Tutti Dolomiti Stage 7

Misurina to Klausen

Strava (halfway): 59.73 km, 1,028m, 2:49, 156 shifts

We woke up early, before 6, after a good sleep. The 7am breakfast was excellent, especially as we sat at a table with a fantastic view of the mountains and the good weather. We left a bit after 8, heading down the steep hill I had climbed in 2023, all the way to Dobbiaco. It was fast and cold, of course we took the paved road instead of the gravel bike path.

We made a slight wrong turn in Dobbiaco but corrected quickly and got onto the bike path. The main road is really busy here and the bike path is super scenic. It winds up and down, through fields with cows and horses and even llamas. There was a section under construction where we had to carry/push our bikes up the embankment to get around, then rode on dirt for a while. We saw Ben and Cathy stopped at a cafe so had a banana break there. Then we headed on and tackled the first climb of the day, 750m or so up the Passo Furcia, another Giro d’Italia challenge. It was steep and tedious for me, the section of 13-15% grade took a lot out of me. But the good weather was so pleasant, it took the sting out of it. The descent was quite fast on a narrow road – had to be careful on the curves since the road only barely had space for a bike plus an oncoming truck. We saw a giant one as we were about to start down but luckily none on the descent. I passed a couple on Vespas like they were standing still! Mike and I stopped most of the way down and watched a giant raptor of some type climbing fast in a tight circle, no wing flaps at all. Riding a thermal. It was beautiful and silent and I wished we could climb that easily.

A few more km of descent and we came to lunch. I was surprisingly hungry, tired and weak. I had a good lunch but didn’t feel any better, actually worse. So instead of pushing it, I took a ride in the van, along with a few others. I slept most of the way, waking up right before we got to Klausen. We parked up above the hotel and rode down to find Wijnand had soup ready and one rider had already made it. I ate lots, checked in, had a shower, a video chat with Katie, then a nap.

I read in the afternoon a little, then we had a big group dinner in the evening that lasted over two hours. It was great food; the highlight was the buffet salad bar. I restarted taking cold medicine and stopped alcohol – I need to shake this cold once and for all. Tomorrow’s ride is another massive one. Good night!