#7Countries7Passes Day 6 - Into The Mountains

I left Villingen in great spirits this morning, after a fantastic overnight stay with my big sister and her husband. Legs and mind refreshed (as much as possible), from a BBQ and friendly faces, I was looking forward to heading into the mountains.

Last night, I made the decision to alter my route slightly. The last few days have been super long and really draining; I decided a shorter route to get to my rest day in Merano was a better option. Having known that my sister and her husband have driven the various routes back to visit his family in South Tyrol, they seemed like the ideal pair to offer advice.

My new revised route would take me south of Lake Constance, then over Wildhaus Pass and onto Fluela Pass and Offenpass, to get me into Italy.

The first 75 kilometres of the day seemed to fly by; mostly because they were downhill, and I had a great breakfast in my stomach, courtesy of my sister's cooking.

By 100 kilometres, the climb up and over Wildhaus had begun; almost 50 kilometres of gradual and more extreme gradients. Strava routing has thrown me some curve balls over the last few days, but the route up this valley - a singletrack road running parallel to the main one, was sublime.

In the last 20 kilometres, the skies opened, and with the temperature at just 2 degrees Celsius, I'm not sure if it was sleet or rain. It was damn cold either way. I was forced to stop for the world's most expensive Swiss coffee, to warm me up a little.

The descent from Wildhaus into the Lichtenstein valley is steep, and was very wet. The bike seemed to handle it well though, and I had enough feeling in my hands to use the brakes.

Once on the valley floor, the skies cleared, and brought a great tailwind. It was then the start of the gradual climb to the base of the Fluela Pass.

I stopped to grab some dinner at a local supermarket, and then began the ascent.

Because you can't ride up the main road on this pass, the cycle track is a seperate road almost all the way. Great traffic free roads.

At 19:30 I had reached the day's target. I set up camp, cooked in daylight, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the pass tomorrow.

#7Countries7Passes Day 7 - Flüela Pass and Pass del Fuorn

My legs felt like hollow frame tubes as I left my wild camp near the bottom of Flüela Pass this morning. One more big push required; to get to Merano (Italy), for my rest day revival.

I had slept in my leg warmers, and full kit; so getting ready was a bit quicker than usual, at least. The chill remained in the air though, and a cold drizzle accompanied me for the first 1.5 hours of climbing up to the top of Wolfgang Pass.

From Wolfgang, it was a short descent to Davos, before beginning the Flüela Pass proper.

The rain abated momentarily, as I swung onto the climb. Then, the snow began...

I was already in the lowest gear, and crawling up into the snow line. Once into the banks of white stuff, I felt very much alone on the hillside.

Passing cars shot me shocked glances; as I counted the kilometres to the summit.

At the top, I pulled off my gloves to take a quick photo. They took a good 5 minutes to get back on, with my hands like frozen claws; but it was worth it (it's the most liked picture on Instagram so far).

I descended out of the heavy snow, thankfully onto dry roads. Sat in a café at the bottom, I warmed the feeling back into my hands.

From Flüela to Fuorn. Thankfully my spirits lifted by caffeine and sunshine, this one was that much easier.

I stripped off layers as my body temperature built, and reached the summit with full dexterity returned to my digits.

Descend. Down, down, down; into Italy. 85 kilometres of downhill to the finishline.

I stopped for Gelato, to celebrate. Then continuing in the sunshine, with a superb tailwind, I hammered past the thousands of apple orchards alongside the river.

I reached Merano with time to unpack, grab a fantastic takeaway pizza, and even take a quick spa.

What an incredible day of contrasts.

Going into my rest day, my totals sit at 73 hours riding, 1583 kilometres, and 19,140 metres climbed.

#7Countries7Passes Day 8 - Stelvio Pass

Sometimes things just all seem to go to plan; today was, unusually, one of those days.

Yesterday was a superb rest day in Merano. I enjoyed a large leisurely breakfast, and spa at the Hotel Therm. The rest of the day included lunch with family, a walk to a waterfall, and plenty of coffee and relaxing.

This morning, I had my last hot shower until most likely Sunday night, and once again made the most of the hotel buffet. Then, I set off back up the bike path that I had descended down on Day 7's finish. Direction: Stelvio Pass.

After a good two hours of winding up through the apple orchards that cover South Tyrol's valleys, I eventually came to the foot of the pass.

At over 2,700 metres above sea level, the Stelvio is a summit well in the Haute Categorie. I have ridden it before, when I raced up it in 2015. There would be no KOMs today though, on my 26kg fully laden touring set-up.

The climb seemed to be challenging, but manageable. The weather conditions were pretty much perfect; with a cool breeze and double digit temperatures. That wasn't the case for my Day 7 passes...

The duration is the tough thing with Stelvio; the climb took me two and a half hours; almost an hour longer than my previous time. Eventually though, I reached the summit. I rewarded myself with a Snickers bar.

From the top of the pass it is a fast and beautiful descent to Bormio. Then the downward racing continued, on a small secluded bike path.

I had passed my target spot for the day by 16:30; the descent was that quick. I continued on down the valley.

Strava routing threw me another curve ball when suddenly I diverted off the valley floor bike path, and up the 'Vino Panorama'.

Through the vines, this took me on some incredibly steep narrow roads. My legs weren't too happy, but the views were breathtaking .

By 19:30, I was ready to call it a day. I bought some supplies to make a version of 'beans on toast'; had a wash at a village tap; then found a great camping spot next to the river.

A good day in the saddle.

#7Countries7Passes Day 9 - From Lake Como to Turin

Yesterday, I was blessed with challenging climbs, incredible descents, and secluded traffic-free bike paths. Today, had many good highlights, but it also unfortunately featured many opposites of the above.

The day began with a ride down the western edge of Lake Como. I have always loved the Italian lakes, ever since visiting them on family camping holidays.

The lake sat beautifully quiet and still in the early morning, and although my legs weren't being overly energetic, it didn't matter too much, as the route was flat or downhill for the most part.

I stopped once at the side of the lake, for a coffee and Italian pastry.

On reaching the southern end of Como, I turned south west. Suprisingly, my route actually took me back into Switzerland for a half hour. Thankfully I was quickly returned to Italia.

The afternoon was mostly spent on quite busy B-roads, and navigating through cities like Varesa.

Once out of the Lombardy region though, and fulled by some afternoon Gelato, the going got easier, and the roads clearer.

I eventually called it a day with 200km on the clock. I grab some Italian pasta and ham from a local Lidl, and set up camp in yet another sweetcorn field.

Ahead of schedule still, tomorrow I should be heading into the Alps.