'I'm completely done with it, how are we going to solve this?'
Last year I went bikepacking in South Tyrol with CYCLOsportive at the invitation of IDM Südtirol. Something immediately became clear to me, I have to share this with as many other adventurers as possible. And so this year the first South Tyrol Expedition was on the program. A very beautiful and difficult adventure in the Dolomites. With start and finish in Innsbruck, we traveled through the mountains for four days and slept in mountain huts at an altitude of 2300 meters. We had to walk for a while because it went up or down too steeply. Overcame material problems, but above all had a lot of fun! The story of day three.
Text & image: Gerrit Vermeulen
It doesn't matter, just go for a nice bike ride and pay later.
Finally! After two days of riding in a dirty set of clothes, it's time for a clean shirt and pants! What a pleasure. The smelly stuff is stuffed deep into the saddlebag. I shuffle to the restaurant in my hotel slippers (all guests have to take off their shoes in the Dürrensteinhütte). We have nothing to complain about here. An extensive breakfast is ready for us. We eat a big breakfast. Today the Queen Stage of the South Tyrol Expedition is on the program. The marked route from the Dürrensteinhütte to Fortezza is 112 km with an elevation gain of 2,900 metres. Good luck!
Online banking is also allowed
Once we have packed all our bags and strapped them onto the bikes, I will go and pay with Helga. “Cash please.” Oops. “Online banking is also allowed.” Fortunately, there is one small problem. At an altitude of over 2,000 meters, the internet connection is not optimal. “Try it outside, that's often better,” Helga advises me. But unfortunately, I have no reception outside either. “It doesn't matter, just go for a nice bike ride. As soon as you are down in the valley, you will have telephone reception again. I will give you our bank details. Then you can pay as soon as you have coverage.” I do not abuse this trust and pay immediately when we arrive in the valley.
I mainly see a lot of blood
Arriving in the valley turns out to be more difficult than expected. The descent towards the village of Carbonin is treacherous. The road is unpaved and things go wrong in the first bend of the descent. We have not even gone 50 meters and my front wheel lands in a thick layer of gravel. My wheel sinks and although I fall with little speed, the introduction to the stones is quite painful. I quickly get back on the bike, I especially want to keep my knee moving. I'll check the damage downstairs later. A year earlier we cycled here on a good gravel road. But frequent rainfall has left its mark. Literal. We carefully maneuver around deep ruts in the road. There is little left of the beautiful gravel road with small pebbles. In addition to the gullies, large stones also have to be avoided regularly. We all make it down unscathed. Well, I'm looking at my knee. My leg piece is broken and when I take it off, I see a lot of blood... The knee moves well and I don't have much pain. Nothing badly broken. I clean the wound with an alcohol wipe and with a bandage around my knee I can continue. The race waits for no one.
The old railway line to Cortina d'Ampezzo
We continue our way on the old railway line between Carbonin and Cortina d'Ampezzo. It is now a beautiful gravel road through the forest. To enjoy! The road slopes towards the valley. Today we have to climb 2,900 meters in altitude. These are not made on the old railway line. That will soon lead to pain. Just before Cortina d'Ampezzo we leave the gravel path and dive into the Dolomiti d'Ampezzo Natural Park. After the parking lot we see a road in front of us that seems to go straight up. It goes up here for almost four kilometers on 15%! Fortunately on asphalt, but still! Pascal cycles with Rick and Klaas-Jan away from Bob and me. But Bob can't keep up with my pace either. I wait for him on a slightly less steep part of the climb. He comes around the bend walking. Bob is having a hard time. When he passes me, he gets back on his bike. Together we trudge on to the agreed place to wait for each other. At Rifugio Ra Stua we are welcomed with cheers by the rest. What a climb!
Rifugio Ra Stua!
From Rifugio Ra Stua another great gravel path stretches out in front of us. We are still a long way from reaching 2,900 meters of altitude. The legs can rest for a while. But after a few kilometers the road starts to climb seriously again. Bob is having a hard time again. But mentally this Achterhoeker is unbreakable. He fights bravely on a rental bike, which also has defects. The unpaved path becomes increasingly steep and at some point everyone has to get off their bike. To walk! Then walking again and then cycling a short distance we make our way up. We're all having a hard time, but the nature here is so beautiful! Only peaks of over 2,000 meters around us. We really feel like we're off-grid for a moment. Delicious. As we drive over the top, we see Rifugio Fodara Vedla in front of us. A Rifugio with a history that goes back a long way. During the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian army built an encampment with barracks here. After the war, the barracks became the property of the Mutschlechner family. To this day, the family runs the Rifugio Fodara Vedla here. We do not stop here, but descend to Rifugio Pederü.
Up and down: walking
Phew! Where it used to go steeply up, it now goes steeply down! Short hairpin bends are quite a challenge on a gravel bike. We encounter hikers who look after us, shaking their heads. One person thinks we are crazy, the other nods in admiration. On day three, the South Tyrol Expedition more than lives up to its name. At some parts of the descent my wheels are stationary, locked by braking, but the bike continues to slide down. Not nice if you don't have control over whether you stand still or not. Once we have cycled a bit 'reasonably normally' again, it turns out that it can be even steeper. The last eight bends to Pederü are simply too steep for cycling. We try to descend on foot. Not easy. The bike wants to go down faster than my feet. A bend lower I see Bob. He takes the inside bend while walking and before I can shout for him to take the less steep outside bend, it is already too late. He slides, falls over and his bicycle rolls with him. Bob's damage seems to be not too bad, but his bike no longer wants to shift gears.
Shimano GRX, indestructible
During lunch we all discuss how we are going to spend the rest of the day. This morning we got on our bikes at 8:15 am. It's 1pm and we've only covered 20 miles. The terrain has taken its toll. We decide to descend to St Vigil and remove a climb from the route. Bob's bicycle has too many defects to safely cycle an unpaved, steep climb. Safety above all. In St Vigil we stop at a bicycle repair shop. With a lot of force he gets the gears of the Specialized Diverge working again. With renewed morale we set course for the last climb of the day. We may have deleted one climb, but we will still have to cycle over the Passo delle Erbe to arrive in Fortezza.
Passo delle Erbe, a brutal climb
The Passo delle Erbe is a brutal climb. No more gravel for us. The road up will be entirely on asphalt. The now familiar pattern soon unfolds. The trio of Pascal, Rick and Klaas-Jan disappear over the horizon. Bob and I stay behind. I cycle to the top together with Bob. Keep telling him that the view at the top is beautiful. Once at the top, that's not a lie. The view of the rock formations so characteristic of the Dolomites is breathtaking. We put on a jacket. It is already starting to get dark and then it cools down quickly in the mountains. We descend rapidly towards Brixen. But before we reach Brixen, we leave the asphalt one more time to continue our ride on a gravel road. We drive straight through a small stream. On the other side, something goes wrong again with Bob's bicycle. His chain has been wrapped around the crank three times and is completely stuck in the chainring. With great difficulty Pascal manages to get the bike moving again.
Not dressed for 'the occasion'
Darkness falls when we reach Brixen. Another 17 kilometers then we arrive at Hotel Sachsenklemme in Fortezza. Klaas-Jan doesn't feel like it anymore and shows it. “Guys, I'm done with this. How are we going to solve that! Where is the train station, because I don't cycle anymore.” How are we going to solve that? Just cycling man! It's still a little bit. There is hardly any climbing required. We'll be at the hotel soon. We all started it together and we are all going to finish it. With these words, Klaas-Jan's buddy, Rick, gives the final mental push in the right direction. We get on our bikes and arrive at the hotel at 8:30 PM, hungry and tired. Eat first and then shower. The restaurant looks deserted from the outside. Upon entering it appears to be completely full. There are still a few tables available and we can sit down. People look at us with strange, astonished and astonished looks. We're not really dressed for 'the occasion'. We don't care at all!
• read previously published reports here day one and day two.
Next year we will go on another expedition to South Tyrol. If you are enthusiastic about our adventures, register quickly for Expedition South Tyrol 2022. There is room for 6 participants. With two supervisors we will ensure that CYCLOsportive's journey runs smoothly!
