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22 Jun

Day 1 of The Ride: When Stelvio is only the beginning

Posted 22. June 2017 By Monika Sattler

What a beautiful start of the event it was. Sunny and warm. I looked around at the start line. You could feel the excitement but also the nervousness of everyone embarking this big ride. In 8 days we would be in the Netherlands but until we have a long trip ahead of us. And we are not taking the easiest route.
Day 1 proved the point.
We would be facing three challenging climbs: Stelvio from the Prato side (26km/1800m of elevation gain/7.7% average gradient), Foscagno (22km/1000m/3.5%) and Bernina Pass (4km/300m/7.1%).
129km was the route with over 3900m of elevation gain. This would be the shortest of all 8 stages.

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Although this event is non-competitive, it has a competitive component. Each stage has a timed segment– the challenge – where you can test your legs. The accumulation of the times led to an overall challenge winner.
For stage 1 we would be timed on Stelvio Pass. As I like the idea of testing my legs, I gave everything climbing up the first climb. Exhausted at the top I had to remind myself that I just completed 30km out of 129km route. Wow! This would be a long day.
Stelvio in the direction Bormio.

And yes, it was.
But along the way, I started to get to know my ride mates. And I tended to ride with a few people for the entire route. Today I did not know yet that I would see those guys for the entire 8 days along the route. We would get to know our strengths and weaknesses very well. We would challenge each other and support one another.
But today, those guys were strangers.
The first day seemed like an epic one-day challenge. I didnt feel like that this was just the beginning of 8 tough but beautiful, memorable days.
The only thing that gave a hint of what is coming up was the camping part. Instead of packing up my stuff and go home like during a normal weekend ride, I shared a camp ground with 260 other participants.
So which one was mine?

Picking a tent was quite easy. Look for one that is free and throw your stuff inside. Now, it is yours. Then, only remember which one of the 260 blue tents was yours. This might be the difficult part.
As I am not used to camping, this would be one of the biggest challenges for me during this trip. Getting enough sleep.
But it is still early to tell what made this event so special. Tomorrow would be the first of many tests that give The Ride some touches I will never forget.
With no earplugs or eye cover I tried to sleep. Beginner mistake. It was my first night in a tent in 20 years.
I would need to learn how to camp again. I had another 7 days to figure it out.
In the next post, I will write about how I dealt with the steep, hot and long Glass Pass – a climb that left many turn around early because of its cruelty.

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  1. Jun, 22, 2017 2:29 PM
    Robert Scource

    Really great!!!

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Today was a beautiful ride across the Glaubenbiele Today was a beautiful ride across the Glaubenbielenpass and Glaubenbergpass.
Both passes I will ride being well into the challenge.
Glaubenberg, I will ride on stage 20 with Rengg, Schüpferegg, Schallenberg and Fritzflue

Glaubenbiehlerpass, I will ride on Stage 21 with Brünig and Ächerlipass

Two tough days before heading to Valais for more tough days. 😅

This is going to be epic! 

#124spc
Meine Story, meine Mission und der Grund, warum ic Meine Story, meine Mission und der Grund, warum ich alle 124 Schweizer Pässe mit dem Velo fahre, jetzt in @tagesanzeiger @bernerzeitung.ch @derbund @baslerzeitung_baz 

Vielen Dank, Philipp für das super Gespräch! 

#124spc
“We have two lives, and the second begins when w “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”

- Confucius
Good morning Monday! ☀️ What a weekend! Film Good morning Monday! ☀️

What a weekend! Film shooting until 1am with scenes in the swimming pool, fitness studio, performance test and an interview. An intense but fun time. Now heading back to 🇨🇭 to continue the training. ⛰️🚴⛰️🚴⛰️

#weekend #124spc
My mission with the 124 Swiss Passes Challenge goe My mission with the 124 Swiss Passes Challenge goes beyond setting a cycling record. I aim to inspire others, especially women, to go outside their comfort zone and pursue big goals.

A documentary will be made about this challenge that will tell the full story. The first film shoot is this weekend. 

#inspire #beyourself #getoutsideyourcomfortzone #goforyourgoals #makethingshappen
So excited about having received today the road bi So excited about having received today the road bike I will tackle the 124 Swiss Passes Challenge with:
The @cervelo Caledonia. 🥳And with that, I finally can announce my new partnership with @sramroad which I am very excited about! 🎉🎉🎉

A huge thanks 🙏 to @cervelo and @sramroad for making this happen! I cant wait to ride this beauty up every @swisstopo pass in Switzerland! ⛰️🇨🇭⛰️🇨🇭⛰️

#cervelo
@zippspeed
#newbikeday
#zippwheels
#roadbike
Just be yourself and stay true to your values. ❤ Just be yourself and stay true to your values. ❤️

@myswitzerland @cervelo @polartecfabric @projects_martinakink @cyclingswitzerland @santini_cycling
Life is all about choices. Even if we do not choos Life is all about choices. Even if we do not choose, we choose. Oftentimes, we walk through life taking the path that is ahead of us seemingly right for us without consciously asking ourselves if that is actually the path we want to take. Down the road we all of a sudden find ourselves on a path we wonder how we got there and question its purpose. 

Being aware of our decisions (also not deciding is a decision) is key to understand WHAT we want and to make sure we stay on track.
Very nice ride up Grimselpass to Furkapass and bac Very nice ride up Grimselpass to Furkapass and back via Grimselpass today. I missed to charge my shifter battery so did the full ride with one gear. Luckily, you dont need more anyway. 😅

@cervelo #cyclingadventures #grimsel #furka #furkapass #cervelo #aspero
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