Day 7 (it's late, I know...)

Having taken part in a hard ride yesterday the group was split on where to ride today, indeed, whether to ride at all and instead have a rest day. We came to Italy to cycle so that’s what most of us did, with the exception of those who physically couldn’t, eg Borzi who took a trip with Tony and Dave to the local hospital in Bolzano to have his hand x-rayed and diagnosed.

So, myself, Troy, Graeme, Chris and Galp decided to do somewhat of a recovery ride.

Given the terrain in the Dolomites you’re  either riding uphill or downhill 99% of the time. Thus, our recovery ride took us back into the mountains in search of some different terrain, different roads and different sights to take in.

We rode from Canazei, down the road in the base of the Val Di Fassa to San Giovanni then uphill to the Karerpass and then downhill to the spectacular Lago di Carezza with a great view of the Latemar mountains. It wasn’t a long ride, or the most challenging, but the prize at the end (Lago di Carezza) was well worth it.

We rode back down, then back up to Canazei to shower, change and head back up to passo Pordoi – this time in the van. After a lunch at a restaurant at the base of the cable car (sampling some good local wine...) we took the cable car to the top – some 3000m in altitude – for a view that seemed to be from the top of the world. I’ll let the pictures do the talking from here.



Myself, Chris, Troy & Graeme at the Karer Pass - thanks Galp for taking the photo.



This photo of Lago di Carezza was taken on Chris's iPhone

using Panorama 360. The result is a great shot of an

incredibly beautiful part of the world.

The view from the cable car as we ascended to the top of the Pordoi

at 2950m.

What was the first thing we saw when we disembarked from the cable car?

Two young cyclists who had taken the rollers and turbo trainers up on the

cable car so that they could do an hour or do of altitude training!

Men in Black.... Chris, Graeme, myself and Troy in the snow at the

top of the Pordoi. Cold? Yes. Worth the trip up? Absolutely

The view from the top of the Pordoi cable car, looking back down

the valley towards Canazei. We couldn't seem to take enough

pictures of the views from all perspectives up here.

The view from the cable car on the descent back down to the pass

Borzi and Tony at the hospital.

They swapped one set of wheels

for another...



Borzi's doctor was a cyclist and so understood the imperative to keep riding.

So, he created a cast for Borzi's hand that would allow him to grip the bars on his bike

and keep his index finger clear for changing gears and braking...! Legend.