Dolomite round
I'll keep here some notes in case I ever think of doing this again!
Maratona dles Dolomites route
I no longer know exactly where the remarkable morning idea came from, that if I have a proper breakfast in the morning, that I can finish it somehow all in one including one stick in the pocket. I set off a little acclimatized with an out-of-tune stomach and I hope for the good that it will fit somehow on the way. I say to myself: "You'd better get busy at the beginning, then you can hang around a bit later!"
After 3x continous hours of riding there comes the climb to Passo Giau, when I was looking back the next day, realizing, btw. I have never been good at maps and geography (C grade in grammar schools stays as my silent witness) that it was the hardest part of the whole trip. At the very beginning, I'm catching a light-footed Italian rider on the turn, and me being already quite experienced on entering the Strava segment with a few seconds delay behind, because we know that it will pay off at the top, right, we are slowly starting the climb?! As I'm looking at him for a while from behind, I'm clearly realizing and talking to myself that he's probably going up to the top like a goat and that I'll let him go... he's truly dancing in it like Contador!
I don't know exactly where the second very good idea of the day - to accept his proposed pace - is taking place? I'm countering while sitting "calmly", Contador obviously wants to steal it and is running away from me, which I don't like at all, so the moment he sits down to take a breath for a while, I take it by showing him what my evening 30-minute practice on a local hill at home are worth elbow and I jump about 200m ahead, I can't seem to let this go. Of course it crosses my mind that I will be paying for this, soon!
Unfortunately, this is confirmed much sooner than I thought. On the way up, I'm meeting two other riders more brothers in shirts with MdD numbers from last year's race on their backs (maybe they left last year?), I feel sorry for them as they hang around and I think to myself that they must have blown it, guys! Again, I had no idea that I will look like them the next climb too. Of course, Contador is catching me about 1km before the peak and easily irons me, but by that time I already have completely different worries and it's clear to me that without any food we are not going to anywhere anymore.
I'm reaching the top and it's just exactly 4-hours of riding and it's clear that we can't go any further today without food, I'm being saved by local Baita, where I quickly take the soup of the day, which turns out to be heavy mushroom and light pasta with tomato sauce turns out to be even heavier Hirsch ragout. I can't even look at the ragout. To make a long story short, since then the stomach has taken over the ride, which will send the deer back many times so that I can patiently ingesting it repeatedly, I won't throw it away now! But all the sporting appetite is gone and the fight for survival begins. Rain and scythe in the saddle alternate with desperately frozen descents, carbon wheels are on fire. Back to Corvara there is a headwind, I don't care about anymore, I don't really switch the gear from the lightest one, the kingdom for a compact chainring! After another hour, it seems that I will hold the deer inside and it will still do its part of the work that I have been waiting for so long. I pass the turn to Passo Pordoi, which reports "33x tornante" completely apathetically and without emotions, the 3x bends below the top the deer take a bit of work and after hearing "Somewhere only we know" performed by Lily Allen in the pub at the top, I start to believe that I will finish this. Garmin reports 3% battery below the last hill to Passo Sella (I turn Radar off) and surprisingly it lasted to the finish.
So let's go sometime to smash some more hills to the Alps again!
P.S: Only two photos were actually taken that day, unfortunately the weather was really rainy and cold. Majority of the photos are from another days just for the pleasure of the eye and to complete the atmosphere of the Italian Dolomites!
