A summery summary

I feel a little self conscious about waxing poetic on the virtues of my trip, of a meandering life on the road, a simple life on the bike, of experiencing foreign countries, etc etc... so I'll keep it to myself. It's been great, and I can't wait to get back on the road. For now, it's back to Colorado for September loveliness and a visit to my family in the midwest come October.

All in all:
90 days
4050mi
75 nights camping
15 nights indoors
6 countries

Cheers to the best summer so far! And here's to more adventures to come.

The Queen Stage of the Dolomites [Passos Pordoi, Sella and Gardena; 8/15 - 55mi, +5810ft]

There is a central massive uplift in the middle of the Dolomites known as the Sella Gruppe and a road runs a ring around it with four major passes, each just as spectacular as the last. Luckily you never drop all the way down into the valley so it's possible to ride the whole ring in a day. I did 3/4ths of it today and it was, quite literally, perhaps the single most awe inspiring day of cycling in my entire life!

After a nice early morning descent from my camping shack last night I tackled the Passo Pordoi at 2239M on the south side of the Sella Gruppe first. Simply amazing.

A partial drop down and then right back up again to the Passo Sella at 2240M. Words and photos cannot begin to describe the feeling of being surround by such immense vertical peaks climbing into the sky!

Possibly the best coffee view ever at the top of Passo Sella:

Another partial descent, and back up again to my final crest of the day at Passo Gardena (2121M.)

Passo Gardena at 2121M

Today was just so far beyond words that it's not worth even trying! Enough said.

Into the soul of the Dolomites [Passo Tre Croce & Passo Falzarego; 8/14 - 58mi, +5971ft]

After winding my way up and down a roundabout zig-zag through the southern Dolomites, today I'm beginning my approach to the centerpiece of this amazing range. A gentle climb up the valley out of the town of Dobbiaco hints at the amazing spectacles to come:

First on the agenda today is the Passo Tre Croce at 1809M. The Cloud Goddess smiled upon me and lifted the ceiling above the high peaks just to make my day all the better. I couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions.

I hadn't necessarily planned on also clearing the top of Passo Falzarego (2105M) today, but on the long climb up I was failing to spot a decent place to camp for the night. There are really just two criteria: being out of sight of the road/houses, and flat enough to sleep on. When the weather doesn't threaten rain and the bugs aren't bad, I just sleep under the stars in my sleeping bag, so I don't need much space. But the terrain was so jagged and rugged that it was proving tough, and eventually I was at the top of the passo. Dusk was a great time to be there anyway- no crowds, no traffic, nice and chilly. And it's always nice to wake up to a descent rather than a climb!

Passo Falzarego at 2105M

So I started down the backside, still intent on finding a campsite for the night as near the top as possible- since it's no fun to ruin a descent by slowing down to look for potential sleeping spots....

....cuz they just don't build roads like this in the US:

Only a mile or so off the summit, I stopped to poke around a little meadow that looked promising. There wasn't much level ground, but there was this perfect, empty, unused hay shed a ways off the road. Found my spot!

Into the heart of the Dolomites: Passos Cereda, S. Antonio, Duran, Cibiana, del Zovo, and Kruetzberpass; 8/12-8/13 - 97mi, +12,681ft]

A series of one passo after another these past two days... each one just as steep and grueling as the last. And each descent just a scary fast and super fun. The low clouds are still mucking up most of my good photo ops, as well as frustrating my greedy eyes eager to take in the soaring peaks. But you can't have it your way every time, so I catch glimpses when I can and appreciate being in the mountains all the same. And every now and then I go down a really steep winding hill really really fast.

Lots of cool villages perched up in the high terrain too. This area has pretty much turned into Austria with regards to the architecture, language and people. I need to give myself a history lesson to be sure but I think this actually was part of Austria prior to the first World War. I stand corrected if I'm wrong (which wouldn't surprise me one bit- rigorous research is not my forte.)

I have no idea what this sign says, but I love it!

I forgot to mention the amazing coffee in Italy... the best ever, and usually pretty cheap (one euro or so.) The most brilliant idea I've ever seen is the way they serve an Americano (espresso plus hot water.) In the US the barista mixes the two themselves, and you're at their mercy for the proportions. In Italy, they serve you an espresso and a tiny pitcher of hot water. Brilliant!

Despite my groans about the clouds, I'm not without some really swell vistas on occasion:

happy boy in the mountains

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!