Dolomites Day 4

Woke up at 7.00 today. Dad started packing because he wanted to do a short cycling tour with some others. I got up later (about 30min) and went to breakfast.

After breakfast I packed while Dad got ready for the ride. After packing I loaded up the car with everybody's stuff. Then the cyclists started and shortly afterwards the rest went of in the bus. Kurt and Wolfi went to sun themselves while Jon, Moni and me went to do a Geocach. The rest went further up. Up a valley with a river in it and the hint was "wet". We just couldn't find it. After 30min we found it nearly under a waterfall so it was wet.
Returned back to Wolfi and Kurt which were sunbathing by a river, so we joined them. Later Dad rang up and wanted to know where his car keys where. He had told me to leave them in the hotel but I had forgotten and taken them with. Raced back home with everybody so he could get changed and just stopped to reserve a table at a pizzeria for later.

Got to the hotel, gave Dad the keys so he could get ready and then filled up the trailers with bikes. Took about an hour but after that we went to the restaurant for a pizza.

After lunch the journey back home, only with a short stop at the Rosenberger motorway stop again.

On the way there always seemed to be a race going on between Kurt and Wolfi which where driving the buses. At one point Wolfi killed his motor whilst starting and Kurtl took the lead laughing his head of.

So it carried on like that until we arrived in Nesselwang.

Unloaded Sontheims, then Inges and Karins bikes. Later at Jon's we all said goodbye to each other and all went home. Long journey back and the last time I saw the Dolomites today.

No track as no cycling for me but pictures at Picasa.

Dolomites Day 3

Woke up today morning with aching legs and thought: "Na, cant do it".

Had breakfast and looked at the tour. Shortly after, I went to Jon's to ask if he was doing a group 1.5. Answer was yes, so I went with Jon, Moni and Patrick. It turned out to be a “walking wounded” group. Jon felt sick and had a cold, Moni also didn't feel to well and had a cold and Patrick had a blister on his foot. I had aching muscles and after my experience yesterday I had no "bock" to go with group one. So group 1.5 started of first in a nice speed uphill. Not a steep hill, thought. Carried on like that in brilliant scene between the Dolomites. Forest left and right and the mountains behind that. Pictures at Picasa.

On the way we stopped to do a Geocach at which group 1 and 2 overtook us. We found it and carried on through the valley.

Arrived at the bottom of a cliff and just saw group 2 going up it. After a 5 min. stop we followed them and soon got of. 35% steepens with slipy concrete to go up. Carried on and always thought: "The end must be here soon". Met some friendly mountaineers on the way which took some bikes after we had met group 2. These we met at about half way.

After that it was gravel to the top were there was the first hut. Lay in the sun shortly between to brilliant looking mountains and had our lunch. Then went on to the hut which was there to have a coffee. At the hut Jon and Moni decided to turn round and go back and they were looking a bit peaky so they went down while me and Patrick carried on with group 2 to the next hut.

Cycling (or pushing) through a nice shrub-forest to the next hut and the scenery was always getting better. At one point we saw where group 1 was going to cycle and me and Patrick thought "Thank goodness we didn't cycle with them". Carried on to the next hut which had an old WWII aircraft run next to it (could have flown up, why didn't we think of it before). All raced to the hut which then turned out to be full so we carried on to the next.

At one point Kurt said if the hut wasn't round the next curve he would turn round. It was only three so we went to that hut (sorry, forgotten the name) at about 2200m hight.

Again, great view and even better when you have something to eat to. After a meal me and Patrick started of at going downhill as Dad said the rest could take a while. Patrick raced of straight away and I lost him shortly but found him stuck behind a heard of cows which were being taken down the mountain. Good way to stop him actually, but he found a short cut past them to which I said I wouldn't go down there. So I somehow got past (scattering the herd in the forest ;)) and carried on behind him. Where we had lunch we stopped and had a nap four a while until the rest came.

After that came Wolfis nightmare. As Patrick cycles down nearly everything he wasn't just going to stop at a 35% drop of concrete if his father told him to. He didn't by the way and no, we didn't find a smear of blood on a cliff wall somewhere. It turned out not to be that steep and slippery actually. A lot cycled down on the concrete and Moni got up at some points to.

But then the herd from before was back, with two cars behind. I didn't get past the herd but I did manage the cars. When I was in front of them it felt like they where going to slip onto me so I went behind them again.

Arrived at the bottom safely and carried on to the hotel which we actually only had to roll to. Ate an ice cream and then went to showers to clean up.

After about an hour group 1 turned up and said that we missed a lot: views and apparently they where filmed to.

Track at GPSies and so ended our last long tour of the Dolomites which look stunning.

Dolomites Day 2

Got woken up today by three different alarms. One: my iPhone alarm (7.29), Two: Dads Blackberry alarm (7.30) and Three: Somebody knocking at our door (7.40).
After we'd woken up and got dressed we went to breakfast. Big buffet on which everybody got full. Passed around the list of drinks we had yesterday which seemed a bit wrong and then the menu for today evening. After all that we went to get ready.
At 9.00 all (from group one) were ready. Started of the same way as yesterday but turned right instead of left at some point.
From then on it seemed to get steeper and steeper and steeper. Started of with 12% steepness, went on with 20% and in the end 30% steepness. Even Inge got of, something wed never seen before. It then started of that a group 1.5 evolved because there are some in group one which are a bit slow (me included). But the scenery was superb. Great pictures at Picasa. After getting past this huge part (it was 7,5 km uphill of which about 10-20% we pushed) we had our lunch at 2200m looking at a spectacular view of the Alps. Also saw a Edelweis (rare flower) and a shepherd with his heard. Must be some job working at that height. Then we cycled about 300m downhill and nearly broke our necks to drink a coffee in an alm at that hight. Long WALK down after that hut and all the walkers were saying it would still take ages. But then, a field (were I lost my drink bottle), and after that the best time of the day. Cycling on a bumpy, stony trail at a great downhill part. Right the river with mountains behind. Left more big mountains. River was actual a wady (river that only runs water in Winter or spring). Arrived at the Pragser Wildsee with more mountains. One word: brilliant. After a stop we carried on and after 50m Patrick had a problem with the back gear. Carried on but waited at the next few buildings. After about quarter of an hour they arrived. Jon had tried to fix the problem but only the first four gears worked properly.
It also turned out that Terence Hill was making a new film by the buildings but we didn't see him. After that it was 10 km downhill on which my top speed was 80.2 km/h. In that time Martin had a crash at about 40 km/h but he luckily landed in grass and had a few bruises, which a friendly dog helped him to get over. Then, main road with Italian drivers. Two lorries passed us at about half a meter and sounded their horns in the middle of our group (bastards). Cycling along the river after that was easy (Jon thinks it could be the river Po).
Then the pain began. Jon happily say "Only another 600 Höhenmeter" which felt like a lot more. First the front disappeared. Then I was alone at the back but later Jon, Moni and Patrick waited for me. The last 300-500m where the wourst cycling experience I have ever had till now. Felt sick, could only fell my muscle pain and apparently I was white in the face. At the top downhill but my senses weren't working properly so I had to go slow. Then a surprise: Patrick turned wrong and carried on and the rest went correct. He later caught up with us and said he raced behind at about 100 km/h.
Then, at last, the hotel. After 50 km and 2000 Höhenmeter. Ordered a Cola straight away and filled up my sugar. Later great food to get fit again.
Totally KO but great scenery. Track at GPSies (if any NORMAL person wants to do this).
Will have to see about tomorrow. Perhaps a group 1.5 ;).

Dolomites Day 1

Day of journey. Started of good. Got to the gym and sent all people to the cars to start.

Then, first big mistake. Dad and Jon probably thought that they'd want a Burger so instead of going to Füssen on the motorway they turned of to Kempten to go to McDonalds (also Füssen has one to I don't know why they did that really). Got a blink-warning from Kurt and changed his direction to Füssen.
Later in Austria we repaired a broken door on one of our buses with Martins help and met Hopsing. In the Rosenberger motorway stop we had a brilliant breakfast (eggs with ham) and then carried on along the Italy road system (two words: very expensive).
Arrived at the hotel after 4 hours and big problem. To little space. Two buses, two trailers and one car. But stored it all in the end.
Then our first tour. 1700 Höhenmeter on the first day. Are we mad? Could be. Cycling up a steep mountain which didn't look step we met nearly all the Transalpine jogging people. Also to English guys with a chant: “we are fat, we are round, we're good at going downhill”.
Carried on cycling with brilliant views of the Dolomites. Track at GPSies and photos at Picasa. VERY step as said. And it freaking DIDN'T look steep. We felt it but didn't see it. Weird.
Arrived at the top and it started to rain slightly. Just in time to go into a restaurant at the top. Ate a little there which turned out to be very expensive. After we paid a horrendous bill we carried on downhill. We missed a turn downhill, Matthias flew over his handle bars and we were nearly all killed by lorries (Italian lorry driver, which stay put in the middle of the road. And Patrick was especially at risk as he was nearly at the front downhill all the time). But, hey, we staid alive to tell the tale. Arrived at the bottom and had to redirection our route as we had come "a little" of the GPS route. It turned out we had about 200-300 Höhenmeter more in the end than planed because of that. Arrived at the hotel after a bendy and uphill + downhill road to find out group two had arrived already. Also on the way Jon did two Geocaches of which he "only" found one (50% at least, woha)
Step and long tour uphill with brilliant view.

Herzler Hütte

Started of at the gym (as nearly every Thursday actually).

Quiet a few people + two new "oldies" (don't take this wrong). Two guys from Stuttgart on a tour with us. Come once a year to cycle with us. Missed them last year but met them this year.

Also Martin was there, for the second time this year.

So, to cycling. Went up to the Herzler Hütte. Track is at GPSies. As said, started at the gym (or in our case our home). Went up to Bayerstetten, past Reichenbach and then up past the Haslacher Alm (left actually). Then up a LONG and step trip uphill until to the Herzler Hütte. Then down in semi-darknes. Top speed 79.4 km/h. Got a tell of from Karin for "speeding". Back home through Gschwend and then to the Bistro and then home.

Steep and short tour.