Transalp 2020

[Akiwi]

Thought I would start a new thread to document my 2020 transalp that starts on Sunday for if anyone is interested.
I have been planning it for the last few months, and now intensively getting my gear together and packing for 2 additional weeks of biking and windsurfing on lake Garda in Italy.
I am a little worried about borders closing, but I'm sure we'll be OK.

A bike buddy of mine is coming and we are taking everything we need on our backs.
Planned is 8 days, from the German / Austrian border, then over the Dolimites to Torbole on Lake Garda.
540KM and about 17000 Vertical.
Here is the Komoot overview route. (Without the first day from Germany).
Bikes are a Cube Hybrid Stereo TM 160 with 625wh Battery. + 6A Fast charger.
Cube Hybrid Stereo 140 with 500 Wh battery and a spare 400 wh battery.
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
I'll try to keep you up to date on planning and progress during the ride.

 

[Woody2]

Hey Akiwi, having done Tour Aotearoa earlier this year I look forward to reading your updates. Not sure about carrying gear on your backs, unless you mean bikes..
Cheers D.

 

[Akiwi]

Hey Akiwi, having done Tour Aotearoa earlier this year I look forward to reading your updates. Not sure about carrying gear on your backs, unless you mean bikes..
Cheers D.

By Gear I mean clothes, cameras, chargers, rain gear, repair stuff, water and occasionally our bikes perhaps.. but I hope not.
We don't have anyone ferrying our stuff from hut to hut.
My Friend is going to carry the spare battery on a Thule carrier which mounts to the swingarm of his bike. I hope it survives. I would prefer that he would do it with 1 battery, but he insists as he doesn't feel fit enough, as he has been converting a van into a camper for the last couple of months, and hasn't had enough time to train intensively. He bikes about 30KM per day to and from work, so I am not too worried. It will add a bit of a buffer for the days we do 2300 vertical, but might be a pain in the butt for the places we have to push, pull, carry our bikes.

 

[Woody2]

By Gear I mean clothes, cameras, chargers, rain gear, repair stuff, water and occasionally our bikes perhaps.. but I hope not.
We don't have anyone ferrying our stuff from hut to hut.
My Friend is going to carry the spare battery on a Thule carrier which mounts to the swingarm of his bike. I hope it survives. I would prefer that he would do it with 1 battery, but he insists as he doesn't feel fit enough. It will add a bit of a buffer for the days we do 2300 vertical, but might be a pain in the but for the places we have to push, pull, carry our bikes.

Ok understand - hopefully not too much gear on your back, handlebar bags can be a winner. Be interesting to see how the Thule holds up - less stress on an acoustic I would think, would want to check to see it doesn't work itself loose. More reward lugging your stuff around, work out pretty quick what is excess to requirements!

 

[Akiwi]

Ok understand - hopefully not too much gear on your back, handlebar bags can be a winner. Be interesting to see how the Thule holds up - less stress on an acoustic I would think, would want to check to see it doesn't work itself loose. More reward lugging your stuff around, work out pretty quick what is excess to requirements!

Exactly. I did another Transalp last year, and know. Less is more. Take the minimum , and try to keep it light.

 

[Akiwi]

OK. Nearly got everything together..
I need to get it in the backpack / on the bike somehow.

Transalp pack list Item You have this on Helmet Glasses Cycling shorts Padded undies Trikot / Cycling pullover Merino T-Shirt Raincoat Gloves (Short / long) Socks Cycling shoes Buff or scalf etc Moisture Wicking Sweat Beanie Wind vest Clothes in backpack Leglinge Rain Trousers Spare T-Shirt (Merino) Spare cycling pullover Spare shorts Spare Padded undies Light trousers for evening Fleece jacket / Pullover T-shirt for evening Undies - total 2 Socks - total 2 pairs Flipflops / hut shoes Knee pads Gear Backpack 25 - 30 l Deuter Drinkbladder Drink bottle 0.5 - 0.75l Camera Telephone USB Loader, cables, Batteries Powerbank ?? First Aid kit Medical stuff if needed Head lamp Lock (Long) Energy Bars Isotonic Powder for drink Plastic bags for everything Roadbook GPS / Batteries Money, Cards, ID Bike charger Double plug Bike Key Kiox Hygine Microfiber towel Travel shampoo Toothbrush / paste Deo Shaver / foam Brush / comb Chamoix cream Sunscreen Ohropax Tools Minitool + extra allen key for gears Bike pump Shock pump Leatherman 2 spare tube / repair stuff String / rope Tape Chain breaker Brake pads Cable ties Replacement derailleur hanger Chain oil / wax / Machine oil Chain links Gear Cable

 

[Akiwi]

Today we did our first day of our Transalp tour from Germany to lake Garda. My son Tommy drove us th near the Austrian border just after Tegernsee where we set off.

We headed down past the Achensee to the Inntal (Inn valey), and we headed up Zillertal.

We stopped for a snack at Tell am Ziller where I topped up my battery, before heading up the long steep drive to Schlegeisspeicher and are staying the night at the Dominick's hut.

Here are the statistics for today.

 

[nasamorpheus]

Nice!! I am jealous keep us posted good luck

 

[Woody2]

Great photos - love the wide open spaces and the dam? photo, looks amazing! Great adventure for sure -enjoy....

 

[Akiwi]

TransAlp day 2

Today we did our second day of the transalp, and got into the mountains at last.
We crossed 2 passes.
Pfitscher Joch - Schlegis (2264m)
Pfunderer Joch (2568m)
Biked 70 km today
Climbed 1800 m
Downhill 2780m
Amazing trails and some very challenging and technical riding.
here are some photos from today.

That is snow in the background.

 

[Akiwi]

TransAlp day 3
Climbed 2100 m
BIked 46km
Amazing weather. Woke up in Müllbach, and Marko, my biking partner headed to the post to send some stuff he didn't need back home.
We then headed off and immediately hit a steep climb. Basically we climbed and climbed all day today. Had our first views of the Dolomites which are spectacular.
Had some great trails down to St Vigil where we had to search for accommodation. Tried 8 till we found one with room. Apparently the Italians are all heading into the mountains this summer.
We found a very nice place with half pension and had the most amazing food.

 

[Woody2]

Stunning photos Akiwi, be hard to ride and concentrate on the trail with the amazing views all around. Know the feeling of mailing additional stuff home think I did that at least two times on my tour as well as leaving gear in two other locations. Happy days for sure keep it coming - got the wife interested with the photos wanting to know where you were.

 

[RCDallas]

Agree with Woody2... absolutely stunning shots! I have wanted to do this route since first reading about it. Unfortunately my wife/ riding partner isn't up to it, yet...working on that!

 

[Akiwi]

A late update to day 4.

We had a bit of a problem and no internet, so I got a bit behind on my updates.
Today the views were simply amazing, but it was also a heavy day riding wise.
We did 90 km and total 3404 m vertical. (-800 lift) = 2600 m vertical biked.
I stopped twice for a bit over 30 minutes each time to charge. But battery ran out about 4km and 200 m vertical from our hotel. I pushed and rode without power for about 30 minutes and sweated like a pig. But back to the ride. We biked up a beautiful valley and them up some pretty steep gravel roads to Störes (2185m) got incredible views of the mountains around us. Stopped for a pause and loaded the battery a bit before carrying on through an amazing valley.
Had a horrible descent where we had to push the bikes 90% of the way. Back up another pass to Passo Colbricon (1908m).
In the way down we tried to take a short cut and ended up having to climb about 500m extra to get back to our route.
Took the asphalt road down to Arabba where we took the Porto Vescovo 800m up to more breathtaking views.
A scary bike ride along the side of a steep slope with cliffs below us.
Continued to a Bikepark for some amazing trails at the top, and horrible for me unrideable trails at the bottom. Long ride to Moment to the worst hotel ever.
Advertiser was 1.9 km from town. Reality was 7 km and about 400m up. My battery jumped from 8% to 0 about 4km out. Kitchen was closed, no wlan, breakfast wasn't included, shower was blocked, and we even had a fire alarm.

 

[Akiwi]

Here are a couple more images. It is difficult on the phone.

This was a megga long steep descent we had to push nearly all the way.

 

[Woody2]

Hey Akiwi, wondered how you were getting on. The scenery and photos are getting even better - thanks for taking us along on your journey as I know it takes a bit of effort to provide updates and you don't always feel like doing it. Things don't always go smoothly for sure, hope you are "rolling with it" and enjoying!

 

[Akiwi]

TransAlp day 5
Today was a much more relaxed day than yesterday. And apart from having to carry the bikes a couple of km over un-rideable rock gardens, was some good riding and views.
Rode 44km, and climbed 1650m. 600 of which was a gondola.
We didn't breakfast at the nightmare hotel, instead we headed out early and rode up to a mountain hut for coffee and a prosciutto Panini. Then headed down the first mountain on some fun trails down through the forest. Up the next pass Passo Colbricon (1908m) We hit some absolutely in rideable boulders both up and down. My friend Mare wasn't happy.
Rode down to San Martino do Castrozza, where we took a lift up 600m where we had a looong rode down mostly on pretty nice but stony single trails.
Arrived in Caoria, where we found an amazing hotel (Alberto Al pan) with fantastic half pension food for 58€ for 2.

 

[Akiwi]

TransAlp day 6
Had a sensational breakfast at our Pension, Albergo Alpin.
After the spectacular views of the last few days, today was a bit boring. Basically a get from A to B day. We decided to shorten the tour by a day, as the weather is meant to turn on us. Also a hut we wanted to stay in is closed.
We did 72.4 km and climbed 2232 m
Saw a lot of forestry work, during long climbs.
Got up to Passo 5 Croci (2018m) and then had some excellent single trails for a few hundred vertical, then loooooong high speed biking down nearly 1500 m to Borgo Valsugana, where we had a 1 hour lunch break so I could load my battery.
After that we sweated our way up another 1200m to a bike park where we rode trails down to our hotel in Bertoldi. Again incredible half pension food.
I booked a sauna, and had the entire wellness area to myself because of covid.

 

[Woody2]

Salute, good to see you enjoying a well deserved beer and an easier days to balance things out cheers.

 

[Akiwi]

TransAlp Day 7, last day.
Biked 53km
Elevation gain, 474m
Elevation loss 1561m
As the weather forecast was for thunderstorms from about midday on, we decided to take the fastest easiest route to lake Garda. It turned out it was a good decision, as not long after we arrived, we had a good thunderstorm.
We biked over passo Sommo, then had about 1500 m downhill to Rovoretto. Wonderfully temperatures as we biked down the valley. I had to stop to replace my brake pads which had worn completely through.
Then up over passo San Giovani, and then only downhill to Torbole , lake Garda.

View attachment 39403

 

[Akiwi]

I did a video if anyone is interested.