After a short stop at the (busy!) Maloja Pass I more or less stay on the same altitude, along four long lakes. Finally big/crowded (Bad) Sankt Moritz comes into view; very busy. I ride on and on and on, turn right at Schlarina, onto the Via da Bernina. I fear I don't have enough food/drink, so I make a sidestep to the railway station of Pontresina, where I spend some last Swiss francs. The second climb of the day, to the Berninapass, is also the second in ranking, but it's by far not as hard as the Maloja Pass. The view onto the Morteratsch glacier is beautiful – will my daughters descend from it again, in three weeks' time?

Silvaplanersee

Morteratsch Glacier

The last four km till the Berninapass are a bit harder than I remember from '88 – but then it was the first pass of the day (and I was 24 years younger). There's quite a bit of snow and there are quite a few glaciers up there. The 4 km descend is fast. I turn left for the Forcola di Livigno, which I remember from '88 as a very rude/hard climb. Maybe that was due to the wind then; this year the climb is certainly doable. And, I'm not the only sportsman at the top, right on the Swiss-Italian border. Follows a descent into the Livigno valley, while I feel I need food/drinks. I reckon I can 'score' a pizza, but it's not the right time for this in the first restaurant I enter. They do have Apfelstrudl, and that's good too. And it's warm, even on this altitude (1800m above sea level). This, and the exercise that I have behind me already make the climb to the Passo d'Eira – 400m up in 6 km – rather strenuous, but I have enough energy to 'race' down and up (12-15 km/h) to the last col of the day, the Passo di Foscagno, which comes nicely into view from the Passo d'Eira. Even so, I cannot keep up with a young girl on a racing bike.

Bernina Express	Glaciers around Bernina Pass
The highest point of the day	Descent from Bernina Pass
Way up to Forcola de Livigno	View back from this Forcola
Calories	View into the north, valley of Livigno
View from Passo d'Eira to Passo di Foscagno	I did it!
Shortly after Passo di Foscagno	Side view in the descent to Bormio

As a final dish of this day's menu the long descent, 1000m down, to Bormio. I pass some hotels, but think I'll be in time for the tourist office. After some asking I get there shortly before 6:30, and will be the last customer of the day. The brochure I'm given contains at least forty pages: what a load of hotels they've got around here! (and not quite so cheap)   On my way to a reasonably priced hotel, not too far from the T.I., I pass a hotel where a bicycle is hanging at the frontage, and a sign says 'bikers welcome'. I have a look, notice there are many peers, am heartily welcomed and lured into a 'very beautiful room', 'not expensive' (€ 50 for bed & breakfast, € 20 for dinner) and 'good meals'. I book for two nights in this Hotel Funivia, and to my delight all the information turns out true; it's one of the nicest places where I stay during the trip. I share a table with David and Pegfoon (that's how her name is pronounced), a couple from San Fransisco, who travel around on a tandem, not avoiding hard climbs. I had already met David downstairs in the bike room, providing every tool I could possibly need. David tried to help readjusting my brakes, which unfortunately didn't work out completely satisfactorily, leaving me a bit worried with all the long descents (Stelvio!!) still in store. The three course dinner is delicious, though the servings are rather small (for a cyclist's stomach), however, you can compose your own (big) salad from the salad bar. Later, in bed, I can only think of and fear the Passo Mortirolo of tomorrow.

Breakfast is super too (starting 'late', i.e. at eight, that's the only - small – drawback here). Almost all the guests are cyclists, most of them Dutch, some already in cycling attire. It seems a good idea to take in a lot of 'fuel'. The first hour is mostly downhill, though I've been informed by the owner of the hotel, also cyclist and guide, there's a short climb around San Bartolomeo, a detour that's possibly still a consequence of the collapsed mountain in (about) 1987. A new road has been under construction for a long time, and the alternative for cyclists has some dubious (very small and steep) sections. What's nice: it's very quiet. It does take more time to cover the 30 km to Mazzo than expected. When I finally cross the river Adda to enter Mazzo I can still see nothing of any steep road going up to the Mortirolo.

Cycling alternative

Mazzo (with no sign of the steep road up)

In Mazzo it's not easy to find a place for a cappuccino (at least the third of the day) and find courage for the biggest feat of this tour. Several scenarios are possible; walking is not an option: then I'll retrace my track. One or two short breaks are okay; I'm not sure whether I'll manage 11% for such a long time. At the start of the climb – tornante 34 (or 35) – a board shows the profile of the Passo Mortirolo: a middle section of 5 km at a rate of more than 12%. Sounds like hell!

I switch to lowest gears – before I left from Holland I didn't even look how low they were, but I've seen even light bikes with much lower gears (the Shimano set of my old Koga can only handle 3x6 gears). The first two km are quite okay, and the temperature is not too bad either. From then on it gets hard, hard, hard. After every hairpin bend I turn my head and have to look really up. For a long, long while it never falls below 10%, and there are stretches well over 15%. In the turns the altitude is given, but I don't need to know how far/high I am all the time; I do also ignore my speedometer. I just focus on continuing, continuing, and when every now and then I do take notice I'm never disappointed. I cover 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, it seems that I'm going to make it. I get a real boost when I pass a Belgian guy walking, (racing) bike at hand ('Tell them to wait for Philippe', he asks me). 4 km, 5 km, I make it till hairpin bend 17 (the counting is downwards) and still continue going. I have no energy left, nor speed enough to make pictures while cycling, but hey, who cares (and the views are not that spectacular anyway, most of the time I'm in the woods). After the T-crossing where the road meets the (easier!) alternative from the north, it gets a little easier, and feelings of a great satisfaction overtake my tiredness. I'm passed several times by couples that – I learn later – are in a five-days' duo competition. From tornante 9 it seems that tornante 8 never comes, but is does, and the other tornanti luckily follow each other much quicker. At the top I do make some pictures, a.o. of the official name "Passo di Foppa" and have a few chats, mostly with compatriots and Belgians (to whom I can announce that Philippe is coming).

The start

The biggest accomplishment

After this, I can 'easily' handle anything that's still on my program – the hardest part of which coming sooner than I expect. The descent is no fun: it's narrow, steep, and goes down further than I had hoped, and also further to the west. The SS42 that I have to follow till Ponte di Legno is boring. And time is not on my side either. The road is slightly uphill and is wearing me out. In Vezza d'Oglio I have an Apfelstrudl lunch. A little before Ponte de Legno a road to the left is going up steeply. I don't want to 'risk' it, afraid I may have to descend before the real climb to the Passo di Gavia begins.

Descent from Mortirolo

Ascent to Passo di Gavia

Three more pictures ...

... of the ascent ...

... to the Passo di Gavia

Bad decision! the second turn (also up) brings me nowhere, and when from then I follow the signs for the Gavia, I pass all around Ponte di Legno, and it seems I'm almost halfway to the Passo di Tonale when I finally leave the SS42 (for a descent of 2 km. Hell!) I fill my water bottle and struggle onward – well, it's okay, at times quite steep, but mostly exhaustingly long. With the end in view I do need a break, in a barren landscape. It's certainly a pass with a long history in the Giro d'Italia; my history is restricted to one visit from the north in '88. Because of the short break shortly before, I don't need another stop at the top, though it has been hard indeed. Also it's around 5:30 p.m., and Bormio is 28 km away. What a beautiful landscape I rediscover on that other side! In the beginning I make a few photo stops and further down enjoy the speed and the views. On the almost straight road from Santa Caterina against a mild wind I keep a good speed and hardly need to brake. (The tandem couple later tell me they reached 70 km/h there!) Dinner is delicious again, this time I share a table with a Canadian family, father with two sons (18, 20 years) cyclists too, and (the boys) behaving very like adolescents with regard to their father (especially when he starts talking about (American) politics). In the late(r) evening I enjoy a soft sofa and the buzz around me. I learn that the weather report for Saturday – the day after tomorrow – is rain the whole day. And yes, the Funivia Hotel is a very nice place to stay!

Even though today I will pass the Stelvio Pass for the first time in my life with luggage, I consider this day as a day of rest; from the start 22 km up and then 100 km down, most of the time. I introduce myself to four compatriots – cyclists too of course – who are a bit restless as they will return home today. Lucky me, five days of the Dolomites still coming! Well stuffed up I leave around 8:45 a.m. It's a bit cloudy, but already T-shirt weather, definitely with 2.5 hours of climbing in store. Nice views back into/onto the valley coming from the Passo Foscagno. The Stelvio is quite a regular climb from Bormio, 6-9% all the time, I would guess. I expect I'll need a break around km 14, but right then I'm cycling up with a couple of roller-skiers (four or five nice butts ☺), and also this is a phase where the road nicely zigzags against the slope (so I can see how much altitude I win). I make many pictures (not of these butts, well, hardly any) and shortly after this 'staircase' can see my destination high up (at about the point where in 1988 I had to turn around owing to irreparable trouble with my gears). The last three kms, from the Umbrail Pass are hard work for me. It looks like they changed the road between 2008 and this summer. At 11:20 I reach the pass (the highest after the Iséran) where I meet the usual crowd. I ignore the Bratwurst and restrict myself to some chocolate and a coke.

The climb to the Stelvio in 10 pictures


Around the top                            

I'm not too keen on the descent - the 'operation brakes' in hotel Funivia has not had the effect I'd wished for. So I take it easy, especially during the first twenty hairpin bends, also not minding several photo stops, the last one in front of the Ortler glacier. From there I let the wheels roll a bit more freely. The last days during long descents my shoulders hurt a bit, but the second part of this descent is quite relaxed – not much braking, I can sit upright a lot of the time – and so I'm okay, keeping a good speed until Prato. Even so, the supermarket there is closed, so I have a warm (in two ways) lunch, with pizza, an ice coupe and a litre of sparkling water, on a sunny terrace.

From Prato I will follow the bike route through the valley of the Adige till Merano, still some 600 m down in 48 km. I am unpleasantly surprised to meet with a strong head wind. All the time! Well, one can't be lucky with the wind always, can one? I get a few showers of water from the amply adjusted irrigation system for the apple orchards. Fortunately halfway I'm overtaken by a biker whom I can catch up with, and with whom I chatter along till Merano (with three nice steep kms at the end). We have a beer in Merano – the nice man is called Peter and lives in Bamberg, where, he tells me, there are quite a few good breweries (and he wants to pay for my beer) - I hope he will someday read this blog and contact me!

Warm lunch

Cycle path along the Adige

Having a beer with Peter

Peter is going to meet his wife in Lana, so shortly south of Merano we say goodbye. It looks like we've missed some rain while taking our beers; the road is wet. No noteworthy rain catches me until I reach Bolzano – in fact, there it is really summer again. It takes a long ride through the city until I find the tourist information. They check the youth hostel for me, but that is fully booked, and give me the name and address of one of the cheaper hotels that are close by. Though this hotel is rather sordid (though the same price as Bormio) I accept a room for two nights. What a difference compared to the Funivia Hotel! I don't feel happy in the hotel, I don't feel happy in Bolzano, I don't want to have dinner by myself. After a short walk through the town, where I'm not in the mood to sit down somewhere, I end up at a kebab tent, close to Hotel Dolomiti. Where at least the food is good! I go to bed early and wonder whether tomorrow things will work out better with the Passo di Pennes than in 1988.

What a poor place to have my birthday breakfast. On my own in a very small dining room, small windows, no fresh things, no coffee (well, half an hour later I learn from some other, Italian, guests how the coffee machine works) – the contrast with Bormio couldn't be larger. When I step out the front door I see a wet street and people with umbrellas. Well, we'll see what happens. The route to the north is easily found. The first few kms it's a cycle path which almost passes by the backdoor of the hotel, and follows the Torrente Tálvera, a current I will follow almost the whole climb (in fact, almost the whole day). In the beginning there is a lot of agriculture (mostly viniculture) against the steep mountain sides. Further on, the valley is deep and narrow; the road is led through many tunnels, 21 in all (one of which is forbidden for cyclists). Between tunnels 8 and 9 I try to call my Dad, whose birthday it is too, but I only get my mum twice for ten seconds before the connection fails. Because of the tunnels I don't perceive the rain so well, which changes for the worse after the twenty-first. I still prefer to ride in T-shirt, but against the wind and the rain I get colder and colder. I had hoped to have coffee at least 10 km further, but I'm glad when finally Sarentinos come into view. I wring out my T-shirt and put on my track jacket, the only dry garment I have put in my (small) pannier today.

The story of the Passo di Pennes; before the break            

At first it feels warm in the Stube where I cause a wet bench and a pool of water on the floor, and a hot chocolate helps as well, but after a while I feel chilly again. I text to my girlfriend Eveline that I fear I will again not reach the Passo di Pennes. In 1992 I wanted to make the same tour, from Merano, in the opposite direction, but got stuck after 30 km in St Leonard im Passeier, where I spent six hours in a pizzeria, reading "Die Klavierlehrerin", before I returned, demoralized, and still in the rain, to Merano. Across the street there is a women's clothes' shop, where I find one T-shirt that reasonably fits. After two or three hours I have finished my book (from Fiesch), pay my bill and leave the restaurant for some 20 km downhill. To my surprise (and joy) the sky has cleared a LOT. The Passo di Monte Giovo (also known as Jaufenpass) is out of the question, but let me see how far I can get to the Passo di Pennes (a.k.a. Penser Joch). Under a blue sky adorned with white clouds the Austria-like valley is really nice, and for a long while the grades are easy, in fact until the village Pens. And that's where the 'fun' starts. Shortly after Pens I read a sign '1500m s.l.m.', and from then on it's harder work, 8% on average, with a fierce wind from the north. The clouds gain more and more area, and 7 km before the pass it starts to rain. Okay, but now I will 'win'! I change into my wet T-shirt, which after five minutes doesn't feel worse than when drenched in sweat. The rain is not so terrible, and it's by far not the Mortirolo, so I make it to the top.

The story of the Passo di Pennes; after the break

Where it's cold and windy, and where to my surprise there is a restaurant where, moreover, they serve Kaiserschmarrn! I let that be my treat – with a beer – for my birthday. For half an hour I don't think about the long (cold?) descent. Well, it's not that cold; no more rain.

On the Passo di Pennes; and down again

Pension Alpenrosenhof

Kaiserschmarrn!

Kaiserschmarrn (und Bier)	The other side
1 km down	2 km down
Back along the Talferbach	Not much rain anymore

The first part, with tail wind, is good for high speeds (at one moment I observe 71.5 km/h), and in the absence of rain it's actually quite nice. At 4:20 I reached the top; between this glorious moment and the return to the hotel, the Kaiserschmarrn and the descent use up two hours and ten minutes. I have dinner (pizza + ice-cream) on the terrace of Hotel Dolomiti; the owner of the hotel may not be the friendliest person in Italy, he is a good cook!

This morning breakfast is even more morose, since I am alone most of the time. Luckily the weather has changed for the better. I quickly find the right exit from Bolzano. There are several options to follow the river Isarco. First I choose the 'main road' (there is also a motorway), then I decide that today I have time enough to try the cycle track, so I retrace the first 500 meters. A very wise decision! Beside the Isarco river, the Valle Isarco is traversed by three main traffic lines, that are the motorway, the state road and the railway line. And a bicycle path, which stretches on the former railway track. It's fun! Beautiful, quiet – apart from the many (Sunday) cyclists - easy going (trains never go that steep) and it also offers shelter against the wind (a nordliche Föhn again). At first I am just waiting till the path will come to an abrupt end, but a 'local' informs me it continues till Bressanone, so it is about as long as the route through the Adige Valley.

The story of the cycling alternative in the Isarco Valley

In Klausen I have a break with tasty pastry on a sunny plaza – it's so nice that I forget the time ...   Some 5 km further I miss the turn to the Passo delle Erbe, my doubts turn into certainty at least a km too late. Today's 'main course' (in fact the only ‘course' on the menu) is quite a long/big/nice one. Nice with respect to the scenery I ride through, and with respect to the relative calmness of the road. I easily (and slowly) climb the first 600m and have a short break in San Pietro, from where I can see the first typical Dolomite peaks. After San Pietro it's quite hard work for a while – the indication of a steep section on the map should be placed here, I guess – but I manage. It's a tiny road, through alpine meadows interspersed with woods, and rocky mountains high up. I get to the junction with the direct road from Bressanone and am positively surprised that the altitude is already 1750m! The next 5 km are very easy, there's even a descent (not that I very much appreciate that: what goes down must go up), and after a 3 km of 7% it's 'in the pocket'.

The story of the Passo delle Erbe

The col sign gives 'only' 1987m, so I turn left for another 200 m (17m up ☺) to the Würzjochhaus, to add another 'above 2000' to my list. It's crammed with cars, so I take extra care at the beginning of the descent, a descent which is interrupted by a 3 km climb for which I do need to take of an extra layer of clothing! During the day I have decided to deviate from my original plan to stay in Pedraces/Badia (I don't know which is the official name), but – with the long last stage in mind – continue till Corvara. The S244 leading right into the heart of the Dolomites is a very busy road, as I could have foreseen. Also it goes up some 400m again from San Martino. I pass several touristic towns – ample choice to find a place to sleep, and find a very nice place to stay – 'bikers welcome' again – in Garni Monti Pallidi.

From the Passo di Erbe till Corvara

Into the heart of the Dolomites

View from my room to the Grödner Joch

A very friendly woman is a bit worried the bed might be too small for me, but it's okay. The room is very small, and a bit dark, but from my balcony I have a perfect view to the Grödner Joch in the west and the rocky mountain (the Sassongher?) in the north. I have a real gourmet five course wild menu (for a reasonable price), and a chill walk back to my 'home'. I do some writing in the lobby and have a chat with a German father and son, also touring by bike (the boy is only fourteen years old, though he definitely looks like he's sixteen at least).

With the condition at good as ever (since 2008) I can do 'anything I want'. At home I had considered many possibilities, one including Plan de Corones, one including the "Drei Zinnen de Lavaredo", two 'Mortirolos'. Last evening I decided to choose a more circular alternative with more reasonable climbs, and . . . with 'six' passages above 2000m (if one counts the Passo Valparola and Passo di Falzarego as two). The breakfast buffet is not as copious as in Bormio, but I find everything I need: cereals, bread, fresh rolls, fruit juice, coffee. It's six degrees centigrade when I pass the pharmacy on the other side of the road, which is a bit cold for the first kms downhill, but these are only four or five, before I turn right for the starter, the Passo Valparola, the only new pass of today. It's a beautiful morning, the environment is gorgeous, the muscles are okay. Top!

Cool morning!

Starter of the day: Passo Valparola

And at the top I have enough energy to go on directly for the second course. A quick descent, passing the Passo Falzarego with a nice descent to the south (not my itinerary today), feeling/fearing my brakes getting worse, even without luggage ...   I get a glimpse of Cortina d'Ampezzo when I turn right for the Passo di Giau. I remember the great view up from the other side, and the beautiful evening colours on the east side in 1992, and this year I enjoy the nice scenery even more when I do it from the easier side. I know I'm not a professional chamois on wheels, but I'm amazed about the speed with which I am overtaken by, I guess, an American couple; the girl is even comfortably chatting along! I again make several pictures while going up, especially around the summit, with this very characteristic mountain on the right.

The pass, as well as the others today, is very popular under motorcyclists. At the Passo di Giau I don't need much time before I dive down again. The valley to the west is quite narrow and straight; from very far I can look back/up and still see the pass. Gorgeous descent; this side of the Giau I consider as one of the most beautiful of all. In Selva I'm – not for the first time – the last customer in the Coop before lunch break. While riding around with my bag of stuff, looking for a good place to sit, I spot a heavily loaded bike with, presumably, its owner. The owner has already finished his lunch, but doesn't mind to keep me company for half an hour. He's from Vienna and has a lot of cycling stories in store. He's wearing a T-shirt from the Dolomiten Marathon (harder stuff than the Marmotte!). Like mine his next goal is the Passo di Fedaia, a climb regarding to which at least two Italians I met along the way told me: Phew! We start off together, it's 3 km more downhill till Caprile, and ride up a short while until it becomes clear that, with the difference in weight we are carrying with us, today I'm definitely faster than he is. So, after having exchanged names – his is Reinhard – and make a few pictures of each other on the saddle, we say goodbye. The climb has a slow start, but later also a long, straight, steep section. I ride in a trance and use the mantra 'the Mortirolo is much harder'. This continues till a set of hairpin bends, where the grade wears off a bit.

At the col sign I wait ten minutes for my 'partner', and also to rest a bit, though I don't really expect him so short behind me. I do remember more or less the form of the Marmolada Gruppe, to the left/south, but I don't remember the long level passage along the big lake, at the end of which is the col sign for the other side, and I remember nothing at all of the descent.

Marmolada Gruppe

In Canazei it's warm. I enter a rent-a-cycle shop hoping to find a new set of brake pads. I do, and the man in the shop is also so friendly to fit them (for which he lies the Koga outside on the pavement). He doesn't want extra money for that, but this I cannot accept; I'm so happy! Even though it's close to 4 p.m. and I have two climbs still in store (2nd and 3rd category, I should guess) I have a coffee + Apfelstudl in ristorante 'Eine Königin unter den Bergen', well, on its terrace. Canazei is warm and full of tourists, mostly by car, it seems. The road to the Passo di Sella/ Passo Pordoi is quite steep and very busy. After the junction it gets calmer – twice as calm, I should guess, and it goes up at quite a pleasant, regular slope, between 6% and 9%. And what a gorgeous environment again, the whole time. Schön, schön, wunderschön! During the last few hundred meters I look left for the breath-taking panorama, looking down as far as Canazei. At 18:15 p.m. I reach this last but one pass. Also the three sharp mountains with the sun going down behind them are enormous.

It will be a late arrival, and to make (almost) certain I will arrive before 8 p.m. I immediately put on my helmet for a short, quick descent (with good brakes ☺ ). The Passo di Gardena shouldn't be too much of a problem – it's only 250m up, or so. Much of the difference in altitude is gained in the first 3km, which go annoyingly slow. Follows a flat or even descending (which I find annoying too) part, and 3 more kms to go up. From the top a nice view onto Corvara and the mountains behind it, and the valley with the serpentine road in between. I'm surprised to see the time at the pharmacy close to the hotel, 19:15. Well, the distance was only 115 km ...   I have my last dinner in a ristorante that is well attended this Monday evening. I feel a bit lonely, and, out of doors again, the search for an ice-cream for dessert is not very successful. Corvara is not a typical Italian town, where between 9 and 12 p.m. everyone is walking along the streets, with or without ice-cream. For one thing, even midsummer evenings are not that warm. Great day!

Garni "Monti Pallidi"

In the dining room I find an old aproned man with binoculars watching the mountain slope in the west, spotting game, he tells me. When I put the glasses before my eyes I spot nothing living. I enjoy my last breakfast in Garni Monti Pallidi, settle the bill ( € 70,-), get my bike from the garage and set off for the last stage. It's not as cold as yesterday, but I need an extra layer, even with a climb of six km to start with, today a quiet and easy starter. The descent (from the Passo Campolongo) offers nice views over Arabba, the valley leading up to the Passo Pordoi, and the pointed rocks on the other side of this wide valley. The climb to the pass just mentioned can be said to be twice as hard as the Campolongo – 640m up in 9.5 km.

Breakfast in Garni Monti Pallidi

Another view from my room in Corvara

View over Arabba

Wide valley leading to Passo Pordoi

Great rocks around

Passo Pordoi

I think I remember there are 33 hairpin bends (a guy from Groningen told me in 1988) on the way to the Passo Pordoi. The climb is very regular, and the deepening of the views back helps psychologically. My first impression of where the pass is located is contradicted as I get closer to it. Compared to what I've seen the last few days it's not very spectacular. The west side is nicer. Very nice indeed.

Just below the 'Sella-junction' look who's cycling up, isn't that Reinhard?! It is, we shake hands, exchange a few words – yes, the Fedaia is quite something! – make a few pictures and continue our own courses. In Canazei my intuition sends me into the wrong (Fedaia!) direction, possibly because of all the cars! I follow what may be called the Dolomiten Haupstrasse – well halfway the road splits into a motorway and a secondary road – till Predazzo, where I have an early lunch/late coffee break with a huge piece of Apfelstrudl from the supermarket (and with some nice music coming from the church behind me). I'm well on schedule to include the last new climb (and the 25th time of this tour that I cross the 2000m level), the Passo Manghen. The 15 km or so from Predazzo (where I stayed two nights in 1992) and Cavalese (three nights in 1988, with bruised knee and shoulder after my worst fall ever, in the descent from the Passo di Mendola) are not as easy as I had expected, and the clouds coming from the south do not offer a happy prospect. In Cavalese I have a cappu at the ristorante where I licked my wounds 24 years ago, and get accurate route info. From Cavalese I descend to the Torrente Avisio, with 800 m the lowest point in two days. From above I could already see the very black tarmac of the SP31 (Strada Provinciale) leading to the Passo Manghen.

'My' restaurant in Cavalese

Down there, right in the middle, the start of the final climb

Long, small, (almost) straight road

The first five km are absolutely flat and straight. This is not what I had expected! Most striking feature is that it is so quiet, especially after the Sella Runde. I can hear the torrente on the right, I can hear the birds. (And when a motorcycle approaches I can hear it coming from a long distance.) The km signs along the road follow each other in a good pace. The pace slows down as the slope rises, but still there are hardly any bends, and I stay in the woods. It's a good road to meditate! I don't make many photographs – they will be all much alike – but when I do the automatic flash turns on: the sun has disappeared and the tall trees give much darkness. After a very long while I finally get out of the woods, and I can see the road going up steeply in a few bends; it looks too steep for me, but after each bend it's not as bad as it seemed before. So I struggle on; it is a long climb! It helps when 2 km before the pass a German speaking cyclist encourages me (the heavily loaded one) and tells me it's only 1 km to go till the top. So I accomplish this last pass in one big stride. At the pass I'm photographed by one of three noisy Swiss (motorcyclists).

Finally getting out of the woods

Happy man

And down again for the last time (15%)

Spectacular descent

Not a very happy man

View back to the pass

Rest another 48 km till my final destination, half of which is a descent to Borgo Valsugana. And what a descent!! The south side of the Passo Manghen is MUCH more spectacular than the north. A glorious dessert of the final stage. Alas, after 2 km it starts to rain, it stops, it starts again, HARD. For quite a while. It stops again, and the sun returns, but speeding up on a wet road is not a good idea. Luckily I pass a restaurant, where I have a late lunch, outside, on a bench, in the sun again! In Borgo, just before I get onto the Strada Statale 47 I notice another bike route. The Italians did much good work for cyclists, these last twenty years! I realize too late I should have done some souvenir hunting in Borgo or should make a detour to Levico Terme. The cycling alternative is nice: no cars, almost flat, a bit boring though (I've become a spoiled child).

Last – sunny – stop

Cycle path, easily missed, but not by me

Almost there

Caldonazzo is coming closer and closer (and I don't want to make the detour to L.T.). I arrive in Caldonazzo between 5:45 and 6:00 p.m. I hope to find a shop there, but the village is much smaller than I had expected and there is only a toys shop and a (big) supermarket. I have to follow the west side of the lago for another six or seven km. First I miss the cyclists' alternative, but the main road feels too much like a motor way, so I quickly return (there's a fence between me and the cycle track which I cannot cross), for some relaxed last five km along the Lago Caldonazzo till I’m definitely sure that I've found the bus stop where I'll be picked up at 9 p.m. I seem to be the only passenger. Time enough for a last Italian beer and a last Italian pizza. Right on time the bus arrives, and at about the same time one of the Cycletours 'personnel', whom I'd seen walking around (with his abundant rasta hair) in Hotel Funivia.     So far so good.   And . . . . when will I be here again?