Details:
WOW!!! What a fun, enjoyable and AMAZING ride this was. My entire trip to Italy was decided based on the one thing only: Riding in the Dolomites. And I couldn´t have asked for a better day. Weather was perfect, the color of the mountains and the sky were unreal and the climb is a constant climb, which was a pleasant surprise, as I was expecting to suffer pulling the panniers on steep climbs.
I can divide the ride into 2 parts: #1) From Belluno to Pieve di Cadere, which is about halfway; and #2 From Pieve to Cortina D´Ampezzo. The first 20km are mostly flat, and then an easy climb takes place for about 15km, until reaching Pieve. The scenery changes drastically once I passed Pieve, as the peaks around Cortina D´Ampezzo become closer and closer, it seems that in each turn, a nicer angle, a more amazing view of the Dolomites takes place. If you want to do an easy ride, with amazing views, try riding from Pieve to Cortina and you won´t be disappointed.
It seems that there is a cycling project in place to ride up the Dolomites, which is called "Ciclables". I actually rode about 15km-20km overall on either bike paths for secondary roads marked as part of the bike path that ride to Cortina. But some of the parts were on dirt roads and other parts had more climbs, and I wasn´t sure exactly up to what point the path would go. So I began riding on the SS51, which goes from just outside of Belluno to Cortina, and it was mostly a very enjoyable route. The only part that wasn´t fun at all was in the 3 tunnels. It didn´t seem dangerous at all, as I had rear lights and cars/ trucks/ buses respect cyclists (although a few like to check and see if their horn works), but it´s just not fun...especially when you know the views you are missing by being in a tunnel.
The arrival in Cortina is really really special....I rode around the tiny village and every turn I made I enjoyed the many peaks from different angles...amazing. Can´t wait to head out tomorrow morning to climb the peaks near by. WOW! What a ride...what a day! The Dolomites are even more amazing than what I had seen and hear.
One very funny and weird note: For much of the part between Pieve and Cortina, I could have sworn that the road was descending, but I wasn´t able to go faster than 12km/h and the GPS kept on adding meters to the current elevation, so I was obviously climbing.
Overview:
Total time riding: 6:14h
Total time travelling: 7:10h
Total Ascent: 1.233 meters
Total distance: 83,4km
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