There are two conditions under which I will ride a bicycle: 1) The terrain must be perfectly flat, and 2) there must be a dedicated bike path, with no chance whatsoever of cars, and preferably, of any other people at all.
So I felt I was in Bizarro World in the Dolomites, where all the narrow, twisty, straight-up and straight-down roads were filled with bikers, who were apparently riding there for fun. Bikers straining up the steep inclines; bikers careening down them; bikers hurtling past us on rocky, muddy mountain trails.
Our hotel at the Passo Pordoi was at the top of one of those inclines, and it just so happened that we were there for the Maratona Dles Dolomiti, a mountain-to-mountain-to mountain bike marathon.
The more than 9,000 participants could choose one of three options: 34 miles, 66 miles or 86 miles; in the last, you have to climb 14,000 feet in elevation.
For some reason I don’t understand, when the bikers reached the peak outside our hotel, they were serenaded by three guys playing alpenhorns.
But special marathons aside, it seems to me that every day is an extreme biking sporting event in the Dolomites. Driving from one town to the next, one has no choice but to be on narrow roads with tight switch-backs, often with a cliff wall on one side and a sheer drop on the other. Added to that adventure is the constant stream of people on bikes.
When we would arrive at a destination, we’d stagger out of the car in a state of emotional collapse. Thankfully, I didn’t hit anyone, but I came pretty close a number of times. I think we’d all be better off if we stuck to flat bike paths with no cars, and leave the mountain roads to the professionals.
Gigi's Italia 