It Looked Easy June 15 2011

It was only 80 C this morning so it was just a little chilly when I crawled out this morning, headed for a 106 kms ride with only 1250 meters of climb, and most importantly a huge net down hill. When you looked at the profile there was only one real climb of about 7 kms with about 650 meters of climb and a little climb at the end. I had pulled on my tights as there was one huge down hill and I thought it would be good to have them on.

The sky was crystal blue and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. It was great to not be chased by the thunder clouds. I was off down the road enjoying the Dolomite Mountains and the spectacular views. The climb at the 11 kms mark was pretty easy. At the top of the pass I stopped and put my jacket on for the down hill. It was about about 8 kms and then we entered this canyon. The canyon walls were very steep and there was a river along one side. It was very pretty in the canyons and gliding along on the down hill was really fun. Then there was a series of tunnels and snow sheds. The longest tunnel was just over 2.5 kms. It had a bunch of bends so you could not see the end however it was very well lighted so it was fun. There were a lot of motor cycles so it was really loud.

After the canyon I got to the first major town of Balzno. The route thourgh town was not very clear and so I spent a lot of time wandering around asking directions. Finally I emerged the other side but I was on a cycle path and although it was very nice I would up riding about 12 kms back to find lunch. This cost me a total of 25 kms extra. The next town of Meran was also not very clear on how to get out the other side and I would up wandering around asking directions before I met up with some other riders. Getting lost twice in one day was just a bit too much. So it wound up being a much more difficult ride than I thought.

Just two more rides to Como. It is hard to believe that we are nearly there.

Terry

A Sunny Day! June 14 2011

This morning we awoke to a bright blue sky. There were a few clouds hanging on to the cliffs of the Dolomite mountains. It was the nicest day we have seen in a good long time. So we checked out of the Panda Hotel which was a gorgeous place. The linens on the beds and the down duvets were great. It was definely the nicest hotel on the tour.

There were two options for today’s ride. You could choose a 77 kms ride which had two passes and one smaller climb, or you could choose a 58 kms route which had the two passes without the smaller hill in the middle. Being nobodies fool I choose the shorter route. The first climb right out of Cortina d’Ampezzo took you from 1100 meters to over 2117 meters in 17.5 kms. The second pass took you from 1600 meters to over 2300 meters, over 10 kms. The first climb was though a thick forest so you couldn’t see all the switch backs. I lost count but there were a lot. The second climb of the day was in the wide open as most of it was above the tree line. It was kind of daunting when you looked up and could see eight or nine switch backs in front of you.

I was first in at lunch and was snoozing on a park bench in the sun waiting for lunch when Richard you does lunch as well as rolled up. He saw me and grabbed me and started to pretend to give me CPR, but was really tickling me. I am laughing and trying to get up but he is on top of me. Everyone who was there thought it was pretty funny.

It was a pretty fun day and having a sunny day was a real treat, even though it was cold at the summits.

Tomorrow is a 106 kms ride with only 1212 meters climb. It is mostly down hill so it should be a fun day.

Terry

A Better Route June 13 2011

When the route sheets were handed out for today is was obvious that today was going to be a killer day. The route had 3 major climbs totalling 3500 meters and 119 kms. The tour guide then told us that the lunch was at the summit of the second climb which was close to 2000 meters. He also told us the it was going to be freezing rain at this altitude. He went on to tell us how difficult the ride was and last year he crashed and had to ride in to the hotel in the van. He is also an expert rider. So I am thinking why would any one want to do this ride. The map sheet showed a major highway just to the south which would have much gentler grades and not have all of the climbing. So I set out this morning to take the alternative route.

On my route you still had to do the first climb which was about 10 kms long and took you from around 500 meters to 1500 meters. Then you turned onto the highway. There was almost no traffic and it was a much better road surface. At the lower elevation there was no rain. You could see the clouds and rain up in the mountains. It was much drier so I was happy. It was a great choose of routes. The actual elevation climb for the highway was 2700 meters so we save about 800 meters and the distance turned out to be exactly the same. Everyone who did the hills came in complaining about how steep it was, how cold the rain was. I got to ride through a bunch of ski resort towns and it was really a lot of fun.

So here we are in a very nice hotel tonight, with a short 55 kms ride tomorrow.

Terry

The Dolomites Day 1 June 12 2011

Bruce and I set off with the usual suspects in a pace line. I was in the pole position with Bruce right behind doing the steering. Then at the 16 kms mark this guy jumped out into the road from behind a tree waving his arm in a stop motion right in front of me. I yelled stop but had to jam the brakes. I could hear Bruce locking it up behind me and prepared for the inevitable crash. Bruce slammed into my rear wheel sending both of us over the handle bars head over heels into the ditch beside the road. Luckily neither of us was hurt. Not even a scratch. However Bruce’s front wheel was bent and one of my rear spokes was broken. Bruce called Richard as he had just passed us and 15 minutes later he was there. We loaded Bruce’s bike on the van and put Bruce’s rear wheel on my bike. Bruce got in the van and I rode on. By the time I got to lunch Richard and fixed both bikes. The guy is a miracle worker.

As we still had 75 kms to go I had to make some miles so I jumped on the pedals and headed out. The ride took us up to the first part of the Dolomites, so there was a climb at the end of the ride. I managed to get into camp by just after 3:00 PM. Thankfully the afternoon was much less eventful.

Camp is in a beautiful spot between the mountains. There is a mountain stream flowing though it which is ice cold, where they had some beers. It was a great end to the day.

Tomorrow is over top of Mtn.Sella di Sopa at 1760 meters giving us climb of 1500 meters, and then there are two other climbs for a total ascent of 3255 meters. The weather forecast is for sub zero temperatures at the top and freezing rain. I can hardly wait.

Robert the tour leader has been replaced by his partner in the business and has gone to South America to get their South America ride organized. He was a great tour leader and his favourite phrase “Purrfect” (said with a Dutch) accent is being much imitated around the camp.

Terry

St Marks Cathedral June 11 2011 – Special entry

I mentioned in the blog entry for today that I had gone in to see it but I wanted to put up some pictures of the cathedral as it is really amazing. As I mentioned it was started in 1067 and they have been building/renovating it ever since. The interior is completely lined with mosaic tiles. It is really beautiful. The place is a real money make as they charge, 4 Euros to see the museum and visit the terrace, 3 Euros to see the treasury, 2 Euros to see the alter, and 7 Euros to see the bishops mansion. I paid the 4 to see the museum and visit the terrace. At any rate here are the pictures.

Terry

A Day Off In Venice June 11 2011

I was planning on sleeping in late today as it was our day off. However my air mattress has decided that it is going let me down. So by 6:30 I was laying on the ground. It was time to get rolling anyway so I pulled on my running gear and headed off for a run. It has been quite a while since I went for a run and the first mile was tough. It was perfect running conditions and running along the sea wall was so much fun I soon forgot about how hard it was. Before I knew it, it was time to turn around. So I managed a 10 km run in an hour flat which turned out to be very pleasant.

A quick shower and a breakfast out of the camp store and I was off to see Venice. The ferry ride landed me just a few feet from St Mark’s Square. So it was off to see sites, take pictures and find a gift for my son Kurt. Venice is a maze of tiny streets , alleys and canals. Some streets have bridges and some don’t. Because the streets and lanes are so narrow you cannot see any land marks or even the sun so navigation is a real guessing game.

At about 12:00 the clouds were starting to look pretty menacing and there were a few rolls of thunder. So I needed to find a umbrella fast. Then as I turned a corner there was a shop which had them for 5 Euros the cheapest I had seen. As I was paying for the umbrella the cloud burst happened. The shop keeper was busy putting the price up to 10 as I left. The rain was so heavy the umbrella wasn’t up to the job and I had to take cover for 40 minutes under an awning. My dry running shoes are soaked again.

After the rain let up finding the gift was next on the list. It can’t be paper as it would disintegrate in this climate. Glass, china porcelain would never make it home in one piece. Stone too heavy. I didn’t want a T-shirt as Kurt has lots of them. I looked in hundreds of shops but nothing fit the bill. Then I found the perfect gift. I was very pleased.

The sun was now out and as I entered St. Marks Sq. I noted the line to get into the cathederal was very short so I jumped in the line. What a place! It was started in 1067 and they have been building on it ever since. The interior is lined with all these mosaics. The bronze from the four bronze horses on top dates back to the 2nd century BC.

I had purchased a bag of these special Venician sugar coated jellies. They were so sweet and tangy. I enjoyed them on the ferry where the sun was warm on my face. My shoes are dry. What a great day.

Tomorrow we head for the Dolomites.

Terry

Snoring, Rain & Venice June 10 2011

At 1:30 Am the chain saw snoring started. I don’t know who was doing or what tent it was but I have never heard anything like it in my life. Then at 3:30 Am I am woken up again as there is a very bright light in my tent. It is followed immediately by one of the loudest crashes of thunder I have ever heard. The within seconds my tent is lashed with pounding rain. By 6:00 Am I had to get up and get ready to go but the rain was still just pounding down. Everything was totally sodden. I feel good that I brought a canoeing water proof bag. I don’t think I have ever seen such a heavy down pour, and certainly never a down pour which lasted this long.

I set off on the first 5 kms leg of the trip into Venice in the driving rain wearing a full oil skin rain suit. About 50 meters out of the camp ground a truck passed me and as it when by it hit a huge puddle. It was like being hit with a huge wave. It nearly knocked me over. Fortunately it was only 5 kms up to the first ferry. I was there plenty early, and luckily I was able to wait inside. By the time the ferry left the rain was starting to let up a little.

The second leg of the trip was about 14 kms up the second island. The rain has let up and is down to a drizzle. You can see a little blue sky. We rolled straight on to the second ferry and now the sun is starting to break through. The third leg is only about 10 kms and we got on the ferry and were down to our camp ground in the sunshine. The campground is on a small island across the estuary from downtown Venice.

The cooks were busy in camp and had a tremendous feast ready for us. The camp ground is very nice with great grass to set tents up on. It is a little crowed but is not too bad. It was so great having the sun up. I was able to dry my cloths and tent. I even managed to get my running shoes dried out. They have been soggy for over a week and were starting to smell pretty bad (actually really bad). After a wash and dry they are as sweet as ever.

After lunch I took the ferry into Venice and wandered around looking at the famous sites. It is a really neat place to explore. There are hundreds of tiny lanes and canals. The gondola rides are pretty expensive so maybe I will leave that to the young romantically inclined. It was just great. As tomorrow is a rest day I will head back into to Venice and do some more wandering around.

Terry.

A Very Nice Ride June 9 2011

We were really spoiled last night as were in a very nice hotel. It was kind of a family run hotel and although we were not the only guests it was close. So at breakfast we took it over and gobbled down all of the croissants and had them working double time to make coffees.

The ride was from Castel San Pietro Terme up to Chioggia. It was 149 kms and had a total elevation of only 397 meters. So it was basicly flat as can be. The only hills were bridges over the river Po which we crossed several times along with its tributaries and assorted canals which provide irrigation water to the surrounding farm land. The land looks very fertile and we saw everything from fruit orchards to fields of rice. There was corn and wheat and lots of vegetable farms. Naturally we also lots of vine yards as there are every where in Italy, speaking of which it would appear that tonights wine looks like a very nice 2009 Merlot.

As I was leaving Bruce was there and so I teamed up with him. I do the pulling and Bruce who has a Garmin with maps does the navigating. It is a great team. I pull him along and he keeps us on track. Soon there were half a dozen riders with us. I set a steady pace of right around 27 kms/hr. So we were down to lunch which was at the 81 km mark in no time flat. After lunch we set off and the kms just flew by. Bruce’s navigation was perfect we only stopped once to look at a map and that was only to explain to me how we were going to cross this very busy road which had a hundred ramps.

The weather was perfect riding temperature and the high cloud cover kept the sun from baking us. It was a twisty route so at times we had a head wind and a times a tail wind. However the wind was never a factor.

It was a great riding day and a lot of fun.

Tomorrow is only 25 km into Venice. Wow!

Terry

Hypothermia June 8 2011

I crawled out of a wet and muddy tent this morning. During the nightly cloud burst the trench around my tent over flowed and a wave of mud washed under the tent. It is a real testament to the Mountain Equipment Coop tent that the inside was still dry. So I hauled it down to the motor home station and used the hose to wash the mud off the bottom of the tent and ground sheet.

Bruce said lets ride together and I said sure knowing that he had a Gramin with maps. I waited at the gate to the campground but Bruce never showed up (he jumped in one of the vans). So I rode on by myself. About 3 kms later I was lost in the maze of Florence. We are to follow the signs to this one town but they are every where all pointing down different roads. So I start asking directions. I get about a dozen conflicting directions. Finally I meet an English lady who doesn’t know but I get the idea of asking how to get to the river. At the river I can find my way back to the river. As it turns I am 4 blocks from the river. Back on course I have ridden 15 kms in crazy traffic and spent 1.5 hours going 4 blocks from the campsite.

There are two major climbs in today’s ride the first is about 500 meters which is now in the rain. Fortunately the grade isn’t too steep. Then I hit the second climb it is about 12 kms long and about 750 meters of elevation. The best I can do is around 9 kms in the steeper parts and 13-14 on the less steep part. By the time I get about 6 kms into the climb I am in the cloud bank and it is freezing cold. Just as I come over the top there is a huge lighting strike and the sky opens up. I now have 750 meters of descent over 12 kms to lunch. The wind is just howling and the rain is lashing me form what seems like all sides. With no place to take refuge the only place to go is forward.

By the time I get to lunch my teeth are rattling together and I am shaking uncontrollable. Richard the tour mechanic and lunch guru, pulls off my wet jacket and jersey and dries me off with a towel from the van. He warps me in a blanket and puts me in the van with the heater going. Richard grabs his coffee pot and camp stove and fixes me a hot coffee and fixes me a nice sandwich. About thirty minutes later I was feeling a lot better. Richard saved me. I missed a great looking after noon ride but was happy to be receiving such great care.

Tonight we are in a nice hotel so I can get dried out a bit.

Terry