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| The beautiful view from the bus ride from Bolzano to Ortisei |
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Well Ortisei was the second town we visited on the trip and it was breathtaking with views of the Dolomites all around us. Jackie of course had bikes rented to take on the infamous Sellaronda Bike Day and then up the ski lifts to the Alpes De Siusi to ride in the largest Alpine meadow in the Alpes, but more on that in the next post.
According to the Sellaronda Bike Day website, it was their largest turn out ever with more than 20,000 participants. WOW, I know right?
We had a great time riding in the event which left St. Christina at 8:30 am on Sunday, June 22. We climbed up to the first pass, about 40K and it took about 2-1/2 hours and about 3,000 feet on switch back type roads. Chloe and I had E-bikes which meant we had a motor boost when we needed it and we needed it because we'd pull over and take a drink and rest, looking for Jackie. That engine helped us boost off to keep climbing the switchback type mountain. We stopped at the top at a restaurant, refueled and took the same road back down. It took just 30 minutes to descend, I know right? It was a spectacular ride and there were several E-bikes and mountain bikes like Jackie along the ride. It was a very memorable day! Here's a link to see more of the historic ride: http://www.sellarondabikeday.com/en/news.html
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| We were the selfie Smith family from Birdeye (2nd of 100 taken :)) |
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| There were many of these cyclists going up the mountain next to our bus (our bus took 3/4 of the road in most spots but it was a two lane roads, these jokers were climbing from Bolzano 860 ft., where we got the bus, to Ortisei 4040 ft.) |
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| Photo at our hotel the day of the Sellaronda, Sunday, June 22, 2014 |
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| Chloe and Jackie at the start of the day |
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| Notice the sign is in German, Italian and Ladin, and the beautiful Dolomites in the background |
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| Notice the size of Chloe's tires (she and I rented E-bikes, bikes with a small battery to help in the hills). Our bikes were HEAVY but needed on the way as we stopped often to rest and watch the 20,000 (yes 20,000 that's not a typo) participants. The E-bike helped us to start each time on the road...we climbed to the Sella Pass which is about half of the entire loop. The Dolomites that surrounded us were outstanding as you can see in many of the photographs |
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| It was a beautiful day to be riding |
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| The road was narrow in sections and it got quite congested in some parts too |
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| Chloe and I were waiting for Jackie to catch up to us and got this great photo |
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| Lots of the road cyclists would see Chloe flying by them and they'd comment in Italian, German or Ladin something then they'd notice her big tires, then that battery and chuckle saying, "Ah....MOTOR!" She'd smile and give them a thumbs up. Here this 7 foot tall cyclist was talking to her and I'm sure commenting |
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| For some reason, I love a picture taken over my shoulder, you can see Chloe and Jackie |
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| We headed back down the mountain after 2-1/2 hours of climbing. This is going back down while hundreds of cyclists were still heading up |
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| It took us only 30 minutes to get back down... what a beautiful photo! |
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