To Bolzano, Italy

July 12, 2025

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Here we are in the Dolomites - Jacinto is expecting climbing. He's hoping for climbing. Today was a disappointing day on that front.

I thought it was an excellent day. We rode the bike path through tall alpine valleys. There was a short segment of road climbing that had me in the bottom of the granny and panting loudly. Heading down the other side was very steep, for an extended distance. I spent much of the day examining the riders coming towards me. Every time I saw someone loaded, I felt so sorry for them, having to go up that giant climb. Even the part that wasn't 17% was very steep. This was the road riding section that was narrow. It wouldn't be fun. Indeed, I read that the official recommendation is to take the train or the bus past this bottle neck. We were at the top, in a small pull out. Two cars met at the top, and one had to back up into our pull out. It would be exciting to drive around here!

We were soon back on the bike path by the river. I love this sort of riding. I get to pedal and people watch at the same time. I saw dozens of loaded bicycle tourists. I even saw another recumbent, loaded for touring. It was a short recumbent, with underseat steering. There was one group of ~10 who all wore matching jerseys and had panniers. There was another group of 6-8 with panniers that were at one of the frequent picnic areas. I saw a Vermont Bicycle Tours van. A man called out hello, good luck. I didn't like his tone of voice. He said good luck as if he thought I needed it! I bet they get a van ride around the tough part. It would be soul crushing to ride up.

Later in the day I had another man stop me. His English was excellent. He's from Tunisia, and said he would like to build a bike path like this in his home country. He was very interested in my bike, and took photos of it. I told Jacinto later I hoped he wasn't scoping me out and was going to find me on the path tomorrow and steal my bike. Jacinto just laughed at me. I hope for good reason.

Jacinto discovered a soft tire about 15 miles from the finish. Instead of fixing it, he stopped every 5 miles to pump it up.

Our hotel is only two blocks from the path. Our choice is to leave our bikes out front in the bike rack, or to bring them in the room. Our room is on the second floor. I wanted to bring my bike in, and I carried it upstairs by myself. The stairs were wide, with plenty of room in the turns. I had asked the reception if there wasn't some place under a roof for the bikes, but she said those were our two options. Jacinto said he was leaving his bike downstairs. He didn't care if his bike got wet in the forecasted overnight rain. He went back down to fix the flat, and after he repaired it, then he changed his mind and carried the bike up. Our room was large enough for two bikes and to move around. Since my bike was in the room, I took the time to clean it thoroughly. I lubed the chain, and got the QTips out for the small spots. I hope I don't make it rain tomorrow. So far rain has been at night. It's looked threatening during the day, but we made it to town dry. We are watching the weather closely for Jacinto's Stelvio attempt. The forecast keeps changing.

Tomorrow we should have at least some climbing for Jacinto. He says how can we be in the Alps and not climb. He's so sad. I'm not - I like cruising along the river, people watching. This bike path reminds me of the path to Aspen. It has big mountain views, while the path runs in the valley.

This is a nice hotel, but there isn't any food nearby. We had to walk a half mile to a pizza place. I don't think this is a good area. There was graffiti everywhere, and the people looked rough. There was a wedding next door to the pizza place. They set off fireworks in the daylight. We could see just small flashes of light. They were really loud, being so close.

Jacinto ordered seafood pasta. I was ready to give pizza a try. Most pizzas were 10 E. I went for the Stella - which advertised five toppings and was 15.50 E. I thought that meant I'd get five toppings on the entire pizza. Scroll down to see the photo. I think pizza in Italy comes with one topping, and not much sauce. I'm ashamed to say, it must be similar to eating TexMex food - I like the American version of pizza so much more! We spent 53E, and agreed it wasn't worth the walk, and definitely wasn't worth the money. We didn't even take our leftovers. I would have rather had an apple with peanut butter.

Tomorrow we are in Glurns. While doing the trip planning, I had requested one layover of two nights somewhere during the trip. This is the layover. We have an airbnb apartment. Glurns is an expensive town. Even though we are staying three nights, the hotels wanted a minimum of four night stays. This apartment will be fine. It has a washer! We will have a kitchen, and we can cook our own food. Tomorrow is Sunday. There appears to be one grocery in Glurns and it isn't open at all on Sunday. So.

Jacinto had a small pannier accident. He had purchased Nestcafé in a glass jar. Somehow that got open in the pannier. Not all of the powder got out, but there's enough to make a real mess. It stuck to everything. I took all of the items out, and used a strong napkin with soap and water to try and wash the inside. I think it's stained brown now. It does smell good. To add to the mess, the seam tape has been flaking off, so there are chucks of yellow plastic on everything we take out. At some point the tape is going to finish peeling off. That will be a good thing.

Today was a GRAND cycling day. I'm looking forward to more bike path riding tomorrow. There's a section or two I might have to walk, because it's steep. But that will be more photo opportunities. We are riding the Via Claudia Augusta that runs roughly to Munich. I'm not sure how much of it is path riding, as opposed to being a route to follow, but I've been told Germany is excellent for bike paths. This was one of my must rides of the trip.

We have a week left. For many years a week was our entire vacation. Now it feels like we are wrapping things up. I hope the Claudia Augusta is a worthy finish to a seven week tour.

I’m always leary of boardwalks. For some reason I think I’m going to get a splinter in my tires.

At the top of the climb was a labeled fort gate. I can’t say I saw a fort, but I might have been addle brained from the climb.

This was a 17% downhill, according to our mapping app. I was so, so happy to be going downhill and not uphill.

Sometimes man made things are attractive. I like this bridge.

There were occasional trail side cafes. This one was extra busy.

This path reminded me of riding the path to Aspen. It’s a favorite of mine. Jacinto says it’s too boring. He’s not a fan of mindless path riding, people watching and looking around.

Jacinto had a soft front tire. He pumped it up several times on the way to town.

Our room at the B and B Hotel. It is two blocks off of the bike path. The hotel itself is nice, but there’s no restaurants nearby. Our clue should have been the large selection of frozen dinners in the lobby.

This was the best photo of the day. Lake Caldonazzo, the big lake near Levico Terme.

Our one church photo today was worthy of the honor.

Flowers everywhere. Even on the bridges.

Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 1,313 miles (2,113 km)

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Mike AylingWhat happened to the pizza photo?
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1 week ago

Kelly IniguezTo Mike AylingOops. I have put it on tomorrow’s post.
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1 week ago

Anne MathersYou were not quite in the Dolomites, just to the west of them. You have to head further east to find them. Look for Cortina, Corvara and Arabba, for example. The Parco Stelvio also has some great, tough climbs besides the Stelvio. Maybe next time, Jacinto. It’s totally worth it. Enjoy the Stelvio!
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1 week ago