A trip to Alaska!

A few days after I got back from Italy I found myself driving to San Jose to start a 3-week trip north with my mom, Vicky. At the station, I got to hang out with my sister for an hour and return her car. The Amtrak Coast Starlight train goes from Los Angeles to Seattle. I boarded around 8pm and in Emeryville, my mom joined. We set up our little “roomette” sleeping compartment then had a drink in the observation car.

The nice thing about this route is that you go to sleep soon after boarding then you wake up cruising past Mt. Shasta. The day passed easily, eating in the dining car, talking to other passengers and looking out.

After dinner, we pulled in to Seattle and were met by my aunt and uncle. They live just north in Edmonds and it was great to finally see their new place. They have a great view of Puget Sound, with ferries crossing etc. In the morning we did some shopping for our ferry trip, then had a great lunch with two of my cousins. All too soon we had to leave to drive up to Bellingham to catch our ferry. It was exciting boarding and I rushed up to the top deck, the Solarium, where deck passengers sleep. I snagged us two of the last covered spots just missing out on the long deck chairs. Sleeping flat on the deck that’s covered with a soft carpet is probably more comfortable anyway.

Around 6pm we finally took off, the start of a relaxed three days cruising the Inside Passage. The first day on board there were no landings; we cruised north past the length of Vancouver Island. The second day, we stopped at Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. We got off at each stop and walked a bit. The weather was mostly drizzling rain, but we remembered to bring umbrellas. There are heaters in the ceiling of the Solarium and the first night I was too hot, sleeping out with practically nothing on. But the next two nights it cooled off and was fine. My new ultralight 425g sleeping bag worked great.

The third day we stopped at Sitka where I had never been. The terminal is far from town so I took advantage of a bus that drove into town and guaranteed I’d be back in time to the ferry. My mom met a friend at the ferry terminal and had a nice reunion. I had about 90 minutes to walk around Sitka and was able to walk to the Totem Trail, the famous route that passes a bunch of Haida and Tlingit poles. It was around 6am when I got there, so I had it completely to myself, which was a little creepy due to all the “Warning: Lots of Brown Bears around here” signs. But I did the whole trail, walked back to town, saw one of the Russian churches and walked up to the site of an old Russian Castle. There were many signs about the history, the Tlingit vs Russian battles, the sale of Alaska to the U.S., etc.

Back on the ferry, I took a nap since we got up before 5am. After lunch, we landed at Juneau and again, the terminal is far from town. So we just walked a little bit, then hung out on board until we left for the final leg to Haines. We arrived at Haines after midnight and our friend Irene was there to pick us up. We had stayed with her in 2017 and 2018 on our last two trips to Alaska, so it was familiar driving to Haines, then out to her place, switching cars at the bottom of the last two km steep 4WD road to their house. It was after 2am when we went to sleep, so peaceful in an off-grid house in a gorgeous noise-free setting.

In the late morning the drizzle stopped and the sun actually came out – first time I’d seen it since California! We went for a great hike to Rutzebeck Lake. It was so nice sitting in the sun at the shore. In the afternoon after lunch, Ben and I went for a bike ride. He lent me his fat bike and we cruised down the driveway, then on the paved road part way back to town. We looped back up a dirt road and visited a friend of his, inspecting a cabin that had sadly just been broken into by a bear, then drinking local Haines Brewing Black Fang and talking (local) politics. l learned a lot.

The route back had some exciting single-track, very overgrown, but the fat bike just goes no matter what! Climbing back up the driveway wasn’t as tough as I expected and the big bike felt lighter and easier than I expected too. We had a delicious pasta with salmon dinner then settled down to sleep.

In the morning, I didn’t feel quite right, a little queasy, but that passed during the day with the help of a nap. I still felt weak and it was raining in the afternoon so we didn’t do anything special until it was time to go to the ferry. We drove down, checked in, then had time to drive down to the end of the road where neither of us had ever been. The road ends at Lutak Inlet and we went up the river a little to Chilkoot Lake, a huge, glacial lake. It’s gorgeous with waterfalls coming down the cliffs and clouds up high on the mountains.

Back at the terminal we boarded the Hubbard, a smaller ferry, and took it to Juneau, arriving about 10pm. A friend brought us a car and we drove to another friend’s house, right on the water near Auke Bay. I was feeling better so had some dinner, then settled in an upstairs bedroom with a gorgeous view out over Auke Bay. In the morning I felt fine and cooked up some eggs with smoked salmon my mom’s friend in Sitka gave us and we took it easy the rest of the morning.

The view from our living room window, Auke Bay

Our trip is about a third over. From here we’re off to Anchorage, Homer, Dutch Harbor and Cold Bay via ferry, Anchorage again, Adak, then home.

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.

A rest day in Canazei

May 25, 2025 was the first rest day on the Tutti Dolomiti tour. It felt great, sleeping in. And I had the best sleep of the whole trip so far; climbing over 3,000m helps with that I guess. Breakfast was delicious and fun, talking to riders about their adventures yesterday. A handful had taken the “easier” option, a slightly shortened track that avoided the first two passes. It wasn’t easy at all though. A few (plus some of the staff) were planning on riding the famous Sella Ronda circuit today. It’s evidently one of those “Top 10 in the World” scenic cycling routes. Jem kindly made a track that combines tomorrow’s route to Cortina d’Ampezzo with the 3/4 of the Sella Ronda and I am thinking of taking that. It will be like yesterday but just a little shorter with a little less climbing. I’ll check the weather and my body tomorrow morning.

I felt like I wanted to get out of the bubble and just be outside a bit so I walked to Canazei on a forest track, had a look around town, and then took the river path back. What I really wanted to do was take a ride on one of the cable cars – it’s SO much fun in summer. But this is shoulder season and only one ski lift in the whole area was open, not one of the ones nearby. So I settled for a nice walk. The fresh mountain air felt great. It’s pretty quiet around here now, hard to imagine all the closed hotels and restaurants open and people everywhere.

View from our hotel in Campitello di Fassa

Today was the big day when the Giro d’Italia takes on Cima Grappa that we climbed two days ago. We estimated they would hit that climb (after racing for over 100 km of a 219 km stage) around 1:30 so we gathered in the bar at the big TV to watch. It was really fun seeing just where we had been, “That’s where I had a coffee, that’s where we took off our jackets, that’s where the crazy guy waiting for the Giro gave me a salami sandwich, … etc.” They dispatched the entire climb in less than an hour, triple my pace with breaks. The descent was great to watch too. They are so smooth and fast through the turns. It looks like a pretty hard job though.

Rest days are tough but someone has to do this vital work

Later we went out for dinner in the village – not much was open but a number of us ended up at a restaurant that had pizza and pasta and we had a nice dinner. Nice rest day!

Tutti Dolomiti Day -1

I could get used to just hanging out in Verona, Italy. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel then assembled bikes. I put mine together then got dressed for riding but when I went to grab my bike 30 minutes later the front tire was flat. I ended up replacing the valve core and that seemed to fix it. I rode with my roommate-to-be Mike to a nearby bike shop to top off our tires to 60 psi and mine was still holding, so we went for a ride.

We rode the tour track for Stage 1, which took us over a couple of bridges, past the Verona Arena and then out of town. After all the traffic and traffic lights faded behind it felt so great just riding through the countryside. It was sunny and warm. After a while we left the route and headed up on a tiny country road where we saw some bikers descending. Through vineyards and tiny villages, so nice. We weren’t up for anything big so turned around after about 15 km. We rode back through the more touristy areas and made it back to the hotel. Just your basic shake-down cruise.

After a shower, lunch was just across the street where we found Kiwi Blair testing the local beers. We had pasta and large, cold beers – just great. Funny when the bartender asked if I wanted large or medium and I said grande, he showed me what that actually was, a giant one liter stoneware mug – I switched to medium! I took a bit of a nap after that but had the alarm set for 5pm so only slept a little. We had dinner warm-up beers back across the street, and met another rider from California, Keith. He was staying a different hotel, one that he picked because it was near a particular beer place. Of course we said, “Ok let’s go, where is this amazing beer place?”

After a nice 20 minute walk we arrived at the Santa Maria Craft Pub and it did not disappoint. They are serious about their beer and the bartender spoke English and set me up with an Italian IPA from near Milano that was absolutely great, maybe the best Italian beer I’ve ever had. My Balkan Boulevard buddy Lex joined and we were now seven. After that I tried ordering about the strangest looking beer on their draft menu, a lambic called 21 Con Sangiovese from Toscana (Tuscany). It was also a total winner.

It was after 8 when we finally left and walked around looking for a restaurant with an outdoor table that would fit 7 people. We found one by the interesting looking Torre dei Lamberti – I might have to go back tomorrow and go up it. On the menu they had a pizza with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and buffalo mozzarella, all added after cooking. It tasted as good as it sounds and with a limoncello spritz, it was the perfect dinner. Since we didn’t really ride today, we skipped dessert and walked back by a bit after 10pm. All that and tomorrow is still another pre-tour day! Amo l’Italia!