So, cycling in Italy, blah blah blah, been there, done that.* For something amazing, how about an airplane bathroom twice the usual size, and with a window. A. Window. !?!?! It is amazing what a little extra space and some natural light can do to transform a super creepy, gross room into an oasis of calm. Seriously. My mind was blown. Life changing.
It turns out that it is hard to take photos of a small space from inside the small space.
My jaw literally dropped when I walked in. I know, it’s a crappy, blurry cell phone photo, but it’s the one I got.
If you think I’m being silly about this, you have obviously never experienced a large, windowed airplane bathroom.
Anyway, I decided to take that as an auspicious start to my journey. Whether or not it was, I had the easiest transition to Italian time–one day of being dozy in the afternoon, slept great the whole trip with no chronic middle of night wake ups–I’ve ever had. Sleeping well while on a trip to ride up Italian mountains is about the best birthday gift I could have had.
It was piping hot in Venice, as usual in August. We had one day to ourselves before the tour started, so took the train from our Venetian-suburb hotel into Venice proper. Since we’ve already seen a lot of what we want to see in Venice, we had the luxury of not feeling pressured to accomplish a lot in the heat. We went back to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection because we both really like it, for the art and for the location. We also went to lunch. And given the heat, navigating the trains, the museum, and the restaurant seemed like plenty to have accomplished.
(Pro tip: it’s pretty stupid to visit Venice in August…)
The next day, the Cinghiale powers loaded us up into a bus, and we left the heat of the Veneto for the delightful fresh air of the Dolomites. After sweltering for even a day, you feel pretty smug about getting to put on a sweater.
The familiarity of the ride up into the mountains was tempered this year by a new landscape created by a huge storm that had swept through the preceding October. Freakishly strong winds blew down entire hillsides of trees in valley after valley after valley. Lake Alleghe flooded, rising several feet up the ground floor of our beloved home in the Sport Hotel Europa.
Along the main street were a series of kiosks with photos showing the storm and its aftermath, and the Sport Hotel Europa had a plaque on the side of the building–well above my head–showing the height of the flood. All of which were both fascinating and horrifying, and none of which I remembered to get a photo of. Use your imagination, or Google.
As usual, the first day’s ride was a shorter ride, giving us a chance to sort out post-assembly bike problems, try to get post-travel legs spinning, and get a first glimpse of the astonishing beauty of riding in the Dolomites. One of the things that I enjoy so much about this trip is knowing that a thrilling view is coming around the next corner, and then hearing people’s unbelieving reactions as it is revealed.
Zoom in to see swathes of fallen trees
Are you starting to see why we’re in our happy place?
The light was magic this evening. Welcome back to Alleghe.
Yeah, I don’t have anything more to say.
Day 1, 21.6 miles, 2,400 feet.
*For the record, I’m being sarcastic here. I am still in disbelief that I live a life where cycling in Italy is a thing I do, and am beyond grateful and goofy-excited about it.
Me Bike Dolomites One Day 