Lazio Trail 2019 Event Recap

Words by David Gambuli

I only recently started participating in cycling events this year, so after the Tuscany Trail I found myself looking through BIKEPACKING.com for a long and challenging multi-day event. That’s how I found out about the 850km Lazio Trail Extreme with almost 22,000m of elevation. For me, it was love at first sight. I know a bit about the Appennini and I know how they can be nice and gentle like the Tuscany hills, as well as tough and demanding in the most remote areas. This got me really excited about the idea, so I signed up.

From the train station, the approach to the rugby field where the event started was already a unique experience. Crossing Rome in bikepacking mode, juggling through traffic and taking pictures of the eternal city, is definitely a nice way to start the entire Lazio Trail experience. Once at the Appia rugby field the atmosphere was really friendly, with everyone talking and getting to know each other before happy hour, a briefing, and an enormous dinner – which successfully managed to load us up with enough carbs and protein for what we were going to face the day after.

The next day, we started the event all together. The organizers, Daniele and Paolo, rode with us for the first few kilometres on the Ancient Appian Way (the first road built by the Romans) before leaving us “free to go.” The first section of the route is common to all three of the different length options (350, 550, and 850 km). The excitement of the beginning led me to start with a good pace, covering as much ground as possible on the first day. Despite this, Pascal, the Swiss guy who became my trail buddy for the rest of the adventure, managed to join me on the first climb.

The first section of the route was smooth and fast, and apart from a couple of punctures, we rode as expected. After dinner in Alatri, we had our first surprise. We heard a wolf pack howling! I vividly remember having goosebumps. I owned a Siberian Husky and an Alaskan Malamute, and even if it was my first time hearing them in the wild, I’m pretty sure they were wolves. After that unexpected encounter we were back on our bikes right away. We knew that the next two days would be tough and we wanted to get moving, so after a quick midnight beer we walked a long nasty section amongst bushes.

The second day, we started to get into more hike-a-bike and we also had the first big climb to Monte Livata. The path wasn’t too difficult, but very slow, so we actually didn’t manage to do more than 140km. Luckily it was enough to reach the second checkpoint. There, we had another surprise. Since we were arriving late and still didn’t have food, on the last climb I called Maurizio, the owner of the B&B in Orvinio (the second checkpoint), to ask if they would be open still, and if there was any chance of getting some food. The answer was awesome. “We are going to a nearby village to eat pizza with the family. If you tell me what kind of pizza you want, I’ll bring it to the B&B as take away.” And so he did! Once we were there, we were welcomed by a big and gentle man, his wife, two pizzas, and two bottles of beer. Lovely!

There were two serious climbs in the first half of the third day, with a long stretch of pushing (1.6 km at 18% average grade), followed by a beautiful descent to a lake. After that, there was a long and really nice section of trail into the wild amongst cows and wild horses, followed by the final climb to Terminillo – the highest point of the trail, at an altitude of more than 1,800 meters. This last climb of the day was really nice. We walked it almost entirely, and never used our lights since the full moon was bright enough to light our path. Once we reached the refuge below the summit, we slept a few hours on a pair of pallets in the hall.

I realize how lucky I was in finding a buddy like Pascal to ride with. We had the same pace, we never argued, and we always managed to overcome difficulties. Definitely a nice match. The afternoon passed well amongst medieval villages and hazelnut plantation, up to dinner time when we found ourselves entering into a really posh restaurant in Bagnaia. We were truly dirty and smelly. If it would have been any other occasion I would feel embarrassed, but not on my fourth day of the race. Indeed, we enjoyed our pastas and pizza and recharged properly to get out in the night – our intention was actually to ride to the end in one push.

The last few kilometers from Tarquinia to the Lido were filled up with the excitement of finishing, and we found ourselves cruising fast along the beach during sunset with two big smiles on our faces. The welcome was definitely warm, with Paolo and Benedetto (a finisher of the 550) cheering and filming. We received the t-shirts, took a couple of pictures, and then headed straight to the showers. We reflected on our incredible adventure over good wine and food.

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