Stelvio

stueys

Trying to work out whether I can use my second bideon as a clothes carrier on a stelvio climb I have coming up.m we'll be climbing from bormio and preggo, does anyone know how frequent water fountains, coffee stops, etc occur on the climbs?

andymiller

In the absence of any better answers ...

I haven't ridden to the Passo dello Stelvio but I have ridden the Gavia nearby and other passes in the area. Coffee stops and water fountains tend to be in short supply - although more often than not there's a rifugio or something at the top.

Looking at the OSM map there's basically nothing until you get to the top where there are a couple of hotels, a couple of rifugi, a restaurant and a Bancomat. There *might* be a drinking water source on the way that hasn't been marked, but I wouldn't rely on it. There are rivers/steams, but personally I'd take the second water bottle.

Hopefully someone will correct me if I've got this wrong.

drlodge

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19633273#p19633273]andymiller[/url] wrote:

In the absence of any better answers ...

I haven't ridden to the Passo dello Stelvio but I have ridden the Gavia nearby and other passes in the area. Coffee stops and water fountains tend to be in short supply - although more often than not there's a rifugio or something at the top.

Looking at the OSM map there's basically nothing until you get to the top where there are a couple of hotels, a couple of rifugi, a restaurant and a Bancomat. There *might* be a drinking water source on the way that hasn't been marked, but I wouldn't rely on it. There are rivers/steams, but personally I'd take the second water bottle.

Hopefully someone will correct me if I've got this wrong.

Sounds about right. You can get 1 litre water bottles so how much will you need?

In Gran Canaria I carried a foldable 1 litre water bottle that fitted nicely in my centre rear pocket, in addition to 2 x 1 litre bottles in the cages. Using this foldable bottle, you could still have 2 litres of fluids and have a bottle cage free for your clothes.

andymiller

Sounds about right. You can get 1 litre water bottles so how much will you need?

In Gran Canaria I carried a foldable 1 litre water bottle that fitted nicely in my centre rear pocket, in addition to 2 x 1 litre bottles in the cages. Using this foldable bottle, you could still have 2 litres of fluids and have a bottle cage free for your clothes.

The problem is more making sure you don't run out before you get to the top - coming down isn't really a problem.

I tend to carry too much water, but maybe two 750ml bottles would be a decent compromise. A lot depends on how hot it is (it may not be hot at all).

Given that clothes are foldable, wouldn't it just be easiest to wrap them round the seatpost or something? Or (whispers) carry a small backpack?

daviegb

I rode from Bormio up to the summit, descended via the Umbrail & climbed the Stelio again from Prato.

There is a refugio just after the hairpins - it's at about 8 miles. There's another one where the Umbrail branches off (at about 11 miles, plus plenty of options on the summit (after 13 miles).

From Prato there's a stop at Trafoi (after about 6 miles) & another before the final hairpins (10 miles into the climb).

I would recommend having x2 750ml bottles, especially if it's hot. Don't forget you're also at altitude, so increased effort required for worse performance!!! It's a cracking ride! Here's a link to my ride, so you can picture where I'm talking about.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/568220644

Have a great time.

stueys

Thanks guys for the responses, I did the ride last week so now have a good idea.

We climbed up from Bormio to start things off, left at 7:30 and it was a nice temp to climb in. I was fine with one 750ml bottle, I had about 300 ml left at the top. There wasn't much in the way of places with water on the way up, the refugio just after the hairpins was shut when we went past though it was open on the way back down (early afternoon by this point). Loads of options at the top as mentioned.

We then descended down into Prato (the Umbrail pass was closed which was the original plan). Climbing back up from Prato the ascent was tougher than Bormio side and also hotter, it was touching late 20's/early 30's at the bottom. So I was loaded with just over a litre of water to climb and we stopped at the cafe before the final hairpins for a quick refill. Prato side is definitely busier with many more options than Bormio, especially in the morning.

We did Gavia and Mortirolo the next day, both of those climbs are fairly quiet in terms of stop options, though Gavia has a nice stop at the top. For me the Gavia blew Stelvio away in terms of sheer scenic beauty, plus it has about a tenth of the traffic and motorbike tours which also helps!