The Ultimate Overnighter.
There’s no best time to visit the Dolomites; the region delights all year. While the rest of Italy sizzles July to September, temperatures rarely top 25°C among the mountains. The perfect escape, from a hot and sweaty
‘Euro Summer’ that covers the eastern border of the continent that time of year. And, the potential next destination of our MAAP In The Field trip.
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Like many who were forced to spend some extra time in doors this year, we were looking for an escape. What better way to do just that, then a two day overnight trip through some of the most iconic mountain passes riding has to offer. The ride idea buzzed on the whatsapp group and soon we had five riders from three different countries ready to reconnect out on the open road.
“I love these kinds of experiences because you are out of your comfort zone, if something happens, you have to deal with it. You have to push your limits, find the tips to make it easier for you and the others. This is why this is fulfilling, you can discover how far you can go, how high you can climb, and making new friends from the road, how great is that?”
— Julien Verlay
Lunch was a low key affair before we moved on towards the final climb of the day. Other than what we’d seen on paper, none of us knew the climb or what to expect, which can either be a blessing or end in demise. We had a destination, an endpoint for the day, Hotel Maria in Obereggen, which gave us purpose to continue the pace.
Simply viewing the profile of Passo Pampeago is daunting. A killer climb. Relentless and steep from start to finish. The road narrows straight after the ski village, a road featured as part of stage 5 at the giro d’Italia. 11 km of climbing at more than 12% average. A climb that you definitely feel after 100km and all day on the road, accompanied with bicycle bags.
We rode side by side for most of it, without any of us saying a word. The relief only came at the summit. We talked a bit about how this amount of suffering makes the scenery even more stunning and how extremely rewarding it feels to finish a big day like this.
On the top of Passo Costalunga, we had the mandatory strudel before a nice and long descent into the valley. Easy spinning and a quick stop for a coke at the bottom and then Passo Pordoi was at our feet.
We all knew this climb, which was comforting. When we reached the summit, we could see that the dark clouds were closing in on us so we wasted no time starting our descent down to start the final climb, Passo Campolongo.
“That was beautiful, a long ascent with 28 switchbacks to finish at more than 2200m elevation. The clouds came fast over the mountains and turned dark. Forecast predicted thunderstorms around 1-2 pm, it was noon.”
— Julien Verlay
From the top of Passo Campolongo it was full gas back to Badia and the origin of our trip. The conversation flowed like a waterfall as we rode the final 5 kms of the trip. We all felt the relief of being so close to the finish and yet at the same time, came to realise our adventure was nearing an end. In what has become a MAAP In The Field post-ride tradition, we came together as a family to enjoy pizza and beer, interrupted briefly by the sound of thunder.
When riding the Dolomites your focus can be zeroed in on the beauty of your surroundings, the outgoing effort needed to reach the summit or the blinding blur delivered by speed during the descent. It’s not until we begin to reflect on the trip that the true beauty and purpose sets in. The connection between oneself and friends, strengthened by effort and accomplishment. Immediately, the yearn to plan the next trip sets in.
