Welcome to the Dolomites
Sometime during
the night the rain let up. Grey skies
reminded us that the rain was likely to return but we gladly accepted the dry
morning. After breakfast we rolled out
this day we were joined by Horst on the bike.
We zipped out of town and quickly broke into groups again.
And we're off !!
We were braced
for rain and dressed accordingly. Early
on the climbing and lack of rain caused me to heat up quickly. I got chilled but thankfully the clouds began
to thin and I warmed up.
Marco climbing
Descending on
dry pavement was a thrill we hadn’t enjoyed the first day. I joked that Saint D’ Antonio was the patron
saint of descending. We began to learn
how to manage the Dolomite spaghetti noodle switchback road descents. As you approach a corner in the drops you
look over your shoulder to see if there is any traffic coming up the road that
might reach you before you are well past the corner. If the road is clear you set up wide, hit the
apex and take as much road as you need when you exit.
Just like Washington; If you like green, you better like rain
The sun finally
comes out and looking up the road we find the wan and Uli with food
awaiting. The remaining climb is to the
top of Tre Cimi d’Lavaredo the only out and back of the trip. It is steep and
so I shed all the weight I can. The sunshine further motivates me to go light.
One of several villages we rolled through
The climb starts
off nicely but soon the clouds move in.
Before the deluge......
The grade picks up and it starts to rain. The murderers pass me on their way down and
offer sarcastic encouragement. “It never gets steeper than eighteen percent.
Well it does but only for a little bit.”
The riders descending are all wearing rain jackets and they are flying
downhill.
This translates roughly into, "You're mine now bitch"
The grade is
steady at twelve percent and I don’t feel any hint of cramping but I am working
hard as the road switchbacks again and again.
It starts to rain lightly and my lack of warm clothing makes the cold
rain feel even colder.
I still have a
few hundred meters of climbing and the mountains are totally socked in. The riders coming down are wearing rain gear
and look miserable. Their wheels are
kicking up rooster tails on the wet pave’. I keep cranking. I don’t have a choice. If I want to continue I have to ride to the
top and if I want to bail I still have to ride to the top. I have three hundred
meters to go and the rain turns to hail.
There is a wan at the top with my wan bag and I start to wish the bag
had more clothing than it actually contains.
As I near the
crest I can see Coz waving me in. He was
kind enough to skip this part in favor of driving the support wan. Arndt’s knee was acting up and he had joined
Coz and was warmish and dryish in the front seat of the wan.
Hail on my leg. Yeah not much now, but it was just ramping up
By now the hail
was pounding down. I knew Marco was
behind me and he must be suffering more than me. I handed Coz the bike and jumped in the wan. The hail was beginning to form into slush on
the road and descending through such muck would not only be hellish it would be
foolhardy. I would gladly accept a wan
ride down from the summit. It was a bit too early in the trip for type two fun.
Soon enough
Marco showed up and he was likewise frozen and shared my enthusiasm for calling
his day done. As Arndt and Coz handed
wheels and the bikes into the wan the hail accumulated half an inch thick on
the floor of the wan through the open door.
The speed at
which the ride went from sunshine and roses to hail and hypothermia was not
lost on me. We were nearly seven
thousand feet above sea level and the Dolomites are massive enough to make
their own weather.
As the wan drove
downhill we spied some riders still climbing with bare legs glowing bright red
from being pelted with hail.
We arrived at
the hotel and repeated the post ride routine that was already second nature.
For the
enlightenment of my readers here is the daily schedule:
Breakfast is at
seven thirty so if I am not already up my alarm goes up at seven. This thirty minutes is to pound down some
water to help digestion and stage the gear for the day. This not only includes clothing that I will
wear but what I will have in my two wan bag.
The wan bags contain
clothing (sleeves, vest, knee warmers, rain jacket, perhaps a different base
layer, bars, shot bloks, nuun tablets, endurolytes, sunscreen, chamois cream, a
plastic bag for wet items I may swap for dry items.
In addition to
the clothes I will ride in I need to stage my water bottles, camera, GoPro,
Garmin, phone and waterproof case, lip screen, bars, shot bloks and chamois
cream etc.
Before heading
down to breakfast I check to see if the clothes I washed post ride yesterday
have dried or if they are still damp.
Like lost souls
we gather outside the dining area and await the signal to attack the coffee and
breakfast. When given the nod we pile
plates with eggs, breads, rolls, and if we dare meats and cheeses. We fill bowls with muesli, fruit and
yogurt. We fill and refill coffee
cups. When we finish our plates and
bowls we go back for more.
Based on the
route difficulty and weather and our individual health we choose our route for
the day and then we scurry back to our rooms.
After brushing
teeth we don our costumes, pack our stuff and stagger downstairs to check out
and find our bikes. We drop our luggage
and wan bags where they belong and plug in water bottles and fire up the
electronics that will guide our riding.
Usually a bit
before nine we group up and ride off. We
ride and eat and ride and eat and ride until we reach the hotel.
We arrive at our
destination hotel between four and six.
There is a table with recovery food on it and the big wan with our
luggage.
This is a rushed
time when we try to manage multiple high priorities. One should quickly A) Get out of the
hygienically hazardous bike shorts that have now been on for nine hours B) Get
some recovery food – Protein and Carbs – inside you quickly C) Complete any
bike maintenance such as lubing the chain and addressing that clicking sound
that appeared three hours ago D) Sit your tired ass down E) Check into the
hotel and make your meal selection before someone else makes it for you.
When you do make
it to your room you quickly shower and then it is time to relax. However, you don’t have time to relax because
you have to wash the clothes you wore today and hang them out to dry. All the time you are chugging down water to
help your recovery.
Dry my lovely clothing Dry !!!
One of the signs
of the times was all of the equipment that needed to be recharged daily. When the octopus was set up you just let the
power flow.
About the time
you finish hanging the clothes you just washed as well as any clothes that
didn’t get completely dry last night it is time for dinner.
At first I thought this was some kind of Toilet sidecar. Sort of like a tandem for pooping.
KB sent me this image. It turns out these are for washing your bottles.
Dinner most
nights starts at seven thirty and ends just shy of ten. During dinner the next day’s route and
weather are discussed as well as the stories of the day’s adventure.
After dinner we
often went for a short walk. This was
really a chance to get in some digestion in advance of getting horizontal. During the walk we stop and stretch and lean
and groan. We are not young men and this
is a young man’s game.
When we get back
to our rooms we lay out the gear for the next day and check email using the
typically poor wireless network. Often
there isn’t a lot of conversation as we are tired and as soon as we have done
whatever needs to be done we bid farewell and crash into our pillows.
That my friends
is a day in the life. If it sounds like
the days are hard I would prefer you use the term “challenging.” If it sounds like misery I can assure you
that while it was tough, it was wonderful as well. We knew what we were getting into and while I
couldn’t do this for weeks on end, the challenge only enhances the
satisfaction.
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