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Published: June 30th 2017
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Dejo, all ktited up...
....and ready to ride with Ivan Basso Geo: 46.4642, 10.3766
With the decision made to have Dejo join the public ride (headed by Ivan Basso!), our plans for the day were as set as they could be, given that we knew nothing of the roads that we were about to navigate.
The meeting point was about 100 feet from the front door of our hotel, so the only prep needed was getting Dejo all kitted up.
Soon after we joined the small crowd, we spotted Ivan Basso, and a photo with Gnorm was soon arranged.
The group took off, and I went to grab the car and see if I could follow.
I was worried that I might not find the right route (there's really only one way up from this side), or that the road might be closed (it wasn't), or that I'd pass Dejo on the way up and not find him again (didn't happen).
It turned out to be a really great day.
The driving was a little challenging, given that there were more cyclists on this road than I've ever driven with/past/around. Most of the were heading up, and for the most part, there wasn't a whole lot of traffic (car or bike) coming down. So mostly, my job was to
slowly drive past the various and sundry cyclists and not hit them, and find a couple of points to pull off, where Dejo could find me to either hand off items, or pick some up. It all worked pretty well, especially considering we didn't really have a plan.
And the scenery.
Holy. Cow.
The scenery.
I kinda feel like we live in (okay, near) some pretty mountains, but I hafta say.....we're not half as stunning -- nay, dramatic -- as these peaks are. Part of it is the pure steepness and depth of the valleys. The hillsides are covered with lush greenery, until the timberline hits, and then you go to snow and rock.
Just......I mean......wow.
What I'm saying is, I had enough to entertain me, while I waited for Dejo to catch up to me.
We met up a couple of times, and he seemed like he was doing really great. He hardly seemed winded. Color me impressed.
We spent a fair amount of time at the very top, getting the obligatory photos next to the "Passo dello Stelvio" sign, and snapping pictures on about a dozen other phones for people.
Dejo opted to take the sag wagon (our car) back down, as descending is not a
strong point for him, and I felt much safer knowing he wasn't flying around 3 dozen switchbacks at 40 mph.
He returned the bike (did I spot a tear in his eye? A Trek Domane bike must be pretty hard to give back...) and we looked for a place to get a quick bite to eat. The bar catty-corner from our hotel called our named, as soon enough, we had a seat by the front window, 2 celebratory beers and a meet & cheese plate before us.
We'd ordered the medium-sized beers (40 cl), and were musing aloud if anyone actually ordered the liter-sized beers. Dejo spotted one in the hand of a fellow walking to the table on the other side of the window, and mentioned that he looked a lot like Dan Lloyd (one of the 2 English-speaking cycling commentators for the Giro). I surmised that in fact, it was him, and that was Carlton Kirby sitting next to him.
A glance was exchanged, Gnorm was retrieved, and we headed outside for our photo opp. They were terribly polite, and engaged in a bit of conversation about where we were from, and how we were finding the FuboTV service to be
Dejo's down there, somewhere....
.....on the slopes of the Stelvio. (the new carrier for the Giro in the US).
As dinner was still a little ways off (the dining room in our hotel opened at 7:30), we wandered down toward the start area, to begin formulating a plan for the next day. Not that things always go according to plan, but you might as well have one.
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Tot: 0.198s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 5; qc: 45; dbt: 0.069s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
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Francine
non-member comment
Thank you for taking us along on this wonderful journey.