much as I would have liked to. Reasons for the lack of planning was that there was a delay in receiving the visa. With the days remaining to fly dwindling, the interest levels were dropping, the thought process had changed to whether I would be travelling at all. I got the visa with about 20 days remaining for the travel, which came when work was hectic, so the ride had to take the back seat. I was drawing up a basic plan for the ride the day before the ride keeping in mind the daily elevation gain, the drop bag locations and also not pushing my leg too much as I had not yet recovered from the injury.
As cut-offs timings are not hard cut-offs anymore, the thought process had changed from reaching control points in time to finishing the ride in 133.50 hours. However, the risk of not reaching the controls/drop bag locations in time was that the control could be closed or that the drop bag would not be accessible. The drop bag locations had to be reached in time, as it gave access to fresh clothing and importantly the power banks which were needed to sustain the electrical equipment over the course of this ride.
Drop Bag Locations:
Two drop bag locations were provided by the organisers:
1. Castelnuovo Berardenga – km 615
2. Regello Matassino – km 995
I had kept 20,000 mah power banks in the drop bags in addition to a fresh pair of clothes, candies and the cold weather gear was kept in the Regello Matassino drop bag location.
Tracking:
Although a brevet card was given, there was no stamping at the controls, there was stamping only at the secret controls. At the control, the QR code on the bib card was scanned and the time of arrival was electronically captured on the WHIPP app. The Whipp app had to be installed on the phone and our location could be tracked. This worked as long as the data was on, which I was switching on near the controls to save on the battery. The tracking would have worked seamlessly if I had the data on throughout.
Gratitude:
Chandana – thank you for all the support with training and the emotional support. Thank you for being there on the ride, taking care of me before and after the ride and making things easy for me pre-ride; for constantly motivating me through the ride and keeping me calm during and after the ride.
Tanushree – my support system back home; keeping me motivated and emotionally perked up
Gaurav Ganapathy – handling all the maintenance work at home
Myna Batavia – taking care of the plants in our absence
Mohan Subramanyam – guiding and mentoring my cycling journey; for constantly following up with us and motivating us through the ride and giving key pointers at the right time.
Rajkumar Khot and Pritish Abraham – thank you for motivating me through the ride and tracking my progress and keeping me in good humour through the ride
RR Cycles (Madivala) – For sourcing parts and getting the cycle ready to work well during the ride. Credit for the ride goes largely to the bike for holding up during the ride (other than a few small issues), cannot express how grateful I am to Rakesh and his staff for taking care of the bike
Biju Kunnapada (Cycling Boutique) – for the bike fit which made life on the saddle easier
Garmin – navigation worked well. This ride is not possible without a navigation device, although I did have minor hiccups with the navigation, the unit worked well for over 95% of the route.
Ride Partners:
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| Chia-Shu Chen |
1. Chia-Shu Chen – A 58-year-old rider from Taiwan who I met at around kilometre 400. It was a great to ride with you and thank you for keeping me company through the ride and the wake-up calls at the controls and also waiting for me every time I stopped for a photo. Kudos to your will power to continue to ride even with severe pain in the neck. The power bank that you gave when I ran out of power was a life saver and saved me a couple of hours at least towards the end.
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| L to R: Prasad S, Siddalinga Swamy, me, Gnaneshwar Bheema, Galin Abraham, Binu CT |
2. Siddalinga Swamy/Prasad S/Galin Abraham/Binu CT/Gnaneshwar – kept crisscrossing with them through the course of this route, it was nice to see familiar faces and to see that we were making progress on similar lines through the ride
Organiser/Volunteers – no ride is possible without the organizers and the volunteers. Thanks to the organizing team for putting together this event. The route by far is one of the most scenic routes that I have ridden in Europe. The highlight being that the route took us through all the locations that have to be seen if touring Liguria and Tuscany, from breath taking views of the Ligurian Sea to the expansive vineyards and then the Italian Apennines, this was an awesome route.
Challenges at 1001 Miglia Green Reverse
The distance, elevation and weather are the primary challenges at 1001 Miglia and the preparation for the ride mainly focuses on preparing for the distance, practicing for the elevation and getting the right apparel for the weather
1. Nutrition
We had been informed that nutrition is an added challenge as the support at the controls in minimal. The food that is available at the controls, is Pasta al Pomodoro and melons (water melon and musk melon). If we are particular about what we want as nutrition then obtaining these becomes a problem. The food quantity did improve as the ride progressed and the food issue was only for the first 300 kilometres.
2. Vacation Time
August is vacation time in Italy and the towns have a deserted look. Most of the shops are closed and seeing people other than in tourist hot spots is a rarity. Getting to re-stock on supplies is a tough task
3. Siesta Hours
In addition to the vacation, Italy has siesta hours, that is, they are shut between 12:00 pm -3:00 pm. Although bars (serve food and drink) are open by 5 am, they shut in the afternoon for a few hours; lunch has to be either early or late
4. Water
There are water fountains with potable water at almost all towns. However, the route does not necessarily pass through the town centers and getting water would require us to go off route. Although I did not run out of water, there was a lot of rationing of water especially in the first 260 kilometres.
The Injury:
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| Achilles Tendon Rupture .... lengthy recovery |
In October 2023, just a week after having ridden Parvatha 600 and completing the R10000 qualifier, I went out to play football and ended up rupturing my Achilles Tendon on my right leg. I had ruptured my achilles tendon on my left leg 8 years ago and now the right leg was also a goner. It required surgery and substantial time sitting on the couch. 3 months on the couch and a further month of light work to get the range of movement in the ankle.
Just getting the leg to move was a herculean task. Having had this injury on the left leg earlier, there was a constant comparison of when I could do things as compared to what I had done 8 years earlier. However, with age, the recovery is not the same and it was taking its time, a commodity of which I did not have too much of.
Practice Rides
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| Hill climb practice |
I was able to get on the indoor trainer in February and do minimal resistance rides on it. Being on the couch for 4 months I had gained 10 kilos. I was struggling with the weight and the battle to get fit for the ride was going to be tough.
With the confidence dwindling and a stiff right leg, I had to get back on the bike as soon as possible. I ventured for my first outdoor ride in March 2024 and was doubtful about the leg holding up. I did put the leg to the elevation test by going for routes with elevation like Thattekere and Anchetty. I did need frequent breaks, however, with every passing ride, the confidence was increasing but not the speed. I was going through the grind again to build mileage and get used to spending time on the saddle.
April was again spent on the indoor trainer with no structure but just to spend time on the saddle. May I managed to get outdoors, and rode to Malappa Konda, Anchetty and Yercaud, however none of the rides were completed. That is to say I either stopped the ride or cut it short, or took a rest day before completing the ride. The speed was down and so too was the mind set to spend long hours on the saddle. There was always the hesitation to push the leg beyond a point.
June was again on the indoor trainer. The weight was in control, however, there was not enough time on the saddle. July was critical to get some miles and tried to make use of the weekends in July. Once again, rides were not executed as per plan as I was taking long rest breaks. The ride to Jawadhu and Yelagiri was done over 2 days, similarly ride to Madikeri was done, however the practice ride in Kodagu had to be cut short at 75 kilometres due to inclement weather and then did one ride to Anchetty – Hunasanahalli in August.
I had done about 1,800 kilometres of riding in July and early August, would say that it was just about sufficient to get used to being on the saddle, however, the doubts persisted since a multi day ride had not been done, no night riding, no brevets, will the leg be able to take the mileage, will the leg be able to take the climbs, will I get sleep deprived, will I be able to do a 5 and a half day ride after a long lay-off? These were questions which would be answered only when the ride started and I did go into this ride with a lot of apprehensions, more to do with myself.
Challenges on Italian Shores:
1. Challenges with Prepaid sim on account of arrival at late hours
Our flight was scheduled for arrival at 8:00 pm in Milan, Italy. It took well over an hour for the cycle box to arrive and by the time we came out of the airport the stalls selling sims were shut, being dependent on data on foreign shores we were handicapped until we got ourselves a sim, which was done only the next day after travelling to Milan, half a day lost to getting a pre-paid sim
2. Broken Garmin Mount
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| Zip tags to the rescue |
We started setting up the bike when we reached the apartment, it was around 12 am when we started and in a short while, the screw for the Garmin mount was broken and the screw holder was out of its place and sealed to the top of the mount instead of the bottom. I was in a fix, as I did not have a replacement mount. The calls to cycle stores over the next couple of days only had negative responses as they did not have a mount but they had the device. I took my time to decide and finally decided to get myself a new unit as the mount was not available or would not get delivered before the ride started. I headed out a day before the ride to get a new unit, however, it was Assumption of Mary day, which is a holiday and all the stores were shut. Getting a unit would be tough and we had to think of alternate means to fix the device. Chandana and I were sitting at the dinner table when we started thinking about what could be done, she suggested using a GI wire to fix the mount and that’s when we came up with using zip tags to hold the mount. We tried it, used 2 zip tags for good measure and the mount held. I was elated, as I would have a navigation device for the ride. There were doubts if the zip tags would hold, I carried a few extra zip tags in the top tube bag for this, so that I could re-fix this in case of any breakages on route.
3. Broken Power Bank
We managed to drop the power bank from the bag at the railway station, it was one fall too many for the power bank and this time it gave up. The 20,000 mah power bank was done, I had to get a new one. Electronics are not as cheap as it is at home, so I ended up having to buy a slow charging power bank for a hefty price. Had to make do, as keeping the electricals charged was critical on this ride.
Test Ride
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| Test ride |
I managed to get just 1 ride of about 25 kilometres after reaching Italy, it was all I had time for given that most of the time went into resolving the above challenges. It was not what I had planned, however, it was what I was able to do and had to make do with it. The bike felt ok on the ride and it seemed like there were no glitches.
Registration and Start Point:
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| Handing over the drop bags |
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| Brevet card and road book |
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Ready for the ride PC: Chandana Puttalingaiah |
Lunch was followed by a packed dinner and we headed to the start line. Chandana and I reached by 6:30 pm and I ate the packed dinner (chicken burger with potato fries) at 7:00 pm as we watched riders starting the ride. The start times were 10 minutes apart and the starters in each group were only 5-7, some times just 2 started. I was surprised that there were so few starters in each batch. It meant that there wouldn’t be large groups on the road and would require us to be riding alone for a major part. Small observations, even though its last minute, it still helps make small changes in the mindset.
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| Scenes at the start point - Parabiago |
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| Chandana - wishing me at the start PC: Chandana Puttalingaiah |
I was done with dinner, and was the only rider remaining in the stands at the time; a volunteer came by and said that I could start the ride if I wanted to. It was 7:30 pm. As I was done with dinner, I thought a slightly earlier start wouldn’t do any harm, so headed down, had a coca cola, bid good bye to Chandana and rode towards the start.
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| Bike check PC: Chandana Puttalingaiah |
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| See you in 6 days PC: Chandana Puttalingaiah |
Distance: 112 kilometres
Difficulty: **
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| Open straight roads at the start |
The weather was pleasant, the Sun was not harsh, there was a mild head wind, the roads were empty, I made a decent start, not fast but was able to stay in the 25 kmph bracket. I did not want to push harder and get into the red, also given that food and water would be a problem on this route, it was about staying within the limit and being able to get to the first control point where I could refill water. The kilometres were not coming down quickly, the Sun was descending quickly and I managed to get about 35 kilometres done by the time the Sun went down. We were passing by agricultural fields and there were a lot of insects, if not for the glasses it would have been tough to get through here as these insects were constantly hitting the glasses. Nothing much to write about the view in this section and with day light disappearing it was only about getting the kilometres done at a decent pace. It was about getting to the Ligurian sea by day break so that the next day becomes easier on the time front.
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| Ponte Delle Barche |
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| CP1 - Fausto Coppi's hometown |
Stage 2: Castellania to Casella Ligure
Distance: 53 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 165 kilometres
Difficulty: *
This is listed as an easy stage, having put in a medium effort on the first stage which was listed as a medium stage, I expected this to be very easy, a kind of stage where we have to pedal little and the kilometres would come down quickly.
I was in for a surprise when I was having to pedal continuously and with the road having a slight upward gradient all through. I could make out the silhouette of the hills surrounding us and realized that I was riding in a valley and remembered the hills back home which we have to get past to get to the coast. I was finding this to be a difficult stage, probably on account of the diminishing energy stores or it was to do with the expectation of this to be easy but having to work to get past it.
This was a small stage, only 53 kilometres, however, it took me a little more time than I expected to get to the control. Again, I was almost out of water. I had consumed as much water in 53 kilometres as I had done in the first stage of 112 kilometres.
The organisers had said that food wouldn’t be available at this control and that it was a water point only, however, they were serving Pasta here, I decided to eat the pasta before resuming the ride. I filled the water and had to wait a little for the pasta as it was over and a fresh batch was being made. I hadn’t been fast; however, I did think that a few minutes spent to replenish the energy stores would come in handy later on in the ride.
Sunil who had suffered a couple of punctures, was starting from the control when I reached. I took about 30 minutes at this control to eat pasta al pomodoro (pasta with tomato sauce), banana piece (not the whole fruit) and tart pieces.
Stage 3: Casella Ligure to Deiva Marina
Distance: 92 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 257 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
The easy part of the ride was done. 165 kilometres of easy riding and the ride was going to get difficult from here. Not having gone through the route in detail before the ride, I was referring to the route for the next stage when I reached a control and was eating. The garmin course had the garmin climb feature which was giving the location and the distance of the climbs. Was making a mental note of the number of climbs and their approx. location so that I could pace myself accordingly.
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| One of the many tunnels that we rode across... |
It did feel like the climb started as soon as I started from the control. There was a noise from the bottom bracket, the bearings seemed to have a problem, it was very noisy, I prefer a silent ride; having a constant noise was very irritating. As it was a bottom bracket issue, I knew there was nothing that I could do, I knew that I could continue to ride but it will be a noisy ride.
The climb seemed to go on and on, was feeling a little sleepy, I needed to increase the pace a little and couldn’t wait for the climb to get done and for the downhill to start. Garmin had listed this as 4 separate climbs of 0.57 km, 2.29 km, 0.86 km and 2.28 kms, but it felt like a continuous climb of 20 kilometres. When the downhill started, the increase in pace had woken me up, made quick work of the downhill.
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| First view of the Ligurian Sea near Lavagna |
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| Sestri Levante on the Ligurian coastline |
The climbs we had done till now were only appetisers and the main course lay ahead. When we turned away from the coast, we were hit by a steep climb almost immediately. The gradient was at minimum 7-8% and it was slow progress. Kept the head down and kept grinding the pedals. I passed a few riders and at the same time was passed by a few riders. I envied the ease with which they were spinning their wheels but at the same time kept reminding myself that I had to keep moving forward instead of stopping for a break. A few times the view opened up of the sea and it was breath taking, it just took the focus away from the difficulty of the climb and made the climb worth it.
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| View of the Ligurian Sea while climbing |
The climb was done and it was time to race downhill, only that the road surface after a while was very rough. I saw Grinny climbing up here, she had started from the control and was on her way to CP 4. A few kilometres behind Swamy and Prasad were on the climb too. As I got closer to the control, saw a super market and a few riders eating there, I was surprised that they had made the stop with a very short distance remaining to the control.
We had been informed that the stage from Deiva Marina to Gorfigliano was the most difficult of this ride as it had 4 major climbs. I somehow, expected that the organisers would have something to eat at this control before sending us to take on the most difficult stage of the ride, however, when I reached the control I saw that there were apples, banana's, small bread slices and coffee/tea available here. No pasta here, a little taken aback. I refilled water and not wanting to waste time here as I had decided to make the stop at the super market for food, I headed out of the control.
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| Food at the Deiva Marina Control |
Stage 4: Deiva Marina to Gorfigliano
Distance: 117 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 374 kilometres
Difficulty: ****
Before starting this stage, the nutrition had to be taken care of. The super market was only a couple of kilometres ahead. A scan inside the supermarket and I picked up yoghurt, ice cream, sandwich and coca cola. I sat outside and started eating. The yoghurt that I had bought was lemon yoghurt, I could barely get through two spoons of it, the bread was too hard and a couple of bites of the bread and I was done. I ate the bowl of ice cream and downed the coke and started the ride.
Touted as the most difficult stage of the ride, this stage has 4 major climbs. In the last edition the difficulty increased due to the heat, however, we were fortunate that it wasn’t very hot. I started the climb with the heat just about beginning to pick up; within a couple of kilometres there was a cloud cover, the temperature was not as high as expected. The gradient of the climb was not easy, neither was it too tough.
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| Cinque Terre Region |
Just had to keep the legs moving. As I made slow progress, the views of the Ligurian Sea kept the spirit up. I was not too worried on the time front, as this was a stage to get through irrespective of the time taken. As a worst-case scenario, I had given myself 14 hours to do this stage, I could pull back time in the later stages if I got through this stage without any issues.
There was company of various riders on this hill. The cloud cover increased and there was a cool breeze. I could see the cloud opening up into the sea and there was rain. Presently it was emptying into the sea, however, I did not want to take a chance and decided to wear the rain jacket. It did feel a little stuffy with the rain jacket on the climb, however, the threat of rain was looming large. Just as I got past the climb, the rain started and I had a shower as I descended.
The next climb started immediately as we exited town. A couple of kilometres and I saw a rider returning and taking a small road, I turned into this road and saw the wall in front of me. The gradient was easily over 20%. The road was paved; however, the rain had made the surface slippery. I did not want to risk it and got off the bike and pushed. Walking in cleats on a steep gradient with a slippery surface was tough. I was slipping, further the achilles tendon on which I had surgery was stretched and it was a painful walk up this slope. The tarmac section was done and after a small break in gradient, the gradient again shot up and this time the surface was concrete. It was a tough walk up this slope; I was happy to have made it to the top where it was a medieval era town. Stone structures, narrow lanes; as I made my way out of the town, I saw that this deviation in the route was made intentionally to get us through the town and give us the experience of the medieval era town.
I was back on the road and the climb continued. I was drenched in sweat under the rain jacket, I stopped to take off the jacket as the threat of rain had reduced. I saw this as an opportunity to dry out the clothes.
The views of the Ligurian Sea continued and it was mesmerizing to say the least. We were circling around the Ligurain Sea and it was fantastic to see the Sea colour change from the early morning light, to cloud covered, to rain and now in sun light. The yatchs and power boats were out when the sun was out and seeing the small dot move at speed was a sight, coupled with the beautiful view of the towns next to the coast.
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| Riomaggiore - Cinque Terre region |
The hunger pangs were biting and I was pushing to get through to the next town to get some food in the system. Not having had too much to eat and pushing through on candies was becoming the norm. Just as I made it to Riomaggiore, saw a cafe where a few riders had stopped. I had to get down a flight of steps to get to the café which was on the edge of the hill. A beautiful view and what a place to sit and eat. I had Pasta Al Pomodoro, Coca Cola and Gelato at the café.
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| One of many Gelato's on the ride |
It was around here that I decided that this route is too scenic and not one to be raced through, try and enjoy the route as much as possible without getting into time trouble. An hour-long break for lunch before resuming the ride.
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| La Spezia |
A very short climb later, I was descending to La Spezia. The second largest town in the Ligurian region after Genoa, this looked like a naval port. There were defense ships docked at the port. It was a fast descent to the town and then the ride through town took forever, having to stop at a traffic signal every 100 metres.
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| Overlooking La Spezia |
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| Descent to La Spezia |
The morning cloud cover had disappeared and the temperature had soared. It was very hot and it was the first feel of the heat on this ride. A cafe stop to refill water became a stop for ice cream and coca cola. Communication with the bar owner was by pointing to other riders having ice cream and saying that I wanted one too. There were a few Asian riders at the café and all following the same protocol of pointing to a rider having ice cream.
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| Cloud kissed mountains |
On resumption, on the way out of town the view of the mountains opened up. It was beautiful, at the same time it looked like it was snow-capped. It was a rather worrying sight as we were heading in the direction of the mountain and the thought of this being snow-capped was scary as I was not carrying any cold weather gear other than the cold weather gloves. I was hoping that the direction of the route would change and take us away from the mountain and was also wondering how the weather forecast would show 18oC in the snow-capped mountains. I saw Satish Sharma riding in the opposite direction here, I was relieved to see him, as I thought that I would have to return on this route and I would not be going towards the mountains after getting to the control. (It was only later that I got to know that he had scratched from the ride and was riding to the nearest railway station to get back. He had suffered a knee injury and could not continue).
The mind was calmer, and a right turn from the route started the climb. This was a long climb and the gradient was not easy. My bottom bracket was noisy; it was very irritating to be riding with a constant noise. The climb was taking me towards the mountain which I had seen a few kilometres ago, nothing much to do other than to keep climbing and enjoying the view as we passed through a forest area and then sighted a town on the top. The target was to get to the town with the assumption that it would be the end of the climb, however, the climb continued after this. It had rained and the temperature had cooled off. It made the climb easier than it would have been and soon enough I was at the top and started the descent.
With just a few kilometres remaining to the control, I saw the familiar faces of Swamy and Prasad. A quick catch up and then there was a congregation of Indian riders at the control as Binu and Galin were at the control too.
The control was overlooking the mountain and it was relief to see that the top was stone and not snow-capped. The fear of having cold weather was largely removed. The socks had dried, so time to get the socks back on and ride.
We were served risotto and water melon here. A nice relaxed meal; it was about 6 pm; as I had reached in time and had enough time to get started to the next control, I was mentally relaxed. The tough stage was ticked off and from here it was going to have climbs but possibly only one or two climbs per stage and not multiple climbs.
Stage 5: Gorfigliano to Pontedera
Distance: 116 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 491 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
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| Gramolazzo lake near Gorfigliano |
I started from the control with Swamy and Prasad. A few kilometres in and a beautiful lake, could not resist the temptation to stop for a click. After this it was a quick descent and I went ahead of Swamy and Prasad. Soon enough a detour with a small steep climb into a medieval town. There was a festival on and the town folk had gathered in the narrow lanes and there was a music festival on. Exited the cobblestone streets and then went further in the descent and then a small climb where a gentleman was giving biscuits and watermelon to the riders. A kind gesture and accepted with glee.
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| Party is about to start |
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| Narrow lanes of the medeival style town |
I did think that I would be able to ride to the control and did not need to stop for food, however, as day light dulled and the night took over, I was fighting a losing battle with the mind’s craving for food. Every village/town I passed with an open bar/café, the urge to stop and eat was getting more. I gave in and stopped at a Ristorante, it was after 10:00 pm and the owner was ok to take my order since the kitchen had closed. I had Tuscan vegetable soup and a portion of Potato Wedges with Apricot juice.
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| Fading light...get ready for a night ride |
As I sat down to eat, Binu and Galin went past. When I got back on the bike, Swamy and Prasad reached and we rode ahead. As we chatted, we missed the turn on the route and wandered off route. The Garmin unit kept re-calculating and I wasn’t getting the track. After sometime stated that the Garmin unit is acting funny to Swamy, he checked his device and noticed that his device was also not giving the climb data. He went for the backup device, Bike Gps on the phone and checked and saw that we had wandered off route and had done about 3 kilometres. The return to get back on route was easy as it was downhill, we had gone off route on an upward gradient road, so the return didn’t hurt.
When we got back on route, it was a climb immediately and the gradient was again in the 6-8% range. I rode away from Swamy and Prasad; it was dark and the lights of the town at the top was the marker. I made my way to the top (thinking it’s the top) and kept churning the pedals. Had the company of few riders on this climb, either I was passing them or they went past me.
When I got to the town, the climb continued further. There was a music festival at this town too, however, the road going up was the only thing that was on my mind and not the song being sung. In a short while, I was alone on the road and soon enough the climb was done. It was a quick descent which was broken by the Garmin unit lighting up to say that I had to take a turn.
It was again into a medieval town. It was dark, the road was cobblestoned and it was a steep descent. It was very confusing here and I couldn’t get onto the route. The Garmin unit kept re-routing and I came back to the entrance tried to get back on track. It was a failed attempt and I ended up going in a loop. Finally, I was guided by a lady who came out of her house and made some hand signals to help me get out of town, however, I did not know whether I have to take the first right or the nth right, so headed down as there were more town folk at the end. There was a party on in town and I asked for directions to exit town, I was given directions to get out; this time I managed to come out and get back on the road. Guess about 20-25 minutes spent circling around this village had me going through frustration, irritation, fear and finally relief.
A further descent and I was in flat lands now. I crossed from town to town, although I was not very sleepy, it was beginning to set it; I decided to take a quick nap and found a petrol bunk. I settled in and what was going to be a 10-minute break extended to being a 45-minute break.
I got back on the bike and made my way to Pontederra, the headquarters of the Piaggio company, which makes the iconic Vespa two-wheeler. It was a flat ride and soon enough I was in Pontederra, couldn’t make much of the scenery as it was early hours. I reached the control and they had a pop-up store where I got myself two different apricot juice’s (thought one was a yoghurt, got to know it’s juice only after opening it) and then headed in where we were given Pasta Al Pomodoro, Watermelon, Musk Melon and Tart. The menu was becoming repetitive; however, the melons were good.
After eating I headed to the sleeping area and took an hour’s nap here. I had kept the shoes outside so that it would dry out. Little did I know that there would be a drizzle while I slept. The shoes were not very wet, however still damp.
Stage 6: Pontedera to Castelnuovo Berardenga
Distance: 125 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 615 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
I got ready to start; I met Ashish Joshi at the control. He had arrived and was eating and said that he intended to take a nap before resuming. Just as I got out of the gate there was daylight and it started to rain. I stopped and wore the rain jacket and off I went. The rain was not heavy as I got out of town, it was a steady drizzle. There were two sides here, ahead there were light clouds and behind me dark clouds loomed. I was trying to ride ahead and get under the light clouds to avoid the rain, I did not fancy being under the dark clouds and having to ride in a downpour.
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| View from Peccioli |
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| Gradient at Peccioli |
Few kilometres and we took a left towards Peccioli, the town of Pinnochio. I was so focused on the steep climb, head down in the rain and getting to the top, that I missed on the Pinnochio statue at the entrance of town. Only when I made it to the top, a fellow rider reminded me that we were in Pinnochio’s town, I did not have the will to go back down and decided to ride ahead. A short descent and it looked like I had made it past the rain.
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| Pine tree lined roads |
Soon enough I was riding up an easy gradient climb and the view was fantastic. Pine trees lined the wet roads and the view of the dry fields was a balm for sore eyes. Although dry, the view was fantastic. There were a few short and steep gradient climbs to the town; as we exited the town we were onto a gravel road. It was only 3-4 kilometres of gravel; however, the stones were big and looked to be sharp. Hoped that I would make it through without a puncture or tire damage here, fortunately there was no puncture. Back onto tarmac and some more climbing.
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| View from Lajatico |
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| View from Lajatico |
I was hungry and I was again fighting against the need to stop. The growl in my stomach sometimes outdid the thunder in the skies, a few candies were popped, but were not helping. I stopped at a café and had Ham sandwich and one of the cream buns (Bomboloni) and Coca cola.
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| Breakfast at a Cafe |
As I sat down to eat Swamy and Prasad rode ahead. The bread for the sandwich was hard and it was an effort to eat this sandwich. I did not want to spend too much time at the café as I was already beginning to feel cold with the bib shorts and socks being wet. There was a break in the rain when I got back on the saddle.
The next climb was the climb to San Gimignano which was a secret control. I was looking forward to San Gimignano which is a medieval town and one of the locations to visit in the Tuscany area. The skyline of medieval towers is something that I was looking forward to.
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| View enroute San Gimignano |
When I did make it past the climb and descended to town, I got the view of the town and it was a beautiful sight. I got closer and had to do a small steep climb to get to the gates of the fort wall. On the left was the fort and on the right was a beautiful view of the vineyards in Tuscany. A stop at the fountain to fill up water and then resumed the ride. Within the next kilometre the volunteers were beckoning to stop at the secret control. The brevet card was stamped and we were off towards Gorfigliano.
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| View from San Gimignano |
It was a nice descent out of the town, however the traffic density increased here. I had not strapped the rain jacket properly to the saddle bag and it came loose, had to stop and secure it properly. Resumed the descent and soon enough was back to climbing, we were now in vineyard country. It was beautiful and at the same time the steep gradients kept coming at us.
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| Vineyards....many of them enroute |
I met Chia-Shu Chen in this section. He was keeping pace with me and riding along. It was close to lunch time; however, I was keen on getting to the control which was a drop bag point and did not want to stop before that. I went past Swamy and Prasad who were taking a break to dry out their clothes and were setting up a meal in a farm making it look like they were on a picnic.
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| 15%...no sweat 😀 |
We were close to Siena and riding past a lot of estates. Nice villas and some time through a forest area. The road was rolling, went past Monteriggioni and now it was onwards to the control. The cloud cover was increasing and a few dark clouds were there, when we climbed to the control.
We reached the control and Galin who had taken a sleep break at the control came out and said that it is raining heavily after we descend from the control. He opted to take a further sleep break while I headed in to take a shower, change of clothes and have food.
The power bank was almost drained, replaced it with a power bank from the drop bag. Candy supply was replenished, fresh clothes with much needed chamois cream application. The food at the control was Risotto with ham or A bread crumble with vegetables, there was coca cola, banana, tart and watermelon. Boiled eggs were over just as I went to the counter. The risotto was undercooked or should I say that I am not used to eating it when it is cooked only to that extent. A few mouthfuls and the rest went into the bin. Additional helping of watermelon to make up for it; refilled water and we were ready to start.
Galin, Binu, Swamy and Prasad were at the control; all of us ready to start from the control. Chia-Shu wanted to take a sleep break at the control, however, I was not keen on sleeping and wanted to make it to Bolsena before taking a break. Shu agreed to ride without taking the break and we were on the road.
Stage 7: Castelnuovo Berardenga to San Quirico D'Orcia
Distance: 60 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 675 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
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| Magnificent villa enroute |
The drop bag stop was longer than I wanted it to be, since it did not have a sleep break. However, I was not pushing too much, it had been a lot of elevation gain and there was more to come, I wanted to rest the leg as much as possible and not push it too hard. It still was a conservative approach since I hadn’t fully recovered from the tendon rupture surgery.
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| Couldn't resist taking one with the bike |
It was descent to start with and the merino wool base layer had me cooking like I was in an oven. The rain had stayed away and the roads were dry. The distance to the next control was only 60 kilometres, rolling terrain mainly and the heat on a reducing trajectory. Although I was feeling hot because of the merino wool base layer, this would come in handy at night.
Reached the control in day light, just as I completed 48 hours on the ride; 675 kilometres completed making it an average of about 340 kilometres per 24 hours, the required average being about 290 kilometres, I was placed well on the time front.
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| View enroute |
We were served, Pasta Al Pomodoro, Watermelon, Musk Melon and Tart, I bought 2 coca cola tin’s as an addition to this; had the food and drink and Shu wanted to sleep for an hour before resuming. Galin and Binu reached the control a few minutes later, but they started when I went in to catch a quick nap. It was going to be ride through the night and I decided to sleep so that we could ride to the next control without being sleep deprived.
Stage 8: San Quirico D'Orcia to Bolsena
Distance: 108 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 783 kilometres
Difficulty: ****
Shu and I started from the control at 9:30 pm. This stage was 108 kilometres long, with a secret control at Montorio which was about 50 kilometres away which divided this stage into 2 parts. The plan was to ride to the secret control in about 3 hours and then about 3.5 hours for the remaining distance; reach Bolsena by 4:00 – 4:30 am and then get a couple of hours of rest. Simple plan, however, not so simple when the weather gods have a different plan.
We came out and soon enough there was a storm brewing. The sky was clear on the left, however, there was thunder and lightening on the right. We exited the town and started the climb. It looked like we were safe from the rain as it looked to be in the distance. As we got higher up, we were going under the cloud. The rain was holding back, we reached the top and managed to descend. As soon as the descent was done, the skies opened up. We stopped to wear the rain jacket, got drenched in the next few kilometres and then reached a petrol bunk where a few riders had taken refuge. We stopped too and soon there were a group of riders here. Gnaneshwar came by here; I was surprised as I had thought that he was ahead.
Took off the socks, rinsed them, kept the feet out while we waited for the rain to abate. The petrol bunk was warm, however when the rain stopped the initial few kilometres was a little tough to get the body warmed up. The cold weather gloves were on. I wanted to get to the secret control as soon as possible.
The night was cold, not very cold, but just about feeling the bite in the air. We reached the control where a couple of volunteers were waiting for us. They stamped the card. We took a small break here to eat the banana and drink the coca cola which we had carried from the previous control.
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| Sorano |
Back on the bikes and onward to Bolsena. Few kilometres in, caught up with Galin and few more kilometres Binu was there too. We were passing through Sorano, a beautiful town which was well lit. We passed through the town and then descended and started another small climb to Pitigliano. The towns were close together, which is why I thought that we were in Pitigliano, Sorano did not register. It felt like we were going to Pitigliano from two separate entry points.
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| Pitigliano |
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| Pitigliano |
Filled up water at a fountain at Pitigliano, and resumed the ride. Under 30 kilometres to the control. However, in 10 kilometres Shu wanted a break, a 10-minute break stretched into a 40-minute sleep break outside a café. It was day break when we got going, still a little groggy; the view of the Bolsena lake did wake me up a bit. A large lake and a descent followed making it easy to get to the control. The control was just before the Bolsena castle, we reached at 6:00 am. Binu was at the control and Gnanesh was there too, he suggested that the chicken sandwich was good, had the sandwich and Coca Cola. Also, a packet of potato chips to get the calorie intake up.
Shu and I took a sleep break here for an hour. We were halfway through and 60 hours had lapsed; 73.50 hours available for the remaining half. The climbs would be done in the next 300 kilometres which made the next 24-30 hours critical, get through 300 kilometres and the difficult part would be done.
Stage 9: Bolsena to Tavernelle S Eusebio Cortona
Distance: 131 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 914 kilometres
Difficulty: ****
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| Climb near Bolsena Castle |
Shu and I started from the control and the climbing started almost immediately; gained a little height and got expansive views of the Bolsena lake and the castle. Chatted with Alec for a bit here, who had participated in the 2021 edition of the ride who said that the 2021 edition was hotter and made it very difficult to climb.
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| City view and Bolsena Lake during the climb out of Bolsena |
A nice descent followed the climb. The skyline view of Orvieto (majestic hill town) was beautiful. Unfortunately, the Sun was behind Orvieto and all the attempts to take a picture of Orvieto could not do justice to the view that we got on the ride.
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| Orvieto in the background...the pic doesn't do justice to the view |
The next climb was a long climb, I had ridden about 6-7 kilometres of the climb and thought that I had reached the top, only to realise that the climb was starting now. Galin and Binu were coming out of a Café here.
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| Small break in gradient during the climb |
The climb continued; the road surface was deteriorating. We were climbing towards Ospedaletto, there were many trekking trails here, lots of camper vans and music. In general, there were a lot of people here which was a rare sight.
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| Just another ice cream with a view |
I was hungry mid-climb and was pushing to get to the top, it was a relief when the climb was done; mid-way through the descent, we stopped at a café. An ice cream, potato chips, Croissant and coca cola. Nice location for the café as it had a nice view. It was a slowish break and we were not in a hurry. The legs were beginning to hurt as there was a lot of elevation gain being crammed in a short distance, I was taking it easy, not pushing the leg too much as I wanted to minimize the risk of injury.
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| Enjoy the view from a cafe |
When we resumed, I thought the difficult part of the stage was done since the climb was done, however, the road surface deteriorated, it was a very bumpy ride from here. It was a test of our patience since the heat had cranked up, further we couldn’t take our eyes off the road to enjoy the vineyard and sunflower fields.
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| Sunflower fields |
It was a relief when we got onto good roads. We got the first view of the Trasimeno Lake. Another breathtaking view, we had to get to the lake and then circle round it to get to the control. There was a secret control before reaching the control.
We made a cafe stop for Coca Cola and Ice cream here. It was hot with a head wind necessitating the break. I was asked if I wanted "Artisinal" or "Confectionary" ice cream. Artisinal being the Gelato and Confectionary being the packed ice cream. I opted for Confectionary as the cream content in this is higher and I would need this during the ride. Going ahead it was mostly confectionary ice cream and Potato chips became a regular snack as the salt replenisher and quick intake of calories.
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| Cafe stop for ice cream and coca cola |
We got to the lake front and rode past while admiring the beauty of the lake. It was hot and there was a strong head wind. The lookout for the volunteers was on, hoping that they would beckon to us at the secret control. After a while, the road turned away from the lake and we hadn’t seen the secret control. Shu and I were discussing about the secret control and what we could do, a rider came by and we enquired about the location of the secret control. He said that the secret control was Bar/café and we had to go in to get a seal and then came the kicker, we had ridden 10 kilometres ahead of the control. He gave us the name of the bar and suggested that we use google maps to get the location. We had missed the bar which was opposite the lake front.
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I didn’t think too hard, was on the saddle and had a tail wind, headed back to the lake front. I was frustrated that I had missed the secret control, all it needed was a look to the right at the lake front and we would have spotted the 1001 Miglia board. We raced back and headed in to the bar/cafe for the seal. Got the seal and were back riding towards the control.
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| Trasimeno lake |
The wind had subsided; it was relatively easy riding. However, the control did take some time to arrive. The mind was flustered at having had to ride an additional 20 kilometres since this would delay the arrival to the next control which was a drop bag control. It effectively cost us an hour of rest time.
Galin and Binu were at the control when we reached. 4 slices of water melon, pasta and water refill at the control before we resumed the ride.
Stage 10: Tavernelle S Eusebio Cortona to Regello Matassino
Distance: 81 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 995 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
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| Take a break under a pine tree |
Shu and I started from the control, a couple of kilometres in we realized that one of Shu’s head lights was missing. I suggested that he should go back to the control to check. I waited for Shu while he rode back to check. Galin and Binu came by and said that Shu had checked at the control and had gone further back on the route to search for the light. Shu did arrive half an hour later, the attempt to search for the light was futile. He had a back up light and was good enough to manage on that.
A small climb was followed by a longer one, again with nice views of the towns and vineyards near Arezzo. This was followed by a long descent to Arezzo which continued till we crossed the Ponte Buriano where we crossed the Arno River.
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| View enroute to Arezzo |
Although the riding was not difficult, I was sleepy, the drop bag control was still some distance away and I was not making enough progress. We stopped at a town and took a 15-minute power nap on a lawn. The thought of sleep was growing in the mind and it was getting difficult to ride; got rid of this thought and it was a relaxed downhill to flat ride to the control.
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| Sunset near Arezzo |
Galin and Binu were at the control too. We ate, collected the drop bags and headed for a shower. The rain jacket was kept in the drop bag and the cold weather jacket was out as it was forecasted to be cold. The walk back from the shower to the dormitory was a little tough as it was cold. Galin and Binu planned to start at 2:00 am while Shu and I decided on a 3:00 am start. We walked into a warm dorm and found some space for ourselves on the floor, set the alarm and slept. Managed to get about 90 minutes sleep here.
The time to exit this control was long. The repacking of the drop bag took longer than expected. Although the power bank still had a lot of juice in it, I replaced it with a new one. Replenished the candy stock. Galin and Binu were still at the control. Shu was ready and I handed over the drop bag and started from the control at 3:20 am.
Stage 11: Regello Matassino to Dicomano
Distance: 54 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,049 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
A small stage, just 54 kilometres in distance, however, it had a long climb (about 20 kilometres) to get over. I was looking at the Garmin climb data before starting and it said that there are 4 climbs in this stage. However, it was 1 long climb, the gradient was not easy. Having rested and being early hours, fresh legs were a blessing on this climb. We got higher and kept getting away from the city/town lights. It was dark and the vision was restricted to the cycle light, the silhouette of tall trees was visible, the climb was being done slowly and steadily.
The climb seemed to go on forever. After about an hour into the climb, frustration was creeping in that the climb was never ending. Every time it seemed like I was making it to the top, the road would keep going up. It took us 2 hours to get to top. Binu joined us here while Galin was a few minutes behind. We began the descent and went off route, had to get back on route via a steep ascent and then it was rolling terrain.
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| Daybreak |
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| Fast descent loading.... |
Shu and I were sleepy in this section. I was slowing down and requested Shu to ride ahead as I was slow. In a few kilometres saw that Shu had stopped as he was sleepy too. We continued the ride and when we descended, I was going off-road at high speeds. Couple of occasion when I was woken up after a wobble. It was getting risky to be descending, however, it was day break and with it there was a beautiful view of the valley with the vineyards. This was a nice wake up, the legs were back and we made the descent to the control. A railway crossing just before the control delayed me a little as I had to wait for the gates to open after the train crossed.
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| View to rejuvenate the mind and body |
The control was relatively empty. Binu was starting and Galin was getting ready to start. We walked to the food counter only to be told that they have only Melons and Coca Cola, sandwich was not available since they were out of bread. They did have meat slices though, I took about 3-4 slices of meat, watermelon and musk melon, refilled water and was ready to start.
Stage 12: Dicomano to Palazzuolo Senio
Distance: 48 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,098 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
It was an easy start from the control. We passed by the river and crossed a bridge, a few metres ahead I saw that Galin had stopped. I enquired and he said that his map data had vanished and that he did not have navigation. I asked him to follow us. In a few kilometres when passing by town Shu had a fall when we he hit a ramp on the cycle path. A few bruises, he was ok to continue and gave the thumbs up. We restarted and I rode ahead. We had to take a right turn, I turned back and neither Shu nor Galin were behind. After a while Shu came by and said that his shifter had moved inside and needed to be fixed. I got the tool kit out and fixed it, we were ready to ride, however Galin was not here. I enquired with Shu and he said that Galin had ridden ahead. Looked like he had passed us when we were fixing the shifter, so we started the ride. Got to know later that he was fixing the maps in his unit.
The climb started when we took the turn and there was a dark cloud build up as well. I stopped to pack my electricals, not too worried about it getting cold as it was a climb. Shu wore his rain jacket. In a couple of kilometres Shu told me to go ahead as he wanted to remove the rain jacket.
The gradient was not easy, it was hovering around the 8% mark. I was grinding, it was slow progress but I did not want to stop. Garmin climb had this as 3 small climbs when it was one long, very long climb. It looked like it had rained, the roads were wet, however, the dark clouds were still there. The views of the mountains were beautiful and getting higher the view was getting better. 10-12 kilometres into the climb, there was a turn to the left, assumed that it was the end of the climb, however, it wasn’t, the road went up further. The climbing was becoming monotonous, took a break to click a picture and reset the mind.
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| Passo della Sambuca Last climb....last view from the top of the mountain |
Had a few riders passing me when I clicked the picture. This gave the opportunity to get back on the saddle as there was company to ride with. I made it to the top, had taken over an hour for this climb. I was ready to zip downhill, however, saw that the riders had stopped and were wearing their jackets. I stopped too and wore the cold weather jacket as I did not have my rain jacket with me. The descent lasted about 2 kilometres and then I had to climb again. The cold weather jacket helped on the descent but now I was hot when climbing, opted to ride with the jacket as I expected the climb to get done soon. The frustration peaked when the climb seemed to go on; it was a relief when I was done with the climb. I started the descent and it started raining. Now, I was happy that I had worn the jacket. However, the aspirations to make a fast descent were put on ice and I had to make a careful descent as conditions were slippery.
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| One with the bike |
I reached the beautiful town of Palazzuolo Senio which felt like one of the villages/towns that we see in the postcard of the Alps. The Italian Apennines were equally beautiful.
I was riding away when the riders called out and pointed to a café saying that it was the control. The volunteer came out and said that it was a control point with no food, if I wanted food then I could go to the bar across the road. I parked the cycle and went to the bar.
I had a cream croissant, potato chips and coca cola. 1,100 kilometres were done, however, I thought that only 1,050 kilometres were done and I still had one more climb to go. I was messaging Mohan Sir about it and got to know that I was done with the climbs and I was 50 kilometres ahead of where I thought I was. It was time to celebrate as the difficult part was done and it called for a Gelato. I had two scoops of Gelato here. Shu had reached the bar too and said that he was having pain in the neck but was ok to continue.
Stage 13: Palazzuolo Senio to Lugo
Distance: 56 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,153 kilometres
Difficulty: ***
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| Don't want to leave the mountains |
1,100 kilometres done; 89 hours had lapsed. Still 500 kilometres to be done, the ride was not over, however, I was feeling empty and the motivation to ride had subsided. I was slow off the blocks and when I did get up to speed, I was taking frequent breaks. Wandered into the vineyards to take a closer look and some grape tasting later I was back on the saddle; I was having a relaxed ride.
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| Grape tasting |
Post the shower, it was an easy ride to the control, which was done at a relaxed pace. We reached the control, set out the clothes for drying and headed in to eat. It was the same menu, Watermelon and tart and water refill. Shu suggested that we take a nap before starting, it gave time for the clothes to dry out as well.
We took a 1-hour nap, re-lubed the chain and were ready to get going.
Stage 14: Lugo to Massa Finalese
Distance: 95 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,249 kilometres
Difficulty: *
95 kilometres to the next control, would roughly take about 5 hours was the estimate. The mountains were done, it was now flat terrain and majority of it was going to be along the canal or along the river Po. I could not wear my cycling glasses as the cushioning around the nose had fallen from the glasses in the downpour. It did not take me long to realise that this was going to be a painful ride if I am unable to wear glasses as there were a lot of insects near the canal and I did get a couple in the eyes in a short span of time. The heat was also high, the glare hitting the eyes was a lot. On the next cafe stop, I opted to go to the pharmacy and get band aids which I stuck on the nose and was able to use the glasses after this. Shu had his fill by the time I returned from the pharmacy and we were back on the road.
It was a steady ride from here. Agricultural fields with huge sprinkler devices and an almost dry canal with lots of shrubs grown around it was the view. We made steady progress. Things got easier when the sun’s intensity began to dip.
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| Sprinkler system |
With about 20 kilometres remaining to the control Shu got into a group of riders and sped to the control, I did not want to push the legs, so took it easy and continued to ride at a steady pace. It was just after 9:30 pm when I reached the control.
The control was choc-a-bloc with riders. I could draw a parallel to Villanes-la-juhel in PBP and this control. We were served risotto, watermelon, musk melon, 2 tarts, bread sticks, banana and bread. I had to buy coca cola which I promptly did. I returned the bread sticks and bread as by now I was used to eating the usual food at controls and this was additional.
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| Feast at the Control |
350 kilometres remained and we had sufficient time on hand to do it. I was looking for a nice long sleep break. Shu wanted to start at 2:00 am and I was ok to start at 4:00 am. We decided on 2:00 am and went to the dormitory to sleep. The volunteer helped me get a mattress so that I don’t have to sleep on the floor, a thin sheet was given and it was time to sleep.
At 2:00 am I switched off the alarm and went back to get 5 more minutes of sleep. I woke up 5 minutes later and saw that the time was 3:00 am, Shu was getting ready, he had also overslept. We got ready and started from the control at 3:20 am.
Stage 15: Massa Finalese to Pieve Di Coriano Borgo Mantovano
Distance: 69 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,318 kilometres
Difficulty: *
The route from the control was on a cycle path. Searching for the cycle track was a task on this route. It was dark and finding the cycle path was difficult. I was having problems focusing with a lot of thoughts running in the mind, watching the line on the garmin device was a problem. I went off route on a few occasions and would be alerted by the garmin device and would back track. We had to cross a wooden bridge, the entrance of which was only partially visible as it was covered by shrubs. There were further escapades on this route, nothing too far, however, just having to stop, back tracking, checking on Bike Gps to be sure were all costing time and energy.
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| Early morning hours |
With day break things improved as we were able to see the turns in advance and check the device if we were on track. We were riding along the river Po, the canal of the previous day was replaced by the river now. It was a steady ride to the control and we pulled into the control at 7:00 am.
Pasta Al Pomodoro, watermelon, musk melon, boiled egg and Coca Cola was the menu. Gnanesh joined us at the CP and said that he had shermers neck issue. Galin followed in some time and said that he too was having pain in the neck. Shu, had also been having neck pain, so felt like it had something to do with the route.
Stage 16: Pieve Di Coriano Borgo Mantovano to Sorbolo Coenzo
Distance: 77 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,395 kilometres
Difficulty: *
The clock had ticked to almost 8:00 am when we started from the control; we had 300 kilometres remaining. The heat was cranking up in the morning, 8:00 am felt more like 11:00 am. Open roads, no shade, this was going to get a little uneasy. Other than the saddle sore, the pain in the legs had settled after the long rest at the Massa Finalese control. I was comfortable on the bike.
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| Silently flows the river |
However, the road surface was very rough. The next 40 kilometres had some of the roughest roads on this ride. Getting through this section was painful. It was a relief to make the turn away from the canal and get onto smooth roads.
It was very hot now, energy sapping heat. We rode through a few towns and then the Garmin map took us onto a cycle track. It was difficult to get onto this cycle track, however, after finding it, it was a pleasant ride amidst trees and shade till we got out of the park.
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| Take a pic when it get's too hot |
Some more riding and we pulled into the control. Being hot, the spots with shade had been taken, so searched for a spot with shade and parked the bike, put the Garmin unit for charge and went to eat. Had plain pasta here, with watermelon (with salt) and Tart. Shu wanted to take a nap so we went to the dorm to sleep.
Binu was also in the dorm and said that he had gone off route as he couldn’t find the control. He had done 30 additional kilometres to get back to the control and then rested. He started the ride when Shu and I rested. An hour later I woke up Shu and we came out to start. Galin arrived at the control while we were about to start.
Stage 17: Sorbolo Coenzo to Fombio
Distance: 91 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,486 kilometres
Difficulty: *
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| Nice buildings in town |
Hit a bottleneck here, the place where I had parked the cycle was not in the shade anymore with the Sun’s alignment changing, it was hot and the Garmin unit had not charged since it got over heated. I had about 30% charge and with 5 more hours of intense sunlight the unit was not going to charge. The charge was definitely not going to last and I was worried that I might have to fall back on phone navigation which would be slow as the top tube bag that I had did not have a phone pouch.
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| More views of the river |
I got through the next hour of riding worried about the charge on the device. It had dropped to 17% when we made a café stop. Coca Cola, Potato chips and ice cream was the nutrition for me, however, my power bank had drained completely, so there was no juice for the garmin device. I requested Shu for his power bank and put the device on charge. Charge was up to 25% when we started the ride.
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| Deserted towns were a norm |
A few kilometres later we crossed a small bridge and got onto a road with a lot of trees. I stopped here in the hope that the device temperature will drop and the unit will charge. I told Shu to ride ahead as I would take time to restart. I was there for about 10 minutes and I restarted. Within half a kilometre Shu had stopped and was looking at a path going into a house. The garmin unit showed that this was the route, just as we turned in, the owner came out and said that it was private property and that we had to take the tarmac road and that it would join the route.
We followed the road and got back on track shortly. The heat was taking a toll, we were running through the fluids rather quickly. We made another café stop for coca cola and ice cream. Gave the opportunity to charge the unit in shade.
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| Siesta hours |
Got back on the road after a short rest. Passed through few more towns. The towns in Italy bear a deserted look in August. Don’t know where the people have gone, but August being vacation month, the people seem to have disappeared. Further with the siesta hours in the afternoon, it was very difficult to spot people in the 12 pm to 3 pm time frame. Found a fountain to refill water in one of the towns and it was onwards to the control.
Just after 6:30 pm when we reached the control which was a castle. Binu was about to start when we reached. Galin had called asking me to send the CP location as he was having difficulty locating it. Shu and I ate, one more round of pasta (possibly the last round), watermelon, musk melon and juice. Shu wanted to sleep before resuming the ride, however, with only 124 kilometres remaining, I wanted to get done with the ride, so wanted to continue riding. We decided to ride without resting.
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| Control at Fombio Castle |
Distance: 124 kilometres
Cumulative Distance: 1,610 kilometres
Difficulty: *
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| Fancy a ride? |
With daylight at a premium, I wanted use as much of it as much as possible. It was almost 7:30 pm when we started from the control. An hour of daylight and we were able to clock about 20 kilometres. Shu was beginning to struggle with the neck pain and was slowing down. We managed to ride for another hour and then stopped for a rest break. There was a café close by, we took the opportunity to drink a coca cola and eat potato chips.
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| Riverside at night |
We were closing in on Pavia and soon after the restart we were riding next to the River Po and then across the beautiful Ponte Coperto. The riverside was lit and it was a nice ride across the cobblestoned bridge.
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| Ponte Copperto |
Shu was in a lot of pain from here on and was shouting loudly while he rode. The riding became very slow and we were stopping for intermittent breaks. The gradient being slightly downhill was helpful to make progress. We made it to the secret control which was a bar. We headed in to get the seal; we took a rest break here for Shu to recover. It was Coca Cola, potato chips and an ice cream here.
We had about 60 kilometres to cover, Shu started before me as I took time to finish eating. We were now going to be overlapping the route that we had taken out of Milan at the start, the Ponte Delle Barche was a marker to cross. Shu had made good progress and I was able to catch up to him only after crossing the bridge. The bridge I pushed across, since I did not want to risk a puncture on the wooden planks and steel plates on the bridge. It was a very eerie feeling walking across this bridge, the sound of the creaking boats, whistling wind and the thud of the footsteps on the wooden planks felt like I was living in a horror movie.
50 kilometres, with the constant sound of Shu shouting we were making slow progress, till we got to about 40 kilometres remaining. The next 5 kilometres took very long with a lot of breaks being taken for Shu to recover. We were riding next to the canal and it was getting very slow.
We decided to try to ride at least 10 kilometres at a stretch before stopping for a break. With Shu shouting we started riding. The canal section was taking forever to get over, it was nice to have a few more riders join us. We followed them for a bit; the distance kept coming down and Shu kept going, he was finding ways to stay on the bike and this helped to get closer to the finish.
We were able to increase the speed at which we were riding and soon enough were pulling into the Rugby Stadium at Parabiago. It was 3:24 am and were welcomed by the volunteers. I was surprised to see Dhananjay Sir at the control at that hour. He was waiting for all the riders from India and greeting them and making things easy for us at the finish by guiding us with what had to be done.
We were given the beautiful 1001 Miglia Green Reverse medal, a certificate and a poster of the route as a souvenir.
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| Parabiago - ride done PC: Dhananjay Sir |
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| One with the Indian riders at the 1001 Miglia wall L to R: Binu CT, Gnaneshwar, Galin, me, Prasad, Siddalinga Swamy, Dhananjay Sir |
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| Finish line pic |
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| Strike a pose |
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| Chandana and me PC: Gnaneshwar Bheema |
1. Control to control data:
Summary
Before the start of the event if I had been told that I would complete this event comfortably, I would take it. There were not too many struggles on the time front. The legs held up other than the momentary scares, so it was a good ride overall.
I enjoyed the ride from kilometre 200 till Kilometre 1,100. It was very scenic, and loved that the route passed through so many medieval towns/villages; it did feel like all the locations in Central Italy was shown to us on this ride. The Italian Apennines were beautiful and getting to spend so much time riding in them was a great experience. The deviations through medieval towns gave us a feel of the medieval times and also how well these places have been maintained. The structures looked flawless and people are still living in them.
We got to experience rain and heat on this ride. It did add to the challenge and made this ride memorable. The cold weather was not very cold, the rain showers except for the one on the 3rd night of the ride were during the day, so did not have any issues with trench foot.
Conclusion:
The 7th edition of the 1001 Miglia Green Reverse is completed. Not being able to come for the 6th edition due to covid restrictions, it was worth the wait as I enjoyed the hilly course for the first 1,100 kilometres. The flat part of the ride was not as enjoyable; however, it gave the time to recover and relax mentally and physically. The weather was favorable, the rains were just about enough to get some experience about wet weather in Europe. The food arrangements at the controls although not sufficient at the start, got better as the ride progressed. It took some time to get used to the café’s and bars and food outlets enroute, the nutrition part was not difficult after this. The ride was done majorly on coca cola, ice cream at the café’s and water melon at the controls; with candies to supplement this, so a ride done on a lot of sugar. I did plan to take caffeine tablets to be able to ride through the night, however, I was able to ride in the night without having to take caffeine tablets, possibly to do with the amount of coca cola that I was drinking on the ride.
Congratulations to all the riders who finished and hard luck to the ones who couldn’t make it. Congratulations to Chia-Shu Chen on completing the ride in spite of the difficulties with the neck. Shout out to the riders from India who finished. Being in and around each other was helpful and it gave the confidence that we were on track to complete the ride.
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