It rained hard in the night, slowing to a drizzle by 7 AM with occasional breaks in the clouds by 8 AM. The forecast had suggested we might lose the morning to rain–extra rest for weary legs–but the weather seemed to be improving. We shuffled into breakfast 30 min. later than usual and reviewed our options.

Nobody said the Dolomites would be easy. After 2 days and 18,000 ft. vertical, much of it double-digit slopes, my right knee was cranky and my right quad a tangled mess of soreness. An easy day sounded just right. By contrast, Howie, Chris, Rick and Todd had been riding for 4 days, had tallied about 32,000 ft. vertical, and were primed for more. For reference, the most vertical we’ve done on previous trips to the Alps and Pyrenees has been 44,000 ft over 7 days, none of the climbing as steep as the Zoncolan and Tre Cime.

So I wasn’t looking forward to a proposed ascent of the Fedaia Pass, “a SERIOUS climb” according to our tour leader, Mike. The reward at the top was remarkable though–a close-up view of the Marmalada glacier, the only permanent glacier in the Dolomites. The Marmalada peak is the tallest of the Dolomites at 3,343 m (10,865 ft) and can be seen from Venice 100 km away on a clear day.

Meanwhile, Reb, Markham and Charles were deciding on a “rest” day that would involve taking rented mountain bikes up the ski lifts around Corvara and riding downhill. It sounded fun, but I’m inexperienced on a mountain bike and the combination of technical terrain and muddy trails could easily overwhelm my skill. I decided to stay with my road bike and approach the day one climb at a time.

Before we left La Perla’s driveway we were headed up, climbing east over Campolongo. Our warmup was getting on our bikes. Almost all the Dolomiti towns are down in the valleys, meaning the only way out is up. At just 6 km and 7.5% average, Campolongo didn’t warrant a profile in our “trip bible”, and when the sun peeked through the clouds, I could hear “The Sound of Music” playing in the background.

A long tricky descent followed, as the road was wet in the shade, drying in the sun. One didn’t know quite what to expect in the turns. Large clouds with ragged edges directed the sun to spotlight little towns or green slopes in the valley below. We descended through Arabba, then along a twisty road that followed a creek into a canyon. After a while, we crossed the creek and suddenly found ourselves in a little town…named Fedaia. It was time to climb.

The entire climb is 15 km (10 mi.) and 1050 m (3400 ft.) vert., most of which occurs in the final 7.5 km. The slope for this portion is comparable to Hogpen Gap miles 3-5, for 4 miles instead of 2. Fedaia is a brute. The top, though, is spectacular and my photos don’t do the panoramic views justice.

After a suitable time eating, donning arm warmers and jackets, and taking photos around the summit, we headed down to Canazei, scene of yesterday’s lunch. My knee was done for the day but not, of course, before a lovely 6 mile descent. In Canazei, I loaded my bike into a support van with just 34 mi., 3600 vert., in the books. My fellow cyclists continued on, up Pordoy and over Sella and Gardena again to finish in Corvara with another 8,000 ft. day to their credit.