Another beautiful day here in Bormio. I drove the car to the start of today's ride which began in Switzerland descending the Umbrail Pass. It was a challenge just getting there because there was an accident in one of the tunnels leading up to it (which I climbed yesterday). It took about 1-1/2 hours to get up there which wasn't a whole lot quicker than my 2:13 yesterday.
Descending on smooth Swiss roads was a very welcome change to some of the poorly maintained Italian roads. As I descended, the weather got warmer and warmer (as is typical), and it topped out close to 90 degrees at the bottom of the climb.
This ride was very similar to my training rides up this very climb, since I've climbed it on Rouvy over a dozen times. I was able to know my progress based on experience and pace myself accordingly. This makes all the difference compared to a climb you just don't know (when does it end, how much longer, how steep...). Also, having the hairpins counting down from bottom (48) to top is a helpful marker being ticked off one by one.
The scenery was stunning and the mountains were enormous and seemed close enough to touch. The ride culminated with another sausage sandwich (bratwurst) at the summit from Richard's Grill (original since 1959). Check out the photo of him waving a sausage:)