In 1988, at the tender age of 45, I found the second love of my life by pure chance: the racing bike.
My oldest friend, the poet and jazz specialist Finn Nielsen, who in his youth was a racing bikist, training a.o. with famous Ole Ritter, had bought himself a new bike and was out there on the roads with a.o. Ib Skovgaard of the Danish Radio. Like everybody else, I had an old beat-up 'racing bike' in the basement, used only for transportation. Finn talked me into going for a ride, and before I knew it, I had invested in a real racing bike, a Spanish ZEUS. Since that time I have been on the roads, time permitting, about three times a week, Summer and Winter, averaging about 8.000 km's a year.
In 1990 Finn, Ib and I went to visit Ebbe Traberg, the late poet, sports journalist, racing bikist and jazz enthusiast, in Ezcaray in the Rioja Province in Spain for the first time to ride the mountains. Climbing mountains on a racing bike has been my main prerogative outside playing music ever since. At least once, sometimes twice, a year we try to get down into the mountains of Spain or Italy.

The Demanda mountain range in Rioja with its two main peaks of app. 2.000 meters each with about a 25 km climb to the top from Ezcaray, Tres Cruzes /  San Lorenzo and Alto Cruz de la Demanda (both from time to time part of the Vuelta a España) is incredible. Riding wise and nature wise. Extremely tough climbs in a beautiful, sometimes barren, nature. Add to that the 'minor' climbs to Bonicaparra (8 km / 1200 m), Pazuengos (with 'the Wall') (18 km / 1150 m), Alto de Pradilla (10 km / 1200 m). Llano de la Casa (18 km / 1200 m), Santa Barbara only 1,6 km but steep! and the possibility of, weather permitting, doing the Vuelta a la Demanda (touring the whole mountain range) of 180 km thru 4 passes at about 1200/1400 m.

Finn's and my favorite place in Italy is Riva de Garda in the Trento area. The nature is green and rich, the roads in excellent condition, the mountains not as high, about 11 - 1500 m, but the %'s are incredible, often averaging 10% for long stretches. The shorter ones, right outside the door of our Hotel Sport:
Pregasina (7 km / 400 m) on an old, closed road in bad condition overlooking the lake. The last 3 km are tough.
3 km away the climb to San Giovanni (11 km / 1150 m) starts out with 20% over 1,6 km - that's impossible, even with 39 / 28. We have never seen any other racing bikers there, only mountain bikes. If one somehow makes it, the rest of the climb is sheer murder, though possible - and beautiful!!! With luck, the small restaurant at the top next to the obligatory chapel (in Italy) will be open. The downhill is dangerous and no fun.
Monte Stivo (4 km away) is murderous. It has another 11 km climb that starts out with 4 km of app. 15%. From then on it doesn't get much below 10%, so it is pushing yourself upwards for an hour and a half, nonstop. The downhill ride on the other side through Valle San Felice is one of the most beautiful ones. Before you know it the 23% fall it starts out with will have you doing close to 80 km an hour. The road is very good with open curves and little traffic, but watch your speed, keep your eyes on the road and don't get carried away with the beautiful sight as you hurl yourself down thru curve after curve.
To get to Monte Tremalzo you have to go 22 km thru another pass at 700 m and the Valle di Ledro to get to the 12 km climb to the top at about 1500 m. Good pasta at the top.
To get to the Monte Bondone climb, you have to go to the city of Trento some 40 km away. The climb is 18 km to about 1800 m and very beautiful and not too tough. The downhill on the other side is a 22 km sloping and easy ride, again 80 km an hour is not far away. The whole ride approximates 113 km.
Roses, Costa Brava (Spain) doesn't have any long or tough climbs as such, but it is an extremely pretty area, green and curvy. To get away from Roses, one has to ride 8 km from sea level to the pass at 285 m, no problem, then you can either go right to Cadaqués (17 km) and on to Cab Creus (25 km) at 80 m above sea level with a most fantastic view from the small restaurant, or left down to El Port de la Selva (12 km downhill). From here you can access the tough 6 km climb to Monestir St. Pere de Roda at 500 m and go downhill 12 km at the other side to Vilajuiga. Or follow the coast road from Port de Selva thru Colera to Portbou close to the French border (22 km from Selva), where Walter Benjamin died.
Port de Pollença in northeastern Mallorca again is extremely pretty. Mallorca is a haven for bikists and they are all over the place. The route to Cap Formentor is pretty, but extremely trafficy. Heading the other way thru Pollença towards Monestir de Lluc, on the other hand, will get you up on top of the mountain range at app. 500 m, one of the prettiest mountain roads one can ride anywhere. Up and down, excellent road to Lluc (25 km). Then one can go on to, like I did last time, the downhill ride to Sa Calobra, (48 km)10 km downhill from 700 m to sea level. Mind the traffic. It's one of the most fantastic serpentine roads in Europe. Getting back up is no easy feat. As you can tell, the average % is 7%. But it's fantastic and will get you 95 mountain km before you are back in Port de Pollença.