Day 69 - An Andy Hampsten Day


7th June 2018

 The Giro d'Italia is Italy's version of the Tour de France with a long and illustrious history.  Until recently it has tended to be dominated by European riders, especially Italians.  One of it's most famed and feared climbs is The Gavia.  In 1988 an American rider from North Dakota, Andy Hampsten was in good form but over a minute off the lead when the race came to The Gavia stage on June 5th.  There were rumours that weather conditions had taken a turn for the worse   In fact, the race organisers weren't telling the race teams just how bad conditions were on The Gavia, with heavy rain turning to snow half way up.  Andy's team acted quickly and rushed out to buy ski clothing for the descent.  Going up the Gavia the race started to fall apart as the conditions took their toll.  At this point Andy attacked and pulled away from all bar one other rider who wasn't in contention for the race.  At the summit many riders just stopped, looking for help from team cars to warm up, and didn't want to attempt the hazardous decent.  Andy continued to force a blistering but intensely cold pace on the descent.  He finished in a distressed, hypothermic condition but had effectively won the Giro d'Italia.

Today in my head, I was Andy Hampsten! Of course I'm not, I'm a retired GP from Chesterfield wearing mulitple layers of 21st century winter cycling kit and supported by Mrs B and Ivan ready to scoop me up if the need arose.  Even so, today was an epic ride for me, and a similarly epic drive for Jacqui and Ivan.  

The day started with a long climb, dropped down a little and then climbed again to about 430m.   The first snow flakes appeared soon after the climb started and it was soon heavy.  It was settling on the verges and on me, but the road stayed clear. On the descents it was difficult to see because of snow in my eyes so I crawled along (if you can crawl on a bike).  Towards the top of the first climb I remembered Andy Hampsten and gave myself a stern talking to.  From that point on I started to enjoy things a lot more.  







After a couple of hours the worst was over.  A short stop in Ivan had me warmed up and kitted out with fresh, dry thermals. I counted my fingers and toes and was relieved to find 10 of each. I wanted to keep things that way, so there were no further photos until the end of the ride!

 We are now at a remote campsite at the hamlet of Elvskiftnes beside the River Malselva and close to Malselvafossen.  Today the campsite is a quiet, peaceful place but we were informed that the large marquees on the site were erected to host a country festival with the leading act being Dr Hook!!!  4 000 people attended who drank 5 500 litres of beer.  Sylvia's mother would have been appalled.




  

Comments

  1. Anonymous8 June 2018 at 02:06

    Great blog today Martin... and a good effort on the bike. Tony

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sally8 June 2018 at 06:47

    It was great to meet you at Lødingen and to hear about the challenge you are both undertaking. We are very impressed. We look forward to following your progress to Nordkapp and hope you are blessed with good weather and a safe journey. Sally and Nick Hobden (We checked back and were in Tarifa a few days after you on the 4th June so just missed your start)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martin Bradley8 June 2018 at 08:45

      Thank you Sally. Hope you have a great journey back. Lots for you both still to see!

      Delete
  3. Anonymous8 June 2018 at 08:22

    What an amazing ride. Is the weather likely to get better? The weather at WH is amazing wall to wall sunshine. F&B

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martin Bradley8 June 2018 at 08:47

      Thanks F&B. The weather is getting a few degrees warmer, so the snow threat has abated. Possibly also getting dryer although the forecast for tomorrow is for rain all day. At the moment there is little prospect of seeing the midnight sun!

      Delete
  4. Unknown8 June 2018 at 11:41

    This could be a new t-shirt/jersey design "Ride like Andy Hampsten". Another epic day, well done, Martin 👌

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martin Bradley8 June 2018 at 12:21

      Thanks Andrew. That is a great idea, only I think I could be setting myself up to fail!

      Delete

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