Kristin rode in the van today after her episodes and my worry about her having another accident. It really sucked to go out there alone and think about her trapped in the van. And to top it off, I was able to ride one the most fun roads of the trip so far.
I didn’t want to do the short route as it was basically two-lane highway all the way to Cortina, but I also didn’t really want to do the long route for the sake of getting more miles. So a few of us decided to take a road that cut between the two routes for a while. It was fresh pavement and several switchbacks up to the top village of Danta. The grade was perfect at a very steady nine percent with a few bursts of 10-12 all the way up. And as you rolled around the top ridge you were given an amazing panoramic view of a mountain ridge.
As I was waiting for a few of the others, the church tower went off for the twelve o’clock showing. Backtracking…This morning we were unpleasantly awoken at 6 a.m. by church bells that must have had a new altar boy ready to give it his all while hopped up on a 22 oz. Rockstar and a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. There was very little rhyme nor order as the bells that rang out into the morning air for at least six minutes. Who needs alarm clocks in these villages when you have the church to keep you honest?
After the ride to the top of Danta it was a brief descent to Auronzo for a pizza. As we sat there we noticed the clouds getting darker and moving in closer. The weather report was a 90% chance of rain for the day and we had so far been lucky. Well, that didn’t last long.
Just as we rolled out and started to get to the edge of town it started to rain lightly. Then at a pretty consistent pace for the remainder of the climb. It was starting to get pretty cold and later in the day, so as I wanted to get back to the hotel and catch up with Kirstin, I started to get into my rhythm on the pedals as we climbed up to Passo Tre Crochi before a sharp descent into Cortina. I passed the van as it came up looking for anyone to get a ride to the finish, but I don’t think there were any takers. I was soaked but trying to embrace it all. I think Kristin would have become a glacier if she rode the descent into Cortina. Plus the road was super slick in spots with the rain and various types of road aggregate or striping. I was glad that she wasn’t trying to make her way down it all in her condition.
As I finally made into town, I nearly got lost in the city as there is a one-way street that circles the centro. Luckily as I was fumbling with the map and cue sheet, Reagan, a fellow rider asked me if I wanted to know where the hotel was. I was close, but about ready to go in a totally different direction so he saved me a bit of time to say the least.
I quickly showered and headed out for a walk with Kristin to explore the town that we would be based in for the next few days. As we walked around we noticed that there were a lot of dead animals proudly displayed in all the window fronts. Sure, they all had premier brand names, but I was kind of surprised at the number of shops that had pelts for coats on sale. How quickly we forget social customs sometimes.
