Half a Sella Ronda and Back
As it was raining when we got up and the forecast was not very promising either, or perhaps because I was afraid of a chamois dance on my own remains, I decided to soft pedal the Sella range a bit.
Just a bit, only Campolongo and Pordoi – not even half the Sella Ronda. Or it would have been, had I not returned the way I came 🙂
So, I went up and down the Campolongo like I did on Friday, but in Arabba I turned right and went up the Pordoi from there, a climb I had not done in 2011.
Besides the annoying rain, it was also quite windy and cold most of the climb and we stopped for a coffee and warm apple pie at the summit.
This allowed me to warm up a bit, but the descent of the Pordoi to Canazei was chilling me to the bone once again.
So I turned around quickly and started to climb the Pordoi from the other end, the first half being the same as I did Saturday, when I continued to climb the Sella.
Today I turned right and finished the Pordoi in its entirety – in 2011 I came down from the Sella and climbed only the final part, the bottom half I did a few days later.
At the summit we paused at Maria’s again where we had a soup and a mixed plate (Mortadella, prosciutto and Taleggio), both of which tasted fantastic.
Another wet, freezing, but still flying descent later, I tackled the Campolongo from Arabba – less than 4 kilometers, but at a stinging 7% average.
The final descent to Corvara was tricky because of the road works; I think/hope the Sella Ronda is clockwise this year, so the Campolongo will be an ascend.
You never know with the Italians, but for now it looks like they will not finish the works before next Saturday – some 10,000 cyclist going down here, will most likely mean many crashes…
The pain in my back and neck was tolerable today, but I still paused a couple of times, despite the relatively easy ride. Not very promising, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
