Haute Route Dolomites, stage 5.

Haute Route Dolomites, stage 5. Anyone for wacky races on a cycle path???

So if anyone thought I was a miserable git, then today I am another level up from that! If you have seen “one foot in the grave” before, oh yes, thats me right now!

I am officially an “haute route ambassador”, today I was embarrassed to have the title. What idiot decided it would be a good idea to race down 25-30k of cycle path! Yes you hear right, around 400 people who have paid a lot of money do this event, and a lot of those 400 have a vested interest in the GC and where they come each day and if they are beating their friend, if they are highest over 50 etc etc. Today was not about riding your bike fast, it was, if you were interested in the GC results, about riding at 40kph down a tiny, twisty, wet and at times gravel track of a cycle path. This you might think is rather dangerous, and YES you would be very right!!

I knew we had 20k or something of cycle path to ride on but presumed that someone would have at least looked at it before committing to racing on it. The locals must be utterly disgusted by what was happening today. Old couples frightened to death as a group of 20 cyclists are hammering their way down this 2-3m wide lane. Many many other cyclists coming the other way must have had several near misses. I know a lot of us, and I was one took it easy (ish) down there but you have a racing instinct to race, once the man says go and the time is on you race. What is the point in pushing yourself to gain 1 minute up a 40m minute climb when you lose 5 minutes on a cycle path just because you have a conscience about not wanting to kill someone. I saw 3 punctures and one snapped chain on the regular bad surface.

I also heard the lead group got sent the wrong way by the out rider and had to use their Garmins to re calculate the route. I was not the only one to stop on the cycle path in amazement wondering if I had gone the wrong way as it seem ridiculous we could ever race down here.

In addition to this balls up, the feed stop was near on 15k further than advertised.

Right, that is the moaning section done with. I could have kept going and gone into detail about the gravel road and needing a cross bike or mountain bike, but I feel the point has been made enough.

The ride itself was beautiful up on the Gavia, Super cold which I am sure my Garmin would have read it as zero or there about’s. The face we descended has a lake which was mirror still today and stunningly beautiful. Despite the organisation having no ide where they should put the feed stops our Punto guys still did a sterling job in feeding and watering us.

No idea what tomorrows stage is like, it can not be any more of a joke than todays thats for sure.

Ciao

Paul