If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
We started out in a light rain, which quit after about an hour. It was mostly cloudy and cooler, in the low 80s, the rest of day. We enjoyed the pretty ride on small roads and cycle paths, skirting larger towns and villages, winding through vineyards and orchards, gradually gaining altitude as we make our way up into the Prealps (the foothills of the Dolomiti).
Just before we reached Vittorio Veneto, it started to rain. And then it poured. We stopped and put on rain gear, then stopped again under a loggia when we got to town, as the deluge intensified. Fifteen minutes later, the sky lightened and the rain slowed, and we continued through town. We were actually staying about 3 miles outside of Vittorio Veneto at an agriturismo in a hamlet called Borgo Maren, population five.
The last 2 miles were straight up a beautiful, winding, tree-lined lane with panoramic views of the valley and Vittorio Veneto below. I walked most of it, Ken walked some. We ended at a small cluster of farm buildings and a tiny church. Our home for the night.
Our host had sent directions for checking ourselves in, and we were soon in a lovely big room, newly renovated with travertine floors and a huge bathroom.
It felt good to take off the wet clothes and clean up in warm showers. By the time we had washed out our clothes and done a little admin work (paying bills, updating reservations, communicating with friends and family), our dinner was ready and we walked down to a table outside the restaurant for plates of lasagna, a fresh garden salad, and cooked red cabbage. We are getting nearer the borders with Austria and Germany, in the Sudtirol, and the cuisine is starting to change.
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| Our room is in the middle building with the terrace, on the top floor, on the far right. |
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| One of many hilltop towns and villages along the way. |
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| Looking back and down at Vittorio Veneto as we begin our ascent to the agriturismo. |
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| The tiny chapel in Borgo Maren. |
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| For lunch, we decided we wanted a hamburger. We found a place called The Wild West, with an American theme. Inside, Ken spotted this sign. Could it possibly be from our Dennison, MN? |
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| We are really lightweights when it comes to climbs over 20 percent. Or 15 percent. Oh, and also over 10 percent. (Note that this photo is taken from the top of the steep climb, looking back; the sign actually shows the descent, warning those going down the hill we just came up.) |
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| It rained. |
