I have a problem.  I really love mountain scenery.  And I really hate riding up mountains.  Every year I look back on the photos from the last year and think of what a lovely trip it must have been.  And then I plan another one.  In the mountains.  And then I regret it when the first climb hits.

This year this bear got even more ambitious and is planning to ride a velomobile from Aichach west of Munich down through Bad Tölz to Jenbach, along the Inn River through Innsbruck, and Landeck…to the Reschen Pass.  Yes, an actual pass.  Over a mountain.  I have never done this with a bicycle, never less a velomobile.  I have no doubt I will have regrets early in the 3+ mile climb up to Norbert's Höhe. Then if that isn't enough, the ride continues through Meran to Bozen, down to the Gardasee, back up through Trento to Bozen and up along the Eisack to the...Brenner Pass.  The problem with going over a pass is you sometimes have to go over another to get back, especially when you're riding a velomobile that does not exactly fit well in a train.

Why go back to Italy when I hate riding up mountains and hated Italy so much last time I was there?  Because the bike trails in northern Italy are converted rail lines, beautifully paved, and seemed perfect for a velomobile when I was there three years ago. I want to experience it once in a velomobile before I get too old to survive riding a velomobile up a mountain pass and can still sort of enjoy the scenery.

It's an ambitious itinerary with 50-70 mile days.  This time I'm trying to do slightly more training for it by doing longer weekend rides with more hills. There are no long hills around here, but there are plenty of short and steep ones, and this winter was very mild allowing big miles much earlier than most years.  Will it be enough to make it to the either side of the mountain?  We'll find out! Either way, there will be some complaining about riding up mountains and pictures of great scenery that I will fondly look back on years later.