September 21, 1998
Pordenone to Asolo
We wandered about town a bit in the morning, waiting to check out the beginnings of a medieval street fair and to purchase a breakfast supplement (breakfast at our hotel was remarkably meager), and then started off for what was intended to be a long ride to Vincenza where we planned to stay two nights before moving on to Venice and the end of our road for this tour.
The first half of the day was almost entirely flat, on quiet roads along the edge of the Meduna River. This was followed by a hillier ride over a ridge to the south of the Piave. By midafternoon, it became apparent that Vicenza was not in play for the day after all, and we set our sights on the small hill town of Asolo instead.
[Unfortunately, at this point the journal abruptly stops. It looks like the pen ran out of ink actually, and for some reason I never got back to complete it. Once again, all that remains is a few pictures and a feeble memory.]
Asolo proved to be a beautiful place to stay, perched high on a knoll above the valley. We splurged out of necessity and stayed in a three star hotel with a great balcony restaurant, and enjoyed a wonderful meal at sunset, enjoying the wonderful view over the valley, the lights of the towns and villages sparkling below.
Before all that though, we had to reach the village. It was bad enough that the road was ferociously steep - amazingly though, we had to work our way through a packed, elbow to elbow throng of spectators cheering on their favorite teams: runners hauling Roman chariots up the slope, racing for the finish line in the hilltop plaza. If I remember correctly, at one point we gave up and locked our bikes up for a spell, coming back to retrieve them after the hoards passed on. Researching this later, I see that this is an annual event, the Palio (similar to the famous one in Siena), pitting teams representing the six wards of the town.
Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 532 miles (856 km)
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