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  • August 27 - Cortina to Selva

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    On the climb up Valparola Pass


    Austrian and Italian battlements

    We had two major climbs today. The first started right outside of Cortina. The temperature was on the cool side when we started at 8:30, but the start of the climb warmed me up enough to shed my leg warmers and jacket. It was a steady climb that averaged 5.6%. There was a short break at 3.5 miles where we stopped for a few minutes to take a rest. Then the road tilted up again. We lumbered past Falzarego Pass until we reached 11 miles. This was the top of Valparola Pass at 7200 feet. We had climbed 3500 feet.


    The views from the top were incredible. There were towering mountains above us and emerald valleys below us. There was an Austro-Hungarian WWI fortress on the side of the road that now functions as a museum dedicated to "The Great War". There also was a huge signboard that depicted where all of the Austrian and Italian battlements were with their artillery. You could easily imagine how the soldiers would fire at each other.


    We went down the other side of the pass into the Badia Valley. We passed through several small towns and at 20 miles, we started a gradual climb. Jeff and I were getting hungry so we pulled over to a small hotel and ate pasta on its terrace. My lunch was thin noodles with fresh tomatoes and basil. Jeff had penne pasta with a sauce that had red peppers and garlic. We know that the next major climb was coming up, so we had to get some fuel in our bodies.



    On the climb up Passo Gardena

    After another 1 km of gradual climbing, we turned right and saw what was ahead of us. Straight ahead was a wall that rose 2000 feet. Fortunately there were lots of switchbacks so the grade wasn't too steep - 9 km at an average of 6.1%. I told Jeff that I would see him at the top and he slowly accelerated ahead of me. I shifted down to my lowest gear and panted my way to the top making one stop to drink some water. It's hard to drink while you are peddling up a grade, especially when you are on a squirrelly Bike Friday.


    Jeff was waiting for me at the top of Passo Gardena at just under 7000 feet. We went across the road to the pass sign and took some pictures. This seems to be a tradition in Italy because we had other cyclists stop for the same reason. I took a picture for a woman cyclist from Florence and she took a group picture for us.


    The views from the top were just as spectacular as the previous pass. The mountains are very steep and they tend to rise to craggy peaks. They look like monster cathedrals with large bases and towering steeples.


    We mounted our bicycles again and rode downhill all the way to Selva Gardena. Our hotel, Hotel Krone/Wolkenstein is in the middle of town. Our room is small, but we have a fantastic view of the green hillside above us with a gondola lift taking people to the top of the mountain. As it was in Cortina, Selva is centered on winter skiing. There are lots of shops selling ski gear as well as hiking gear.



    Peter at Happy Hour

    Happy Hour was at 6:00 with dinner following at 7:30. Jeff and I had lasagne, salad from the salad bar and frog fish (we don't know either). Jeff had ice cream for desert while I had macaroon cake. Our meal wasn't the greatest but it was OK.


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