June 14, 2025
Lana
You’re Not There Till You’re There
We leave the Dolomites today and head east to a whole new mountain landscape. There are mixed feelings, as we will be unlikely to see the Dolomites again, yet we have so much exploration ahead of us. We move on from the Sciliar mountain group of the Dolomites, downhill to the Isarco River to Bolzano, then along the Adige River to Merano and from there to Lana.
Long ago, we began using the expression, ‘you’re not there till you’re there’to sum up those cycle touring days when you really want to be at your destination now, but it’s just not in the cards. More work and more patience is needed to get where you’re going. This was one of those days.
After another satisfying breakfast, we left the Garni Hauerstein and cruised downhill towards our massive descent to the valley floor, where the mighty Isarco River rushes towards Bolzano.
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The traffic volume along the road fronting our B&B has been surprisingly heavy. It is such a small town, but the road doubles as a highway so it’s used by hay tractors and farmers trailering cattle and at the same time, lots of local busses, motorcycles and cars.
The traffic may well have been related to the local 3-day horse racing festival this weekend, the Oswald von Wolkenstein Ride. This is the 41st annual event held in honor of Oswald von Wolkenstein, a poet, composer and fiesty diplomat of the 14th-15th century. The festival reflects medieval traditions and the love of equestrian sports centered on the Haflinger horse breed which we have seen in the meadows here. Contestants in costume compete in teams of four over the three days. This is the event we’d considered taking in yesterday, but it was not in full swing as yet. I’d seen them practising last night, but the real racing took place today.
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Onward and Downward
We aren’t generally fussed with car drivers, but nevertheless, we were pleased to find a separate cycle path that took us to our planned turnoff where the real descent began. The cycle way meandered through the woods and along the busy roadway. Soon after, we came to the turnoff to the minor road that would snake down the side of the mountain to the valley floor through the forests, apple orchards and trellissed vineyards that covered the steep mountain slopes. This little squiggle of a road was also designated as a cycle way and we were dismayed to see so many sporty riders (non e-bikes) gutting their way up the hill.
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The disc brakes got a heck of a workout on the downhill, but we eventually came down to the river and the main highway. It would not be fun to have rim brakes for this. They’d get screaming hot and lose their effectiveness.
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The cycle way took us into and clear through Bolzano without so much as touching a street. In fact, we saw nothing of the city, but for concrete structures, newer buildings and roadways. I’m sure there’s much to see there, but not for us today. Besides, the temperatures were starting to soar and we needed to keep moving.
The next bike lane we turned onto was along the Adige. This is where the apple industry is in full flush. Apple trees fill the valley. The bikeway ran between the river and these huge netted orchards.
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The Adige bikeway carries on upstream a considerable way. We’d ride it again tomorrow, but for today our stop would be Lana.
I had booked a special place for tonight, a refugio on top of the mountain. A young couple, one of them a chef, had bought and renovated the refugio and it sounded like a nice way to support local entrepreneurs. The refugio is accessed by a modern gondola situated in Lana so we bought our tickets and got into the gondola with our loaded bikes, and in 15 minutes we were at the top.
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Once at the top, we had troubles finding directions to the refugio. There didn’t appear to be any roadways or indications of how to get there. Nor had I been able to get in touch with them by email, although I had sent two emails to them. They did not have a Whatsapp number, so we inquired at the gondola hotel, a michelin starred hotel, if they could call for us. That didn’t work either. No ring tone. The young receptionist did not know if there was even a road up the hill from the hotel, so couldn’t advise us.
In situations like this, there is only one option and that’s to keep moving and see what comes to light. So, we took the trail up the hill, only to find the world’s smallest chairlift. It carried people up in tiny single seats. I started to worry now. Without any way to communicate with the refugio and no way to find it, I only had one option: head up in the chairlift while David waited with the bikes.
I’ll have to make this a quick story, so here goes. The gondola took a half hour and when got off I was told the refugio was another ten minute walk down a dirt track. Off I went, running now, because a massive storm was beginning to break. Thunder cracked overhead, getting louder with each crack. I spoke to the chef/owner when I arrived and explained the dilemma. He said they do not answer the phone when they are preparing and serving lunch. And, I should have known about the world’s smallest chairlift. He suggested I ride my bike up the 400m elevation gain on the winding dirt road. Needless to say, it was a five alarm fire going in in my mind. I pleaded with him to cancel the reservation and he reluctantly did so.
The storm continued to get worse. I ran back up the hill to the chairlift to discover they had stopped it. My only choice was to walk/run all the way down to the gondola and that is what I did. In cleats, still wearing my helmet. As I flew down the driveway to the hotel, David rushed out with my bike and said, Go! The gondola had just arrived and was loading. The wind came up and the thunder cracked on. We flew over the the gondola and boarded. It was the last gondola until the storm subsided, an hour and a half later. It slowed each time a wind gust whipped up. By the time we arrived at the gondola station, the skies had opened up and it started pouring. And it poured!
On the way down, we’d booked a hotel nearby. We waited out the storm for about an hour, then donned our rain jackets and booties and dashed, when the raindrops were small enough, to our hotel. It was a big relief, to say the least, to have a nice warm dry place for the night.
After a rest we headed off to a fantastic local brewery for dinner. And, boy did we enjoy it! Great food, great beer and the best service.
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1 month ago
1 month ago
Made into a movie, the teeny, tiny chairlift would be quite comical.
One for the books, as it all ended well, with a good brew to finish off!
Cheers, to the team.
1 month ago
1 month ago
1 month ago