Bob and Ann in Italy 2011

There was sunshine and partly cloudy skies this morning. All of the cyclists were edgy and ready to ride in good weather. You could smell sunscreen. Upholding my BAC tradition, I was one of the last to leave shortly after 9:00.

Today’s ride featured three passes – Passo Gardena , Passo Campolongo and Passo Falzarego . None of the climbs were very steep although I am sure that we reached 10-12% in places. I was ascending in a jersey with arm warmers and descending with my rain jacket. I had on leg warmers for the entire route. The temperature was in the high 50s.

The scenery was fantastic all along the route. We could look up and see the jagged peaks – some with snow. We could look down and see lush green valleys. There were small picturesque villages along the route clinging to the cliff sides.

Lunch in Arabba

I stopped for lunch in Arabba when I saw some of our group at a roadside cafe. This was about halfway through the ride.

The end of the ride was a nice long downhill into Cortina d'Ampezzo . I couldn’t take advantage of the grade because it started to rain. As I was entering the outskirts of Cortina, it started pouring. I took refuge under some trees until it let up. Then I coasted into our hotel.

Hotel Ancora is really classy. It is full of antiques and oriental rugs. Our group was upgraded to suites. Ours has a bedroom, a sitting room and two bathrooms. Ann claimed the one with the Jacuzzi.

Dinner was at the hotel. Our waiters were dressed in tuxedos. They brought our food to our table in covered plates. At the count of three, they lifted the lids and we responded with oohs and aahs. Our menu was macaroni with a creamy tomato sauce, baked white fish with potatoes and ice cream cake for dessert.

This was the day’s route.