June 15, 2022
Tre Cime Loop
Today’s unloaded loop ride was tough. As I sweated my way up Passo Tre Croci, I was very glad we hadn’t had to do this loaded to get to Misurina as originally planned. It was a much bigger climb than I expected, or maybe I was just having one of those days. Actually, I rather like that excuse, for reasons you will see.
The descent to Lago di Misurina was short, a good thing as we wouldn’t want to lose too much hard-won altitude on the way to our goal. After a few lake photos and an unsuccessful search for a public washroom (still closed because of Covid, according to the sign, perhaps the only remaining closure in Italy), we carried on towards Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
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The climb was steep. And unrelenting. At least it was until the slight descent in the area of the toll booths (bicycles are free; motorcycles 20€, cars and other vehicles even more). I was torn between enjoying the break in climbing and thinking I’d first have to regain the lost altitude and that I’d have a climb on the return trip. It was through here that we saw two loaded cyclists coming the other way…wow! Although we don’t know how far up they’d gone.
Al was way ahead by this point and I knew I wouldn’t see him again until the top. I was riding in my lowest gear (that particular cog will be worn out after this trip) and taking lots of breaks. That is, until about 3 km from the top, when the breaks were getting so close together it was more efficient to just walk. So I did. I could push my unloaded bike up the hill without stopping, but if I got back on, I couldn’t go very far before needing to stop. Altitude effects, possibly. When I trekked up to Kala Patthar (5645 m) in Nepal in 1986, I had to stop every few steps but felt fine when not moving or returning back downhill. Rifugio Auronzo (end of the Tre Cime road) is at 2333 m and is the highest I’ve been on my bike. (Col du Tourmalet is in second place at 2115 m but I managed to ride that on a heavier bike…)
In any case, I made it and treated myself to some Italian carrot cake at the Rifugio. Al had already demolished his apple strudel. He did say that he found the ride harder this time, 4 years older and on a heavier bike (he had rented a nice carbon Pinnarello in 2018). And that only one other of the guys in his club did the ride that day. And bad as I felt, of the four riders who passed me after the toll booth, three were on e-bikes and the fourth took a couple of km to make up the 100 m from when I first noticed him behind me (he was on a gravel bike with frame bag, not a light road bike, to give him his due).
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After a short break, we got back in our bikes for the descent and to complete the loop back to Cortina. The rain forecast for later this afternoon seemed to be coming and we wanted to be back in Cortina before it arrived.
Back on SS 49, we were continuing to descend grades up to 16%, with quite a few cyclists working their way up them. When we got to the intersection with SS 51, we decided to stay on the highway rather than take the unpaved cycle path. We saw several cycle-path riders (on e-bikes) heading the opposite direction on the highway before we saw the signs—there was a detour, presumably due to a washout, requiring them to take the road for 3 km or so. Traffic wasn’t too bad and good asphalt is fast, so we continued on SS 51 until finally jumping to the bike path (the E1 Lunga Via delle Dolomite, here congruent with the Munich-Venice route) for the last few km into Cortina. And we stayed dry!
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https://mudsongs.org/honey-bee-friendly-flower-orange-hawkweed/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucanthemum_vulgare
1 year ago
Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,962 km (1,218 miles)
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