9/19/09 Belluno to Castlefranco

The last day of the tour and the home stretch. Not particularly far or strenuous. The weather was nice. Glenn led us out of town. The town is a bit big and the way out could have been done on your own but was a lot nicer with a guide. We climbed to Valmorel and then passed through an amazing green valley. Everything is manicured and cared for impeccably. Perfection my nemesis. Perfection, the enemy of good. I stopped and put on some music, the first time this trip. I listened to Pat Methany from the Cinema Paridiso sound track. I rode most of the day with Ross and Patti and it was a good thing because I took a wrong turn on the trip up to passo di Boldo and they raced after me shouting and whistling trying to get my attention. Of course I couldn’t hear a thing listening to Pat.

Now passo di Boldo is an interesting phenomenom. We came up to a cliff. We didn’t know it was a cliff but after going through the first tunnel we knew it was a cliff. There was a stop light and when you were given the green you got to travel through a serious of tunnels and switchbacks that went straight down. Why someone thought that it was feasible to find a way down is beyond me. I would have said “Oh, here’s a cliff lets turn around and find another way down. The weather had pushed up into this little valley and as soon as we started dropping down we experienced a deluge and got soaked. I mean soaked. At the bottom I took off my shoes and wringed out my soaks. They didn’t feel any drier. We cruised into Valdobbiadene and stopped for lunch and I had a glass of wine. Yes. Mid-ride I enjoyed my lunch with a glass of wine. We were mostly dry by then except for the socks. From there we detoured from the recommended route and took the straight shot into Castlefranco.

That evening was a bit of a frenzy as people took apart their bikes in anticipation of travel the next day either to home or to some other plan. We all said our goodbyes at dinner and breakfast the following morning. I'm on my way to Florence, Venice, and then Paris.

Everyone was impressed with my daily post ride helmet hair.

Every good descent through a drenching rain storm deserves a nice lunch on the deck. Of course with a glass of the local wine.

It's a bit hard to imagine that someone thought it was OK to put a road down this rock wall.

The descent from the passo Boldo.

Just another beautiful trip through the well manicured Italian countryside before stating to climb and descend.

9/18/09 Cortina to Belluno

Another cloudy morning. This morning we had to ride to make it to our next hotel. It started again with a serious climb up to passo di Giau and then for the hardy ride up to passo Duran. The climb to passo di Giau was a bit of a grunt and like yesterday at Tre Cime the summit was in a fog that added an eerie feel to the descent into the farms. The fog cleared but it was still very overcast and threatened rain all day. John, Jocelyn, and myself braved the Duran and it was worth the ride. It’s why I came to Italy. To climb up these narrow roads that wind through the hillside villages, to ride until I’m exhausted and content. Jocelyn and I left John at la Valle and stopped for lunch before heading into Belluno. The accommodations were great and there was a bit of a departure from routine and that was the hotel did not have a restaurant and so we were on our own for dinner. Patti, Ross, Craig and I had a nice “authentic” Italian meal of pasta and pizza with gelato for desert.

The passo Duran was why I came to Italy to climb on my bike. Winding narrow roads going through quaint Italian villages.

This was the bypass road to avoid a long trip through a tunnel on the way to Belluno.

The small town of la Valle where we had lunch.

The passo Giau descent. The fog had pushed up against the mountain.

passo Giau

9/17/09 Cortina D’ Ampezza (day2)

It was cloudy when we woke up but you could tell by the slight hint of blue here and there that the day would be promising. In a matter of an hour there were large patches of blue and the group knew there would be some riding. I headed up to Tre Cime with Patti and Ross. The climb up to the viewpoint was a toughie. The road was steep with the usual multiple tornanti (hairpins). The closer we got to the top the cloudier it became and when we reached the top it was a fog bank. Nothing to see but the tourists and feel the immediate chill associated with sweat cooling when the engine is turned off. I headed down and took off towards Auronza. It was a long descent but every turn looked like someplace that required a picture. When it started to sprinkle I turned around and climbed back out and rolled into Cortina. I’d only gone 42 miles and wasn’t quite done for the day and the weather looked good so I cranked off another 20 miles by heading in the direction of Belluno our destination for the following day.

The descent to Auronxa and the climb out.

Tre Cime - the peaks we would have seen if they weren't fogged in.

The climb to Tre Cime.

9/16/09 Cortina D’ Ampezza (Day 1)

Another weather delay. The morning started with serious overcast and then went to rain. And it rained hard all day. A couple of people ventured out for a ride and thought it was miserable. I had one of the best days of the trip. We had breakfast and then took a walk into town hoping the stores would open when they were expected to. Cortina is very upscale. There is nothing on sale. As a matter of fact things are marked up because it’s Cortina. Of course I don’t know that for fact but there is a paucity of “On Sale” signs. The day started off on a positive note when I found a matching jersey and shorts that I’d been looking for the entire trip (perfect combinations of blue and white). The sky could not have matched the colors better.

I spent the rest of the day curled up on a couch in the lobby of our hotel with great reading, writing, and blogging. I made my trip to the Café Royale and had a gin and tonic and experienced some Americans causing a commotion regarding expresso’s versus cappuchino’s versus a cup of coffee. The barista had her nice quiet afternoon interrupted by these time consuming Americans who eventually asked her if she could direct them to some “authentic” Italian food. Mind you in my 4 weeks in both France and Italy I haven’t seen a McDonalds or a Burger King. I’m sure they meant to ask for some “traditional” Italian food.

Lots of these fountains throughout the Italian country side with potable water for refilling.

My cafe of choice for expresso and gin.

The Cortina grocery store.

Nicely done lighting for in front of a store again on a rainy Cortina afternoon.

Cortina on a rainy day.

9/15/09 Pordoi to Cortina

We spent last night planning and strategizing how we were going to get to Cortina. We all expected the weather to be the same – snow at the higher elevations and rain below. We had a couple of passes to go over on our ride to Cortina. We talked of shuttling everyone in a van, renting a bus, or riding the most direct route to Cortina. The next morning all that changed. There was blue sky. The planning started all over again but this round with the urgency of time. We had to go before the weather turned. Were we going to ride directly? Could we ride a more scenic route that was longer? Should we go now and risk ice on the road?

I left with Chris and we went on a modified route. The scenery had the added touch of freshly fallen snow and was spectacular. It was a bit chilly to say the least. The ride started as a descent so we went slow for 2 reasons. The first was to avoid possible patches of ice and the second was to stay warm. The faster you descended the colder it got. It was about 40 miles to Cortina. The weather held up although it was cold and after mid morning threatened badness. I had a bit of lunch (pizza with gorgonzola and ham) and took off north for an additional 20 miles out and back.

I literally had every piece of cycling clothing I brought plus some of Ross's.

A snack stop with Nancy as our gracious host.