Tutti Dolomiti Stage 11 – the Gavia

Strava: 72.64 km, 2,048m, 4:36, 136 shifts

Our perfect weather has departed and we set out under cloudy skies with cool temps at 8:50 this morning from Bormio. The famous 26 km Passo di Gavia climb starts right away although it’s not 100% continuously climbing. By pure chance, we had a super good luck thing happen today: The pass is still closed due to snow, but is rideable by bike! Our fearless leader Wilbert rode it on the rest day. From km 18 to the summit and then down to km 35, the pass was physically closed so there could be no motor vehicles!

Down low, the second of three Road Closed signs

I wasn’t feeling particularly strong but was able to keep pedaling for a long time. It took me about 2.5 hours to make the whole climb, colder and colder as we pushed up to over 2,600m. It wasn’t perfect like the Stelvio but it was pretty great. When I rode past the frozen lake on top and got to the summit, what was there? A warm and welcoming Refuge (restaurant) of course! Mike was inside parked in front of the heater and everyone was enjoying the warm. We all put on more clothing for the descent; I even used my thick leg warmers for the first time on the trip. A few drops of rain fell at the end of the climb but not much.

After summit photos we took off – down into the fog. Pretty soon it was so thick, I am pretty sure I’ve never seen thicker. The road is a very narrow single lane (feels like 2m wide!) and you really had to be careful not being able to see much. Two km from the summit we hit the infamous tunnel. It’s super dark, due to a curve near the beginning and is long. It also had a weird fog effect inside. And it’s guarded by a giant bulldozer in the left half of the lane. This jumped out of the fog at me and I’m lucky I wasn’t going fast. It was completely surreal in the tunnel. Mike had a single, tiny headlight which lit up the fog a little, but we basically went slow, then could see an eerie shape of the exit far ahead. It was also quite steep downhill. I can barely imagine riding this with motorcycles and cars going in both directions. This must be INSANE in summer – that is, starting in a few days.

We finally popped out of the tunnel, then soon emerged from the fog and really enjoyed the descent, faster from there. We got down into the trees and there were pine needles all over the road. And there were a number of bikers toiling upwards as we whizzed down. We crossed the barrier at 35 km, then continued to lunch at 42 km. The vans had a three hour epic drive, a much longer route. But thanks to Ben and Dion, we had a great lunch. We were already a little bit up the second climb of the day, the Passo di Tonale, lower and not as exciting or famous. To make up for that, the rain started pouring as we set out, and I resigned myself to climbing 500m in nine km very wet. In the end, it didn’t pour for long and wasn’t that bad.

From that second pass, we had an easy 20 km descent to the town of Mezzana. I got stuck behind a truck and ended up having to stop at least six times to check out the view, take a photo, relax and let him get ahead. This way I got to ride at speed rather than riding the brakes and being frustrated. When I was about four km from the end, the entire sky ahead turned very dark gray, almost black – it was like a wall of cloud and rain right where I was headed. I put on some speed to try and race it to the hotel. One km from the end a few drops started but I arrived almost completely dry. Soup was under a big overhang at the hotel and it was wonderful to be done. I felt more tired than the numbers for the ride would indicate.

After snacks, I stashed my bike in the garage and checked in with Mike. We had an even better than usual room, with a big balcony and a sitting room. I video chatted with Katie, starting her day in Santa Cruz. I’ve said it before but WhatsApp is the best app on my phone! It was pouring outside. Then a very nice shower. I couldn’t be bothered with laundry so just hung up my clothes to dry. Downstairs the bartender showed us a room full of free snacks, pizza, cheese, bread, chocolate cake etc., so along with our celebratory drinks we had a fourth meal. Dinner was not for three hours after all.

In the afternoon I relaxed, wrote this up, then went to dinner at 7. Again there was an incredible salad bar, then two big courses and dessert. Wilbert briefed us for tomorrow’s final mountain stage to Lake Garda. I think it’s time for a massive sleep tonight! What a ride!

A rest day in Bormio

June 1, 2025 was our second and final rest day on the Tutti Dolomiti tour. While some went out riding, my plan was to actually rest. Mike and I started the day with an extended, very relaxed and large breakfast in the hotel. After that we did laundry, then headed to the garage. The hotel had a bike stand and a number of us had a little bike cleaning/maintenance party. I checked my brake pads – still ok.

During the day, I read, worked on some Strava programming, took a nap, and made a reservation for dinner. You never really know, but Ristorante La Sablonera looked good. A little after 7, Keith, Mike and I walked over and wow, what a place! We sat outdoors with the sound of water flowing – they have a giant fishpond where they grow rainbow trout and salmon trout. Keith and I ended up eating some of those salmon trout, caught this morning, served with big portions of delicious roasted veggies, and a side of polenta and cheese. Mike had a trout burger so he was eating local as well. We had a round of artisanal beers, then switched to house red wine. Dessert for me was a strange and delicious cream concoction with Amaro in it – wow! Best dinner of the trip so far I’d have to say. We walked back the long way through the old town – so nice. If you were, say, an author and needed a place to hang out and write for a couple of months, I would suggest Bormio, Italy.

All in all I think I scored highly on the rest day scale today! We’re looking forward to an amazing ride up the Passo di Gavia tomorrow, especially as it sounds like it’s not open to cars yet! It’s weird to think there are only three more days in this tour. I am so glad I had the foresight to book the next tour as well!

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 10 – Stelvio!

Stelvio to Bormio

Strava: 44.48 km, 1,593m, 3:10, 46 shifts, max speed 80.8 kph

Well, I don’t even know how to describe this day. The ride was awesome amazing fantastic superlative from the start to the finish. It started normally enough, leave the hotel at 8:50, a couple of km warmup, mostly downhill. Then the climb of the day, the Passo dello Stelvio, started. By the numbers it’s a little daunting, almost 20 km of climbing, up over 1,500m to the highest point on our tour, 2,757m. I worried my power problems of the last few days might continue. But even at the start it felt a little different. Maybe not full power but better. The weather was absolutely perfect – I would not have changed a thing about it if I could. We headed up the valley, so scenic, and then hit the first of the famous 48 hairpin turns.

We were still down in the trees for a while but as we climbed we eventually popped out and finally could see all the way to the pass from about turn #22 (#1 is at the top; #48 at the bottom). By this time I was totally loving every second. I stopped for a banana/photo break and ended up staying a while – the view was so amazing. As we headed up and up, I kept feeling better and better and loving it more and more. The air was so fresh, the snow everywhere was gleaming, the only slight downer was the sheer number of motorcycles – and their smell and noise.

The last few km passed all too quickly, and suddenly it was over. I climbed on the wall and looked down and shot some photos, then rode the last meters to the summit. It was a complete zoo on top, hundreds of people everywhere. Wijnand had a great place right on top for some snacks, and soon Ben arrived with the lunch van so we could eat more seriously. I went souvenir shopping and got a nice Stelvio bike jersey too.

We didn’t want it to end so Nick, Mike and I rode up a ways to a little restaurant. It was up a path that was plowed clear of snow, a nice little extra summit. After that we decided to head down but stopped a number of times to just look and try and absorb. At the intersection below we intentionally went the wrong way so we could visit Switzerland. The border was just a few hundred meters away. We had a look at the customs building (now unused) and a war memorial exhibit, then turned around and went back into Italy and down toward Bormio. When we got down to about turn #25, there were some tunnels and galleries we had been warned about – wet, dripping, bad pavement, super dark, but they all seemed fine to me. There was a traffic light in one especially narrow one, one-way traffic was VERY nice there. There was a steep straight-ish section with a special speed limit 60 sign – which is right where I hit my top speed so far on the trip, 80.8! The bike is SO solid. We had no trouble with all the motorcycles, and mostly went near or at their speed. Soon we were down in Bormio and our hotel was right there. WOW!

Riding back down to the pass

Mike and I were able to check-in even though it was really early. We had great showers then headed down to the bar to celebrate. We had weissbier while we watched the last 40 km of stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia. They were climbing another famous pass that I will be riding in the next tour, called Colle delle Finestre. I had been wondering about this one since its gravel sections are a little infamous. The Giro guys made it look pretty easy, riding uphill 9% at 17-20 kph! A bit later we went out and had beers with the staff, then picked out a restaurant for dinner. My first choice looked great and had plenty of space, but “completely booked” when we asked. The next three places were the same. Finally at a basic pizzeria we had success, although outside was “completely booked”. It was tasty and really nice to walk around the beautiful town of Bormio a bit.

For me this day was the highlight of the tour, although stage 5 with the Stellaronda etc. was amazing too. Maybe one of the few remaining days will top it? It’s hard to imagine. I also have a couple more weeks riding Milano San Remo, so you never know. I honestly can’t think of a ride in my life that was better than this day. Although the ride where I met Katie in 2021 was also great and had the best possible ever post-ride outcome!

My souvenir jersey from the Passo dello Stelvio – celebrates the 200th anniversary of the road!

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 9

Vipiteno to Stelvio

Strava (to lunch): 65.53 km, 1,473m, 3:33, 80 shifts, max speed 71.3 kph

After a good night, with little or no coughing, my throat and lungs felt better so I had high hopes of riding all the way to the little town of Stelvio. We got started as usual at 8:20 and the big climb to Passo di Monte Giovo started almost right away. It was interesting for me since I had unicycled this pass in the reverse direction in 2012. This time I felt weak but just kept turning the pedals. I stopped at a gorgeous viewpoint after I’d climbed 1,000m, and the summit was in sight from there. There was lots of traffic, motorcycles, cars and trucks, in both directions which was a little annoying but I don’t think anyone had any close calls. It took me close to two hours for the 14 km climb; I just had no power. But once on top, our whole crew was there and we took some photos and just to be done climbing felt so good.

I didn’t stay very long on top – Mike and I headed down and the descent turned out to be really fun. The surface was pretty smooth and since we kept up a good speed, traffic wasn’t much of an issue. It was 20 km of fast riding, slowing for the occasional switchbacks. The air warmed as we dropped and it was all pretty pleasant. We had another 20 km to Merano, on a somewhat crowded road, but mostly all gently descending so it didn’t take long. We had a four-man pace line for this section and my turn in front was hard as I couldn’t breathe properly. We navigated onto the bike path, then headed up and out of Merano to the famous big chairs (Trauttmansdorff Throne Chairs) I visited in 2012. Lunch was just above and again, I had to assess: another 52 km and 1,000m climb or relax in the van? I opted to save myself for the famous Passo dello Stelvio tomorrow.

I road in Dion’s van, with three others, and we arrived at the hotel in the little village of Stelvio before 3 pm. Wijnand already had delivered everyone’s bags to their rooms and passed out room keys! This was a lot of sorting and carrying work – our room was on the third (top) floor. I had some of his excellent asparagus soup, snacked, then headed up stairs for a shower and a rest. Dinner was the usual, quite excellent, again alcohol-free for me.

Passo dello Stelvio: one of the most famous climbs in the bike world, our only task for tomorrow: 48 hairpin turns

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 8

Klausen to Vipiteno

Strava (halfway): 47.3 km, 1,541m, 3:10, 179 shifts, max speed 70.9 kph

After a great breakfast we left Klausen at 8:20 for another pretty big stage. I was hoping to ride the whole way, but didn’t feel 100% as the first climb started. The route was mostly up in the morning, with a few short level or downhill sections. Finally we had gorgeous weather; I didn’t need to carry my rain jacket – but did, just in case. It was sunny and relatively warm. It seemed steeper than advertised with lots of 13-15% sections and Garmin even telling me 17% a couple of times. I remembered to eat and drink and just kept at it. Finally, after a nice fast descent, the final climb of the day started, up to Passo di Pennes. Lunch was 7.5 km along on this 36 km climb.

I had a good lunch and then had to access: could I do another 1,200m and 45 km? Should I? The answers were, Yes and No. So again I joined the crowd in the van. After lunch was over we drove slowly up toward the pass, stopping a few times to look at the view and cheer on our riders. At the top, it was very windy and quite cold. I was not fine wearing two bike jerseys and shorts and retreated to the van after a couple of shots.

1,300m lower in Vipiteno (German name Sterzing) it was much warmer. After checking in and a beautiful shower I sat outside in short sleeves enjoying Wijnand’s vegetable soup and some other snacks. I left my laundry drying in the sun on our balcony. I read a bit, had a one hour nap, then we had the standard (excellent) mass dinner in the hotel’s dining room. This one had a really good salad bar and the veggie second course option was breaded asparagus with other veggies. Wilbert gave the usual talk about tomorrow’s ride, a bit longer than today, of course with lots and lots of climbing. We’ll be going back up and over the Passo di Monte Giovo that I unicycled in the other direction in 2012. I hope I can ride the whole thing.

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!

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 6

Cortina d’Ampezzo to Misurina

Strava: 15.29 km, 733m, 1:21, 56 shifts

We woke up to dismal looking weather, drizzly rain, cold, low clouds and a poor forecast. During breakfast a new plan was announced for the day: leave later at 10am and ride up to tonight’s hotel in Misurina, do the Tre Cime climb in the late afternoon when the weather improves. We left in cold rainy conditions but I was not cold climbing up and up to the Passo Tre Croci, another pass included in the Giro d’Italia from time to time. There was a coffee shop at the pass and some of us stayed over an hour, drying out and relaxing.

We geared up for the short, cold descent to Misurina at a beautiful lake. The rain was light and soup was being prepared lakeside. While Wijnand cooked, we went inside the hotel and had drinks and warmed up. Then we checked in and then headed out to have a great lunch with hot soup, under some tents. When I went back in the hotel, Mike was getting ready to do the Tre Cime climb but I decided to skip it – I had done it in nice conditions before and just could not be bothered. A large number of people opted out as well.

I gave my bike some love (cleaning), chatted over beers, read, had a short nap, then it was dinner time. We all converged in the beautiful dining room for another gigantic Italian dinner. I laughed at myself when I made the exact same mistake as the other night: I thought the buffet was the whole dinner so I filled a plate massively, then found there were two more full courses to follow. This buffet was the best, so much variety, delicious. Then I had pumpkin risotto and passed on the second course. For each table of six people, two bottles of wine were provided, plus infinite water. Maybe the best part of the whole dinner was the view out the window, just amazing. And strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

It was a nice day other than the weather, light on riding. But we’ll make up for that tomorrow…

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 5, Wow!

Canazei to Cortina d’Ampezzo via the Sellaronda

Strava: 93.54 km, 2,800m, 5:46, 234 shifts, max speed 71.2 kph

What a day! Even with a slightly scary afternoon weather forecast, a number of us split off from the official route half way up the Passo Pordoi, about 6 km into the ride. Instead, we climbed the Passo Sella, named for the famous group of mountains here called Gruppa di Sella. The famous circuit around them is called the Sellaronda. You can ski it in the winter or bike it in the summer. The bike loop is something like 53 km with 1,600m of climbing. There are no flat parts.

Large volume Nutella dispenser at breakfast

The views as we climbed were always changing and from the top it was incredible. There was a little terrace were we sat in the sun and added clothes for the descent. Down the back side was relatively short and we stopped at the bottom to strip down for climbing again. I heard a pumping noise passing behind me VERY fast and wondered what it was. I turned to see 8-10 riders from the Bahrain Victorious Development Team, out for practice. They hammered SO damn fast it was unbelievable. As we climbed Passo di Gardena, several of their guys were doing circles around us, doing some exercises or something.

This second pass was similar to Passo Sella in gradient but shorter. Soon we were on the summit with awesome views all around. Again, layers added, again a fast, smooth descent, a little longer. Then we climbed the third pass, Passo di Campolongo. Again, not too steep, but consistent.

As we descended Passo di Campolongo, the clouds got darker and it rained a little, but stopped right when Nick had a flat. We had just started fixing it when Dion drove up in the van. It was very convenient to have a real bike pump!

Flat fixing Committee, lots of people, few of them actually doing anything

Lunch was just a few km ahead, at the most gorgeous spot ever, and when we arrived around 14:30, it was sunny and warm. Ben was so patient to wait for those of us who added quite a bit of extra time by riding the Sellaronda and stopping so much for the view.

Finally we had to go and then the real fun (sarcasm) started. The climb up Passo di Giau was another one like Passo Fedaia, long and very steep. We made it maybe a third of the way before I had to use my “emergency gear”, 44×50, but then I used it for a lot of the remaining climb. Half way up it started to rain, light at first, but then with more determination. We could not go fast because the grade was so steep so it seemed like we were doomed to just be soaked for a very long time. It hailed a little too. But after a couple of km, we spied a big blue hole in the clouds, and sure enough, soon the sun was out and then the rain stopped. Mountain weather. We summited in sun, quite warm. The view was awesome and we were SO happy to have made the last climb of the day.

The descent to Cortina d’Ampezzo was only 16 km, but we had to take it a little slow with the wet pavement. The temperature warmed as we dropped but with my wet clothes I just got colder. It was pleasant down in town, and we quickly stashed our bikes in the garage. We had arrived just before 5pm, a full day at the office. Strava said the ride duration was 8 hours and 9 seconds. Mike took a shower first and when I went in the bathroom and felt the heat in the air, it was amazing. Then I got in the water and realized again that hot showers are probably at the top of the list of benefits of modern life. After washing my hair I thought, “I wonder if I could stand it even hotter”, so I cranked it and I could. AWESOME! This is a pretty amazing life. The Dolomites of Italy are a cyclist’s dream.

There was no organized Bike Dreams dinner tonight so at some point when we got hungry I found a highly rated pizzeria but we peeked in at the hotel restaurant and at the menu and decided to eat there. We had a great dinner, with appetizer and desserts. Mike has caught my cold 😞 so is off alcohol but I had a nice unfiltered Dolomites beer. We had a walk around town after dinner, then retired before 21:00. A long, deep sleep is required tonight. Tomorrow, Tre Cime di Lavaredo beckons, a hell of a climb, I know from doing it in 2023.

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 3

Asiago to Fiera di Primiero

Strava (to Cima Grappa summit): 67.83 km, 1,849m, 4:50, 113 shifts

I woke up maybe feeling a little better and popped another Mucinex. I didn’t feel like riding but at least it was not supposed to rain much today. After breakfast I made my decision and got on the bike; it is a cycling trip after all. We rolled out of Asiago at 8:15, wet roads but no rain. We were up at 1,000m and had to descend back down to the Po plain again, at around 100m. The descent was nice and it was quite a bit warmer down below.

We stopped in Bassano del Grappa at 40 km on a nice bridge, then started the main climb of the stage. The Cime Grappa climb is famous but the only thing hard about it is the length. You climb for 26 km, ascending 1,600m. It lets off for a little while halfway up, but is pretty continuous. We don’t have this size climb in the Santa Cruz Mountains at home. It will be interesting to watch the Giro when they do this climb in two days. I am still pretty stuffed up and was feeling maybe half power for the climb. Lots of people passed me but I just kept at it and eventually, the lunch trucks appeared out of the fog on the summit.

Bridge over the Brenta River in Bassano del Grappa

While climbing I wore shorts and a normal jersey plus a warm one unzipped all the way. On top, not riding, you needed way more. Lunch was tasty and I thought about how fun blasting down the descent would be but I honestly didn’t think it was the right move. I had a look at the WWI Military Shrine that has over 12,000 graves, mostly unknown. It was a foggy white-out, hard to see anything (and I had to carefully remember how to go back down to return to the vans!) When lunch was finished for everyone, I got in Dion’s van and rode down to town, sleeping the whole way.

When I woke up we were pulling in and it was much warmer and super scenic. Wijnand made a big batch of curry soup and we had snacks, then got our room, spacious and nice. The shower felt fantastic. I fell asleep but remembered to set the alarm so went down for dinner at 7. It was nice chatting with guys who have done so many of the crazy rides in this area. The ride for tomorrow is much stiffer, over 3,000m of climbing and 98 km of distance. I’ll have to see if that’s in the cards for me in the morning.

Tutti Dolomiti Stage 2

Recoaro Terme to Asiago

Unfortunately, when I woke up this morning my cold was much worse and by the time I was finishing breakfast I decided it just didn’t make any sense to fight the rain that was forecast to fall all day. I need to heal, not get sicker. So I loaded up my bike along with four others into Wijnand’s luggage truck. Skip and I got the two seats. The rest rode in Dion’s extra van or Ben’s lunch van.

Here’s how my bike rode in the luggage truck, tied to the wall, front wheel on the soup stove

We left soon after the riders and drove a shorter route, with a stop for groceries – vegetables for Wijnand to make today’s soup plus lunch for us. After that I fell asleep for a while then woke up as we were stopping at a coffee shop, maybe 10 km from Asiago. After a nice drink and a chat, we continued on and pulled into our hotel right outside Asiago.

The place is quiet and spacious and only had one family of four staying plus our group. They had a nice garage for the bikes and a covered area for soup cooking/eating. They only needed to see one passport for the whole group so we used mine – that way I could get my room right away and have a nap. I helped with baggage until mine was uncovered, then went upstairs.

I was asleep when Mike came in, pretty wet. The weather was better than predicted; it only actually rained for half the ride. Still, it was about 71 km with almost 1,900m climbing – not an easy day. After he washed up and took care of his bike we hung out until dinner which was quite tasty. We had tomorrow’s briefing: a big ride, 127 km with almost 3,000m of climbing. The forecast has worsened to showers all day starting at 10 am. I’ll have to see how I feel in the morning. But I really don’t want to miss this ride since it includes the climb of Monte Grappa, one of the famous ascents in the Dolomites. In fact, it is included in Stage 15 of this year’s Giro d’Italia which will happen on May 25, two days after our ride. Here’s to a night of improvement!