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