Improvised Freedom: An Unexpected Journey.
On Sunday, August 17th, I look at my calendar and realize at the last minute that Monday and Tuesday are free from family commitments. Federica is at work and my kids are in the mountains. What should I do? I have no desire to stay home scrolling through my social media feed, or even worse, queue for a parking spot and then get burned on the beach.
I hate the heat, I detest it, it's not my thing.
No plan, no excuse not to create one; Found: I ride my bike, and I go far, in the cool.
So at 8pm I open Komoot and jot down a track, destination: Dolomites.
Zero hassle, no car journeys, endless queues, trains to catch… my legs (I hope) will take me to the top of the Dolomites, and then bring me back down to the humid bubble of lower Romagna.
I try to split the trail into two days, but it's definitely too long for my current training, so I decide to take a few hours on Wednesday to return and split my short escape from the heat into three segments, without really knowing where or when to stop to sleep. So, in addition to the bike gear in my panniers, I also add a waterproof bivy bag, a sort of sarcophagus that will keep me warm and dry in case of rain during the nights.
Lugo - Cortina d'Ampezzo
I leave home at 3:30 a.m. It's pitch black, the days have gotten much shorter now, I see a beautiful sunrise crossing the countryside just after the Comacchio valleys, and then arrive in Venice in the late morning, a city that always fascinates me even though I've been there several times, but never by bike.
Between one snack and another through Treviso, I quickly stop by Vittorio Veneto to say hello to Tommy, a friend who became a father a few days ago, and I continue on, starting the first uphill ramps.
Despite my nighttime departure to escape it, the heat has now reached me here too.
37°C on a relatively good asphalt, where my wheels dance smoothly, but it's insanely hot, I continue to wash myself literally under every fountain I find on the road.
I've already drunk 6 liters of water and 4 Cokes when I finally arrive in Cortina. I can't believe I made it.
The mountains, the temperature, the smell in the air, it's all wonderful and extremely rewarding. What I was looking for I had earned with sweat and with my own legs.
After a couple of failed attempts (I knew it was August), the third campsite accepted me even though it was packed. The second option would have been to camp somewhere just outside the village.
Shower, dinner and immediately afterwards I slip into the bivy with “crunchy” but not destroyed legs.
Giau Pass - Vicenza
It's 6am and outside the bivy it's 4°C.
I leave the “sarcophagus” and get dressed quickly, have a hearty breakfast at Coso Italia and leave for the second day of travel.
I reach the Giau Pass around 7:30 and finally, after a few bends, the temperature rises and I can undress a little.
I love this climb, I did it many years ago with friends, a pleasant 18 km climb more or less, never with prohibitive gradients with breathtaking views.
It's August, and in fact a horde of tourists with cars and campers crowds the last 2 km of the pass, even more so once I reach the top I don't even pop into the refuge for a coffee, I put on my windbreaker and launch myself downhill towards Alleghe.
I had lunch at a bar in Agordo where I'd been years ago and remembered they made amazing sandwiches. Here I improvised a possible destination for today's stage: a farmhouse/camping site I found while googling while drinking yet another Coca-Cola.
I called and told them I'd be there with my bike in about eight or nine hours. They very kindly replied that they'd wait for me even after the reception closed.
So, in two minutes sitting at the bar, I had found my glimpse of the day.
I stock up on food and get back in the saddle, pushing hard on the pedals, elated by the fact that my legs were feeling really good despite the kilometers already covered and the climb to Giau.
A quick stop in the historic center of Asolo, which I had never seen before but knew was worthwhile, and I continued through the countryside on long gravel roads and a good stretch of the Treviso - Ostiglia cycle path.
As dusk falls, I finally arrive at my rest stop. I dine on the supplies left over from Agordo and a lovely plate of watermelon and melon offered by the very kind owner. I shower and then dive back into the bivy, this time leaving it almost completely open; unfortunately, the temperatures here are no longer those of Cortina...
Vicenza - Lugo
It rained a few drops last night, but it didn't cool down at all, on the contrary... I'm leaving as soon as it gets light, heading for Rovigo and then Ferrara. I've always loved the Estense Castle and I want to have a second breakfast right there, next to its walls.
It's already very hot this morning too, through Argenta and the Romagna countryside, then instead of heading straight back to Lugo, I realize that perhaps I'm in time before the Bike Line guys close up shop for lunch, for a quick hello since they've always supported me in this and other "crazy" things that come to mind.
3:00 AM I arrive in Lugo. I enter the house, with a half-goofy grin that I can't wipe off my face. I'm tired but extremely relaxed. I turn off the rear light on the bike and check my Garmin: 670km with 4,300m of elevation gain.
It was a simple bike ride in the mountains, certainly long, but the most exciting part was planning it randomly a few hours before leaving, without any certainty about its feasibility or where and/or when to sleep, nor a precise route because as I traveled I changed the route several times based on my feelings, everything randomly.
Having few certainties and improvising during these two days was truly stimulating, but from the start to the last kilometer I felt I was in the right place at the right time, I felt a sense of total freedom.
Words and photographs by: Salatissimo (Omar Cai)
