Hey people from sunny Mittenwald Germany and the 2007 TransAlp MTB stage race! In the morning I will start this monster with my trusty partner Bryant Hebert (aka Walter Socheck) at my side for an 8-day rip through the Alps and Dolomites ending in Riva del Garda Italy! The deal with the TransAlp is climbing, climbing and more climbing. There is 21,000 METERS of climbing here.....yes I said METERS people! This makes for some serious days in the saddle for our team....Team Walter/BowCycle...but we both consider ourselves decent climbers so I think we will do fine ...after all Bryant is originally from Nelson BC where he tells me there are big climbs....this will shock him to say the least but he's a pinner and will love it. The race is about 630 km and goes through some of the most amazing scenery I have ever had the pleasure of riding a bike in....it's not rough or technical by Canadian standards but it is the climbing that totally works you over. The trails are combination of everything....big gravel road climbs, bike paths, road and even singletrack which is nice cause it's all rideable and fun. I did this race back in 2005 and you sure feel like a pro when you climb over some big pass and then smoke down at high speed towards some little village where the whole town is shut down and waiting for you to come by where they scream and cheer for everyone. This is a big race for the Euros and they respect anyone who can finish it. This race is also cool because there are so many teams here....more than 550 teams of two riders! When you roll out of town at the start it feels like you're in the Tour de France ...which is on at the moment. Also another thing I love about this race is finishing a stage and ending in some village (especially in Italy) and setting up shop at a local cafe and getting an espresso and a wicked pizza and chatting about the race and watching others finish! Tough life but someone has to do it right!
I hope you guys enjoy the reports and that all you hardcores out there will try it for yourself sometime....it's wicked fun. Watch Team Walter (team # 156) on our journey towards the finish in Italy here on the Bow website but also on the TransAlp site....www.bike-transalp.de.....
