From Belluno to Pieve di Cadore

4 August 2021

After yesterday’s long stage, Vincenzo and I decided to do a “transfer” stage without pushing too hard: 45 km with a total elevation gain of 848 m, with Pieve di Cadore as the destination. The weather is good, but we know we’ll find rough conditions as we climb northward. My knee hurts a bit, but I’m trusting that normal pedaling won’t make things worse.

The start

The start is on a main road, somewhat trafficked. We tuck ourselves onto the edge of the hard shoulder and pedal patiently. There isn’t much to see, but whenever a little village shows up along the road we’re happy to stop and have a look around and take a few photos, as in the case of Canevoi, where we photograph one of the many tall white bell towers found in these parts.

Pedaling, beauty arrives

A little later, finally a chance to leave the road: the Pontalpina cycle path. But after only a few kilometers, to our disappointment, we end up smack inside the classic valley-floor commercial sprawl, very quickly forgetting the pleasure of pedaling through nature. At the end of the cycle path, though, we find a big pink bicycle — most likely dedicated to the Giro d’Italia.

We carry on pedaling through this very commercial stretch, and after a few km of provincial road the scenery changes completely. Just past the Piave (in a beautiful spot where the river widens out, almost as if to form a lake, even if very dry), at Soverzene a lovely cycle path begins that carries us away from the cars, at the end of which a route begins that’s very respectful of cyclists. We start entering places where the bicycle is truly considered.

From then on the road becomes really beautiful. There are very few people about and very few cars, and at the end of the cycle path we find ourselves on another nice bridge over the Piave, where, while leaning the bike on the railing to take a photo, I watch my rear light first come loose and then fly down into the river!

More traffic, but come on, we’re nearly there

Once we reach Codissago, where we were supposed to take a beautiful cycle path that runs along the Piave, we’re informed that the flood made a disaster of it and it’s now impassable. We screw up our courage and take on the SS 51, narrow and hyper-trafficked also because of roadworks. A bit dazed, we arrive at a point where the old state road is available — disused now because it’s been replaced by the new one, but perfectly rideable on a bike. Another change of scenery: we are literally alone, on this lovely road that hugs the Piave on one side, and some pretty, apparently abandoned villages on the other.

The road is quiet, the weather is excellent even if the sky is overcast. Only the last ten km towards Pieve start to get heavy: we knew today’s elevation gain would all come right here, and indeed in the space of 8 km we climb from 400 to 900 m! Despite the effort of the climb, the knee seems to hold; I go slowly without ever forcing it, and this probably helps.

We arrive in Pieve di Cadore pretty tired, and the best thing to do is collapse onto plenty of food, at the excellent Locanda dei Dogi where we’ll come back this evening too!

The track

→ Giro_delle_Dolomiti_Day_2_da_Belluno_a_Pieve_di_Cadore.gpx

Comments

Margherita
August 4, 2021 at 3:57 pm

Awesome! What I envy most is the stop at the inn 😊 (not true, the Piave too). Carry on!