June 18, 2022
Caprile to Agordo
the long way
I’d spent the last several days wondering if I should ride the route I’d planned, over Fornella Staulanza and Passo Duran, or if I should take a break and ride the flat route down the Cordevole valley to Agordo. Surely I could manage the two remaining hilly days? There would be only two more days of riding after that, both flat and one very short. Besides, what would there be to do in Agordo if I got there before noon? I looked—not much. So I decided to go for it. Al, of course, was riding the passes. He’d wanted to do Staulanza in 2018 but it hadn’t fit their itinerary.
Of course, a good dinner the night before helps. Half-board at Hotel La Montanina is recommended. Hotel guests eat in the dining room where there’s an antipasto buffet with lots of veggies and salads. Then you are served the first and second courses you’ve previously chosen from three options for each, followed by a choice of dessert.
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In the morning, we set off up the Fiorentina Valley. The beginning had looked relatively flat on the profile but it wasn’t, and then came the switchbacks up to Selva di Cadore. This was one of the steepest parts of the Staulanza climb.
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After Selva was a series of villages, all part of Val Fiorentina. The road followed this valley until the final few switchbacks to the top, with nice views to provide some distraction from the effort.
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Then it was down, a long way down. The bottom of the descent was lower than our starting point but it seemed we came down a lot more than we’d gone up.
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At Dont, we turned onto a narrow road for the climb up to Passo Duran. It was immediately steep and the steepest parts were through the villages in the first half of the climb. By this point it was hot and I took some short breaks in the shade when I found it. I filled my empty bottle at a running village tap to ensure I’d have enough water as my second bottle was no longer full, but didn’t end up needing it. Better to lug a bit of extra than run out on such a day!
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Al was waiting at the top and then came what seemed like the longest descent I can remember doing, but since I know I’ve done longer ones than 12 km, I think the unrelenting grade made it seem longer. I was glad I wasn’t climbing this way!
My previous research was correct. Agordo isn’t a tourist town and there wasn’t much available for lunch on a Saturday. It’s location, though, is very nice, surrounded by high peaks in every direction. The town was once home to the world’s largest eyewear company and there is still a big Luxottica plant here. In the words of the regional tourism website, “ Agordo has never developed a proper long-term plan for tourist welcome, maintenance and promotion, since the majority of its population deals with eyewear industry rather than tourism.”
So we shared a panini and each had a slice of apple strudel at a bar that was open before continuing a few hundred metres to our B&B. Later, when we headed out for dinner at a restaurant that sounded good, we were a bit surprised that is was across the river and adjacent to the Luxottica plant. The food was good, the portions large, and we were the only non-Italians there.
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