Cycling the Lepontine Alps
About the Poem
Cycling the Lepontine Alps tells the story of when I rode with a team of bicyclists over Saint Gotthard Pass in Switzewrland. The poem describes the accent and what I was thinking as we rode to the top.
Cycling the Lepontine Alps
Wheel to wheel in Saint Gotthard Pass,
rotating lead and draft until our inclines increased
and riders spread out. Over my shoulder
the church spire in Göschenen ushered in thoughts
of our upcoming wedding. You said that you hated
to plan, told your mother to use any color she liked.
Icy white snow. Blue granite walls. Cold alpine air
Burned in our lungs as we climbed into ribbons
of switchbacks, turning our legs into mud
til we stood to put added weight on our pedals,
then followed in herringbone lines to lessen the grade.
I strained all the way to the summit, imagined
us teaching and being together. When we reached the top
I took a picture to prove I was there. Then we coasted
down hill to Airolo, where I wrote you this letter.
Wheels Across Europe 1971
When I was twenty-one and had just graduated from college I was presented with the opportunity to ride with a bicycle group called Wandering Wheels. We flew from New York City to Brussels Belgium where our trip began. We rode 3000 miles in six weeks through nine countries. It was midway through the trip that we rode over Saint Gotthard Pass. My girlfriend who is now my wife was waiting for my return back in the states.
This is a photo of me taken on the last day of our trip. From here it was onto a plane and back to New York City and the waiting arms of my girlfriend.
Do you want to know what it is like to ride Saint Gotthard Pass?
This short video the rider begins in a small town at the base of the mountain. As you go up notice how the roads get rougher and rougher and eventually turn to cobble stone. The ride down the other side is nothing but thrilling.
I road the pass in the years before helmets, so I remember the wind in my hair as we did high speed coasting to get to the bottom.
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