ok so today was our first full day in bormio and boy was it fun. last night, liz v established an aggressive trend for the trip w her assault of the limoncello apres dinner. today included the classic tyler merrit tour with studious route planning yest disregard for contour lines and weather. so 3000 vert of climb culminating in steep loose gravel w driving rain, scheiben and oh wait 40degrees F was just warmup for the other side of the pass. to call it dirt trail is generous because there was more cow manure than dirt. nevermind such silly details though. fortunately, we spied a high alpine farm house, and sought shelter in the shed, which was actually a cow feed hut- smelled like something else entirely though. the shephards kindly invited us into there house, with its decadent hot stove, and made us some espresso. tyler's first cup of coffee. they spoke no english, we no italian, but a great cultural experience. the locals locals so to speak.
the remander of the day was a mix of rain and poor route finding and slick roots. cath and liz wisely headed back to town early, while i (CARTER) foolishly followed IP and ty on a soggy search for the remaining 30 feet of singletrack. straight back home for beers, sausage, cheese, and more. Just finished a great four course dinner with the full merritt crew (no much booze flowing here, right?)
Today's stats: start 11:00, finish 5:30. Climbing 5,840'. Miles? Height of cow shit up the shin?? We'll let you guess.... (bad day for white jerseys...)
Tomorrow's agenda: the assault from Bormio to Livigno. Must be brutal, Ty wants to start with a shuttle up the pass.
Ciao.
