Pieve di Cadore - Our Own Private Road - Poking Around Europe 5.0

September 13, 2018

Pieve di Cadore - Our Own Private Road

Belluno to Pieve di Cadore

We had an amazing day today. Our own private road, stunning scenery, fantastic weather. Bike touring doesn’t get any better.

We did have a bit of a weak breakfast at the hotel in Belluno. It was fine, but just barely fine, and we do love our breakfasts. We spoke at breakfast with Cynthia and Gloria from Seattle who have just finished a hut to hut tour in the Alps on their own. It sounded wonderful to both of us and we are intrigued.

The view out our hotel room window. We loved it. But do compare it with tonight’s view.

Keith guided us out of Belluno easily. There was only one moment at the beginning where I nearly lost him. I was only 10 m or so behind but then a couple of pedestrians slowed me down. I wasn’t concerned that I couldn’t see the CN ahead of me because there was a curve in the road. There was an intriguing and narrow alley to my right that I casually glanced down as I went by...just in time to catch the merest glimpse of Keith as he went around a corner at the end of the alley. We would have been awhile reconnecting if I hadn’t been curious about the passageway.

That’s our bike lane across the bridge. Pretty amazing.

Right from the beginning it was an amazing ride. We were gaining elevation, climbing 1280 m today. It was a gradual gain until the end though, and the scenery was so beautiful that we didn’t particularly notice the climbs. It certainly slows us down, but the slower we go the better we can look around. The bike route was well signed and other than a few km of the dreaded (by me) gravel, it was all paved. It was a combination of dedicated bike path and, I kid you not, completely deserted road.

We went through many tiny and incredibly picturesque villages.

You have to love this. I swear there was one car every fifteen minutes on this highway, but they built us a bike path to get over the bridge and be safe from the non existent cars.

Here we are looking ahead on the bike path. We are the only people around.

We almost stopped for a drink, just because the sign was so appealing.

The views just kept coming. It was an amazing ride, and it just kept getting better.

Then we came to Longarone, the sight of a terrible tragedy in 1963. More than 1800 people died when there was a landslide that fell into the reservoir in front of a 260 m wide dam and caused a flash flood that wiped out many villages and principally Longarone. I saw a documentary about it a few years ago and couldn’t believe I was riding up the valley. It gave me much to ponder as I rode. The dam held but the water rushed down the valley. So many people died. There are a number of videos available. Here is a short one from the sixties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dsM3mhCllY

We stopped for a cool drink in a teeny village in a local bar. It was a great spot and I loved the relaxed black lab in the bar.

We didn’t disturb him! He was a happy dog.

We continued to follow the river, and the old highway. There were virtually no cars on this road. Then we were routed onto a stunning dedicated bike path which runs beside the old railway line, now not used, and the river. It was an absolutely beautiful ride. A beautiful ride.

We just kept riding. The scenery, the mountains, the quality of the bike path were all incredible. We did know that we had quite a climb at the end of the day, going up to Pieve di Cadore and we stopped to chat with a lovely young couple who were sensibly coming the other way. The CN asked them about the climb, and I think they were worried about the old people. It was a delightful roadside encounter. This is a good time to mention that Keith told me how lucky he felt to be married to me this morning. So sweet...until he added he figured there weren’t too many women in the world who would be stupid enough to follow him up these climbs. Thank you, I think. We had a good laugh. For the record, I would follow him anywhere

The things you have time to observe on a bike.

Briefly on the road here. Note the complete absence of cars.

We stopped for some food at the foot of the last big push into Pieve di Cadore. This was the part we knew would be a little more challenging and had the young couple worried for us. Well, it was actually very straightforward. The CN kept saying it was a cake walk and I kept begging him not to tempt the fates. It really didn’t kick up until the last two km though. It was a freshly resurfaced road, with virtually no cars on it. We were passed exactly four times going up 8 km, and three of those cars were going the other way.

We stopped in the Piazza of this wee little town to fuel up. I looked at the war memorial in the middle of the park. This town lost 36 young men in WW I. This was a tiny, tiny place.

These two were a surprise. They say Ciao when you go by 😀.

The CN’s laundry in the sun. It didn’t completely dry last night. It is so hot, but so humid.

Off we went, up the hill after our refuel stop. Spectacular, and in granny gear you are going slowly enough you can really appreciate it. The pictures tell the story.

Note the mesh so no rocks fall on innocent cyclist’s heads. They can’t be worried about cars because there weren’t any.

There is where the cars are, roaring along on the autostrade.

Then suddenly we were on dedicated bike path again. We had one funny moment at a corner when a farmer, who was feeding his chickens saw us hesitate, only for a second...the CN has a need to confirm with his Galileo app that the signage is accurate...the farmer yelled “Pieve di Cadore?” When I nodded yes he pointed. I wish we had taken a picture of his ancient tractor for our friend Ken Graham.

Um, honey, most people go the other way.

The Dolomites. Keith is happy, and so am I.

So, we had an absolutely fantastic day. We are so lucky to be doing this, to be able to do this. It has been the kind of day where I run out of superlatives. We have had a wander around the town, wine and a picnic in the room. That wasn’t planned, but it just seemed right tonight. We are so happy with our room we didn’t want to go out.

The view from our room. It is also the view from the shower. Most picturesque shower I have ever had.

So tomorrow will be a short ride to Cortina. We could have made it today as it turned out but we weren’t sure, given the climbing involved.

https://www.relive.cc/view/1838874924

Today's ride: 49 km (30 miles)
Total: 911 km (566 miles)

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Rachael AndersonYou sure are having a great trip with amazing scenery. I can’t wait to get to Italy. Croatia is beautiful but I’m tired of staying in apartments and not having the wonderful breakfasts, breads and pastries you get in Italy and France. Only one more week.
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6 years ago

Keith ClassenTo Rachael AndersonHi Rachael -yes we are having a great run here with the exception of a minor glitch today resulting in 8 stiches to Kathleen’s knee. We are in Cortina in the Dolimites - what a beautiful place. So we will be off the bikes for a couple days while things mend a bit. We plan to spend a few days exploring the area before we head down the Drau. Weather haa deteriorated a bit but we will make the most of it.
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6 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Keith ClassenSorry to hear about you injury. It looks painful. Take care. By the way if you end up in Dobbiaco/Toblach there is a great hotel called Hotel Rosengarten that we stayed at when we were Nordic skiing. They have great breakfasts and they do wonderful 5 course dinners. We are staying there for 3 nights starting September 25.
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6 years ago