Originally posted 2010-12-31 13:02:45.
For my non-cycling friends, it often is a non-understood sport. The actual thought process behind “Why do we ride?” is a foreign concept. As such, it is seen as a crazy activity. In particular, climbing up hills or mountains–such a hard effort!–is the craziest of them all.
Part of northern Italy is hemmed in by the Dolomite Mountains, a portion of the Alps near the Austria-Italy border. Over the course of time, there arose needs for people to move back and forth in the area. In the early 1800s, the Austrian empire needed a way over these mountains, and so the Stelvio Pass was created.
In 1953, the organizers of the Giro d’Italia bike race (Italy’s Tour de France equivalent) had the bright idea of racing over the Stelvio. The Champion of Champions, Fausto Coppi, won the stage over the Stelvio and the whole Giro that year.
The images from the Stelvio may help convey the allure of riding and the attraction of riding in the mountains. Or, they may just help reinforce the notion of craziness. :)
Related articles
- “Dedicated to Coppi” (italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com)
- Cycling Monuments, Memorials, Plaques, etc., Part IX (italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com)
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