To the edge of the Dolomites [Lago di Garda > Trento > Passo Brocon; 8/09-8/11, 144mi]

In the evening after the train to Verona, I headed west towards the big alpine lake of Lago di Garda. Turns out this is a huge tourism spot and I pedaled the 40mi of shoreline north amongst heavy, slow traffic and past a continuous line of hotels and "camping villages" (like French campgrounds but worse.) The lake was pretty, though, and offered me a nice shower and laundry opportunity. By shower I mean going for a swim, and by laundry I mean that I wore my clothes while swimming.

Lago di Garda

I headed northeast through Riverto and Trento after the lake before beginning my next mountain stages in earnest. There've been some storms brewing about in the mountains, along with low clouds that are unfortunately obscuring the views of the high rocky peaks that the Dolomites offer. Luckily I managed to be in the right places at the right times when the rains came: once under a covered walkway in a little town during a torrential 20min downpour and later under a covered bus stop halfway up a hillside. But the next morning I was above some pretty fog lurking down in the valley below:

As I would soon discover, the climbs in the Dolomites are seriously steep! 10%-12% sustained grades are common, with kickers at 15% here and there. On one of my descents I sped through a section that was literally 22% and it made my stomach drop like when you're on a good roller coaster.

welcome to the Dolomites!

After some up and down in the foothills, I summitted my first real climb, the Passo Brocon at 1615M. It wasn't high enough elevation to gain the treeline and the lingering low clouds killed the good views, but the descent was manic. Roads here are only a lane and a half wide for miles on end, so it's no trouble to speed faster than the autos as you wind back down the the valley floor. Super fun indeed!

There are even more motorcyclists here than in the French Alps. Here's a pic just for Dad (this guy was showing off for his buddies near the top of the Brocon.)

I decided the summit of my first big pass was a good time to replace my brake pads with the spare sets I've been carrying around for 2 months. And I guess it was time:

Cheers to descending!