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.