Day 7: Kaltern to Arco

117 km, 2,239 meters of climbing.

It's done. Like 2010, no crashes, no flats, no mechanicals - very fortunate.

For the last couple of years, Day 7 has been an easier day. Not this year. Big climb out of the gates (Seymour +), followed by another sizable climb (Cypress +) and ending with 400 meters of punchy rollers before the 17 km downhill to the Arco finish line.

A bunch of us chose to ride together today. We spread out on the first two climbs but regrouped at the summits. Unfortunately saw a couple bad crashes with less than 40 km to go. Both were minutes from each other and involved riders veering into the oncoming lane. Smashed windshields, medivac helicopters and stops at closed roads told a sobering story. Can't believe riders out of contention would be that reckless so close to the finish line.

Some of the gang savoring our last 9AM start to XXXX's Barbara Streisand Club Remix.

GM posing down at the top of the first climb while we waited to regroup.

Saw some different riders on the road today as we were not with our usual group. This GUYS hair was worth a photo.

The final 10 km of TransAlps are downhill with Lake Garda in full view. It's a beautiful sight on several levels.

We were a little looser and hung around the finish line a little longer for obvious reasons. Max showing off his circa 1988 NV gang signs.

All in all, another great experience. Though peak performance was not attained, completion became a worthy result when all's considered.

My most significant lesson learned based on this 2011 TransAlps experience:

- set a goal

- when it gets really tough, bare down and grind it out

- even if it feels too far/big/high/long, you'll eventually get there and feel better when you do

Simple stuff, but with a little more personal meaning after the past 7-days.

2012?

Day 6: Ponte di Legno to Kaltern

145 km, 3092 meters of climbing.

Canada Day. Howie and Philip looking sharp in their red + white Axel's Granfondo kits. The next time we'll all be on bike together is a week Sunday in Penticton for Axel's big ride.

2nd hardest stage today. Didn't feel great for a chunk of the ride. Back very sore. 6-days of compensating for the injury catching up.

Over 4,000 meters of descending resulted in some bad crashes today. At least one rider was helicoptered off the course. Everyone in our group safe and looking forward to the last stage tomorrow.

Haas sampling the competition's wares. These guys deserve it. Riding very strong. Currently TNA/Shape - 1 (Haas/Leblanc) sitting in 14th place in the Masters (combined age over 80) category.

Final shout outs to a few who helped along the way.

AP - coach, psychologist, training companion, first aid attendant.

KE - the ultimate Le Domestique.

Jer - delivering parts and clothing during the last minute crunch.

CG - providing the best recovery fruit + nut bar.

Put the prosecco on ice. Almost there.

The Shout Out

Training for TransAlps started in ernest in November. 10-months of sweaty, loud weeknight garage rides and long Saturday/Sunday rides that consume large chunks of the weekend are good for 7-days in the Alps - not so good for the non-riding spouse.

Fortunately SN is a supporter. She got her own Italian cruiser bike for Christmas. SN proudly claims that whenever we're been on bikes together she dusts me - partially true.

Day 5: Livigno to Pointe Di Legno

111 km, 2,748 meters of climbing.

Another great day on the bike. Pre-Canada Day photo with Joerg's crew. Everyone was wearing extra clothes as the forecast was wet and cold. We saw a little water but the roads were dry.

A bit of climbing early followed by a long trek through a valley before the awesome Mortirolo. 12 km, 1,300 meter climb. Perspective: twice the elevation gain of Cypress (highway to the x-country ski area) in the same distance = very steep. Stories today of people walking and/or falling over their bikes.

GM and I near the top. This climb has been included in the Giro (Italy's Tour De France) several times. Names of famous riders are scribed on the rode.

Another end of day ritual is the natural ice bath. Most finish towns have a mountain stream nearby. Shortly after getting off the bike we seek it out and refresh the legs.

2-days to go. 2nd hardest stage tomorrow. Big day but I can almost taste the prosecco in Riva.

Day 4: Naturns to Livigno

118km, 3,572 meters of climbing.

Amazing day. Riding the Stelvio is unquestionably the highlight of all my cycling to date. The pictures don't do it justice. 25 km long. 49 switchbacks. 1850 meters of up. Tons of history.

Startline shot. GM and I. Rumon right. 1,300 riders corralled every morning into 4 large packs. Each pack is lead out through a "neutral" (no passing) start by official race vehicles (very pro).

Stelvio shots care of Rumon. I experienced a little setback with the breathing about 1/2 way up so we rode quite conservatively, hence the big grin.

This shot is at about 8 km left. You pop out of the forest and get to see the remainder of the climb and the 20 or so switchbacks that remain.

The top. For reference, Whistler's summit is about 2,200 meters. We're nearly 2,800 in this photo.

You'd think that we have lots of time given only 4 to 6 hours a day are spent on bike. Not true. Between packing, eating, gearing up, riding, finishing, eating, checking in, getting settled, eating, bike maintenance, eating and other post ride stuff, very little down time. This is part of our post ride routine.

Tomorrow is supposed to be an easier day but the organizers have reissued the route 2 times due to road permit problems. This 3rd iteration now has us climbing over the notorious Mortirolo. 1300 meters in 12 km. Some describe it as the most difficult cycling climb in Europe.

Day 3: Ischgl to Naturns

16o km, 2662 meters of climbing.

Good day on the bike. A bit sore from a 150 km day followed by a 160 km day. Two longest mileage stages are now behind us but the big climbing is still to come.

Howie and Philip rolled their Fuck Cancer kits today. Part of Team Wedgewood's manifesto is to raise money to support the fight against cancer.

Love the towns with fountains in close proximity to the finish line. Over 40 degrees today so the cool down was needed.

Also Toby's (right) birthday today. Toby is on course domestique extraordinaire for Magic Places and makes us all feel like total pros. He's usually found on the toughest section of the day with fresh bottles, coke, water and fruit. We treated Toby to a great dinner and a little birthday gag. He refused the no hands and ate the whip cream with a spoon. We won't hold that against him tomorrow.

Big day tomorrow. Queen's stage - most meters climbed. Get to tackle the famous Stelvio. As GM noted today, this is the one we dreamt about all winter.

Day 2: Imst to Ischgl

148 km, 2,794 meters of climbing.

Better day. Rolled it steady (cycling lingo for taking it easy) and all held together. Photo is at the start line. GM in his favorite baby-blue Rapha jersey. I wore matching, somewhat under duress, but that's what good partners do. The mountains behind us are what we came over Day 1.

I promised this year that I'd take some photos on course. Photo was taken on the Beilerhohe, our last climb of the day. 1000 meter gem. Look closely and you can see the ribbon of road snaking up the mountain.

Howie and Philip - Team Wedgewood. Total stars. They celebrated their 91st placing in the Masters field with a banana split. Check out the links on the right to find their blog. A lot more pro that what I'm running here with much more detailed descriptions of each day's ride.

Some of the gang post dinner, waiting for the van pick up. Walking 2 km back to the hotel when 5 days of hard riding remain is not an option.

Hot, hot, hot here. 37 degrees up our final climb. Time to cool off.

Day 1: Sonthofen to Imst

121 km, 2444 meters of climbing.

Magic Places (our guide) sponsored a team of two very competitive riders who are expected to podium. Flor is a German semi-pro and pictured on the right. His girlfriend showed up at the start line in her Defender to "wish Flor luck". That's how the pros roll in Europe. Sara, please note.

TNA/Shape teams in the pre-race staging area.

GM and I doing our version of looking pro. Matching custom glasses, matching gloves (not wearing mine yet in this photo), matching socks, matching bikes and, of course, matching kits.

Beautiful day of riding. Unfortunately the damaged ribs did not share this opinion. After a full gas, 350 meter climb out of the start town up the Oberjoch, wheels (figuratively) came off. Restricted breathing and low power output. Hahtennjoch was last climb of the day and a total beast. Back/breathing muscles locked up twice and I had to get off bike both times - a first. Bit of an eventful descent. Made the Germans very excited when I went into a corner hot, locked up both wheels, fishtailed several times, pulled the right foot out of the pedal to counter balance and stared down a Volkswagen in the oncoming lane. Rode out of it, but not very pro.

Graeme was an awesome partner. Very patient. Haas and Wilf rode like rockstars. Yet to see today's results, but those guys were very fast.

Time to prepare for tomorrow.

The Eve

The day before day 1. Lots of bike nerd stuff throughout the day. See Joerg (middle) and Toby (right) below. They're our support for the week. Toby is mid-course for bottle and clothing changes. Joerg at the daily finish with recovery drink and directions to the night's hotel.

Max arrived late last night. He's been roughing it in Provence for the last 4 months, training out of a town at the base of Ventoux. We rolled up the initial 350 meter climb we see out of the gates on day 1. Expect a hammer fest. Good to know what to expect.

I'm in white and black coming down the climb. Crazy fast and technical descents over here.

Cafe is how we ended the ride. Howie and Philip of Team Wedgewood in the shot with Max "I haven't cut my hair since landing in Europe" and my race partner, Graeme.

Time for a good sleep hoping for an uneventful day 1 morning.

With Us In Spirit

Trolling Sonthofen (TransAlps 2011 start town) yesterday as we acclimated. Saw the 2011 TransAlps poster featuring none other than Mikey Ryan, my partner from 2010. You'll notice two women in pink "Leaders" jerseys three riders up on Mike. We called them "the chicks" as we found ourselves riding with them often. They were pro riders who ended up winning the damen (womens') field.

Not sure where I was. If day 1 to 4, likely close by. If day 5 to 7, off the back somewhere.

Travel Day

Departed YVR Wednesday afternoon with Haas, Wilf, GM and Rumon. Good flight (note red roses adorning the seats) and all of us able to catch a partial night's sleep prior to landing in Germany. After a bunch of hours waiting for delayed race-mates and luggage we departed from Munich with Joerg, our guide for the week.

Last year I did not enjoy the food found during our initial days in Germany (it improved as we headed south into Italy). Having better luck thus far and was able to find a good meal near Munich last (Thursday) night.

Based on last year's experience, we opted not to overnight in Halbergmoos (Munich's equivalent of Richmond) and were driven directly to Sonthofen, our Day 1 start town. Race plan was to stay awake until late evening arrival in Sonthofen. Rumon is already off plan.

Eventful Taper

Last Thursday morning was my last hard training ride pre-TransAlps. Fast up Cypress. Felt great. One of my better times in the 32mins.

Then it all came undone.

Got to ride in this.

But it's this that hurt the most.

End result is fractured rib, painful back and new German race wheels waiting at the start line. The show goes on.

TransAlps 2011 Version

New course.

We get to ride the Stelvio this year (famous climb in Italy). Over the 7-days, race is a little longer but not quite as steep as last year. All Alps in 2011. No Dolomites for this year's version.

New partner.

GM. Marty. Graeme. 135lbs, wet. He's fast going up. This pic was taken after the 1st day of our biggest training block that took place at the end of May. Here's to hoping we see this smile on both of our faces at the end of day 7 in Riva.

2011 Westside Classic

Our club sponsors and my employer underwrite the TNA Westside Classic presented by Shape Properties and Mosaic Homes. Fun race around Point Grey. Two years ago this was my first ever bike race.

I bumped up a weight class in 2011 and tried to hang on with the Cat 1/2s. Serious challenge and in the end, felt positive about the result. Next year will be better.