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Stelvio

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  • 18-09-2019 9:47pm
    #1
    velogalway
    Registered Users Posts: 35 ✭


    I’m planning to organise a club trip to Stelvio next year and would be very grateful for advice on accommodation, bike hire etc in the region. Thanks!


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    #2
    Wishbone Ash
    Registered Users Posts: 24,953 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    I'm presuming you are staying in Bormio?

    I used Bormio Bike and Ski Hire. Can't fault them. Excellent staff who speak English. Very busy shop so be sure to book well in advance. (Brakes will be the opposite way around).

    https://www.bormioskibike.com/

    I think I stayed here but not 100% sure. Hotel had a bike room.

    https://www.hotelmeublebormio.com/

    The town is very quiet at night. I was there in June and September last year and we had to search to find a restaurant open each night.

    PS - the Passo de Gavia and the Mortirolo are quiet close also.

    Be prepared for the weather on the summit of the Stelvio. If you get wet going up, you'll be frozen at the top making the descent miserable.


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    #3
    TheBlaaMan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,442 ✭✭✭TheBlaaMan


    Another recommendation from Bormio Bike and Ski. They have two shops in town so be certain as to which you will be collecting at . I stayed at Hotel Baita Dei Pini which was excellent, decent food and a large, very secure undergound bike room. Turn left from the Hotel for the Gavia, turn right for Stelvio. Straight ahead for Bormio2000 which is a nice warmer-upper.....

    Bormio is a fantastic spot in the summer for outdoor pursuits of all varieties with a spectacular backdrops of the mountains.


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    #4
    Grassey
    Registered Users Posts: 2,393 ✭✭✭Grassey


    Make the trip coincide with the grandfondo stelvio for loads craic and a great day in the bike


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    #5
    TheBlaaMan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,442 ✭✭✭TheBlaaMan


    Grassey wrote: »
    Make the trip coincide with the grandfondo stelvio for loads craic and a great day in the bike

    The GranFondo looks to be scheduled for June 7, 2020. Also, at the end of August there is generally a 'Stelvio Bike Day' where the entire road over the pass is closed to vehicles and so cyclists, runners, land skiers (yes...) and others have the place to themselves with no specific agenda just a free-for-all. It will see 10k plus cyclists on the road, but there is lots of room.....


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    #6
    mr spuckler
    Registered Users Posts: 3,107 ✭✭✭mr spuckler


    Wishbone Ash wrote: »
    Be prepared for the weather on the summit of the Stelvio. If you get wet going up, you'll be frozen at the top making the descent miserable.

    Even without it being wet, it was 20+ in Bormio and around 6 degrees at the top when I did it in August a few years ago, makes for a very cold descent without some layers.

    I've stayed in Bormio loads of times, though annoyingly haven't cycled that much! Am more often there in ski season than not. That said May & September are very much shoulder season and the place can be quiet. Stelvio is likely to be snowed over in May anyway! June would be a little bit better but July or August are the best bets imo. Some restaurants may be closed whenever you go but my experience (aided by in-laws living there) is that you'll always have options.

    I should be there in May next year for a family event but don't expect to get up any of the big climbs due to the snow - I might just aim to do the Foscagno into Livigno instead.

    TheBlaaMan wrote: »
    Also, at the end of August there is generally a 'Stelvio Bike Day' where the entire road over the pass is closed to vehicles and so cyclists, runners, land skiers (yes...) and others have the place to themselves with no specific agenda just a free-for-all. It will see 10k plus cyclists on the road, but there is lots of room.....

    After I climbed it, I was talking to my brother in law in the town that day when we met a friend of his. That guy had run it on that day you refer to, quicker than I'd cycled it :o


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    #7
    brownian
    Registered Users Posts: 1,741 ✭✭✭brownian


    If you have a spare day, the climb up the Umbrail pass to the top of Stelvio (joins 2 km before the top) from Switzerland is pretty nice too...and much quieter. It lacks the epic, not to be missed, hairpins of the usual side, but it's well worth the trip.

    Gavia and Stelvio together make a good day out. Mortirolo if you value steepness above all else 8-)


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    #8
    fat bloke
    Registered Users Posts: 5,815 ✭✭✭fat bloke


    I've done the Stelvio challenge and Mortirolo, but I've no real idea of what the rest of the area around Bormio is like for cycling. Is it a one-trick pony? Or are there other routes and climbs that keep a fella interested for a longer stay?


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    #9
    mr spuckler
    Registered Users Posts: 3,107 ✭✭✭mr spuckler


    fat bloke wrote: »
    I've done the Stelvio challenge and Mortirolo, but I've no real idea of what the rest of the area around Bormio is like for cycling. Is it a one-trick pony? Or are there other routes and climbs that keep a fella interested for a longer stay?

    Stelvio (both sides), Mortirolo, Gavia, Umbrail, Foscagno come to mind straight away.
    For example you could do a loop of the Foscagno into Livigno and then the Bernina to the Swiss border and back through Sondrio for 3,500m in 115km. Plenty to occupy you if you so choose!


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    #10
    Wishbone Ash
    Registered Users Posts: 24,953 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    fat bloke wrote: »
    I've done the Stelvio challenge and Mortirolo, but I've no real idea of what the rest of the area around Bormio is like for cycling. Is it a one-trick pony? Or are there other routes and climbs that keep a fella interested for a longer stay?
    Stelvio and Gavia can easily be taken in on the same ride. The summits are about 45km apart.

    https://www.strava.com/activities/1832643961


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    #11
    mr spuckler
    Registered Users Posts: 3,107 ✭✭✭mr spuckler


    Wishbone Ash wrote: »
    Stelvio and Gavia can easily be taken in on the same ride. The summits are about 45km apart.

    https://www.strava.com/activities/1832643961

    Love the random elevation spike on your Stelvio ascent! That's some ride though, fair play.


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    #12
    JMcL
    Registered Users Posts: 2,162 ✭✭✭JMcL


    TheBlaaMan wrote: »
    .. land skiers (yes...)...

    Spotted a couple of these going up the Galibier last year (open to cars at the time). Going up looked bad enough, but I still have goosebumps thinking what the descent must be like on what looks like a pair of glorified rollerblades :eek:


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    #13
    Wishbone Ash
    Registered Users Posts: 24,953 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    JMcL wrote: »
    Spotted a couple of these going up the Galibier last year (open to cars at the time). Going up looked bad enough, but I still have goosebumps thinking what the descent must be like on what looks like a pair of glorified rollerblades :eek:
    I see them regularly climbing in the Alps but have never see them descending. Do they just go up and get an alternative way back down?


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