The journal of a thousand miles... Vertically...

`Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.` - Lao Tzu

I thought i'd get a bit philosophical with the end of the year nearing. I've set myself some very exciting challenges next year - by far the biggest can only be described with an image.

True cycling nuts will recognize this image instantly. The 48 switch backs make Alpe D'Huez's 21 look like a recovery ride. The 2758m ascent may also give another hint to the location of this beast. Some may even recall the grueling time Ivan Basso had up this pass in 2005 when he was feeling a bit off one day. It is called Il Stelvio. And i'll be peddling up this puppy come May when I head over to watch the last week of the Giro D'Italia.

Going to europe and cycling has been a dream of mine for a long time and 2008 looks like the year i'll be finally realizing the dream. I was given free reign by my wife to pick any of the big 3 euro tours next year to follow. La Vuelta is too late in the season, Le Tour whilst the biggest cycling show on earth isn't as easy to plan around other family commitments. The Giro is the first grand tour on the calendar and its at the end of our Summer so hopefully i'll be at peak fitness before winter kicks in. Also i have a fair grasp of the Italian language, and friends that have ridden all three tours have made a special point that the Italian food and coffee is by far the best out of the three.

That sold it pretty easily.

The last 9 days have me doing around 900 km riding with over 36,000 metres of climbing.

Training will have to be pretty specific, and to save my knees from exploding i'll be packing a 50/34 chainring with a 27/12 cassette. This will let me get up the climbs at a decent cadence and also let me hit 60 km/hr on the flats which should be more than enough.

I can't wait to get into it. My first step starts tomorrow - just getting out there and turning the legs over. I need to develop an engine over the next 4 months so that i can backup day after day. Consistent time in the saddle is the only thing that will make the experience pleasant rather than punishment.

Have a great break over the holidays!! I'll leave you with the downhill view of the Stelvio... Impressive!!!

Steep curve ahead

Have recently moved out of our house and into a rental unit. After around two pedal strokes this is what i have to climb out of!!!

The trusty polar says the gradient is a huge 13% !!! Lucky its only 150metres.

None the less, after a long layoff from the bike, this is how even the flat stuff feels whilst that base is brought back up to speed. I find those base weeks pretty dull, keeping motivation up on those slow lonely rides can be a task.. But certainly patience and consistency pay dividends.