The Dolomites: Passo di Fedaia
(continuation)

Soon the road emerged out of the coniferous forest and into a more open landscape. To my left, the jagged peaks of Rosengarten, sharp as shark’s teeth, kept watch as I pedalled the flat-to-downhill run towards the S241. Passo Costalunga (1,745 meters) greeted me after a couple of hundred meters and a short, not-too-strenuous climb. I set my sight on my next pass of the day, Passo di San Pellegrino, 28 kilometers away.

(Below: Clouds hover over the Rosengarten group)

But first I must collect my reward for all the elevation I’d gained.

(Above: Passo di Costalunga, 1,745 meters, from the west)

The descent from Costalunga to Vigo di Fassa was long and exhilarating. I would have been pleased with this downhill had it not continued all the way to Moen along the Fassa Valley. I kept a wary eye on my altimeter. By the time I bottomed out at Moen (1,110m), I had lost over 630 meters (2,000 feet). I was somewhat disheartened by this as I would have to now climb up to 1,919 meters in 12 kilometers to successfully negotiate Passo di San Pellegrino and the start of my challenging circuit around the Marmolada range.

(Above: The steep stretch on the western approach to Passo San Pellegrino)

The road to San Pellegrino rises from out of the depths of the Fassa Valley to follow the course of a small river that originated higher up. Cima Uomo, at 3,000m, was the most prominent of the Marmolada peaks visible from this road. The scenery was uniformly pretty though somewhat unchanging and thus monotonous. The climb to Passo di San Pellegrino from the western side was notable because it had quite a few very, very steep stretches that were not apparent because the road was fairly straight and because the surrounding terrain rose along with the road. There were a couple of hotels and a few cafes at the windy—and mostly deserted—summit. The establishments were obviously there to cater to the ski crowd for almost all were shut for the summer.

(Above: A very quiet Passo San Pellegrino, 1,918 meters)

Another steep plunge awaited me at the eastern side of the pass towards the Val di Canale. This side appeared steeper than the climb from the west. In any case, it was twistier, with quite a few tight hairpins and thus appeared the more interesting.

(Above: The twisty descent of the eastern side of Passo San Pellegrino)

Though patches of sunshine appeared here and there, the clouds that hovered at these higher elevations had not lifted and I started to get cold.

I stopped at a café in Caviola near the bottom of the valley, hoping to get something solid for fuel before I tackled my next (and hardest) pass, the formidable Fedaia. The cafe turned out to be a disguised pasticherie/gelateria—and I had to "make do" with a couple of those croissants with fruity jelly on top (which I dislike because they get my fingers all sticky) and, get this—a tall copa of ice cream topped with fresh strawberries and an obscene amount of whipped cream. It didn’t do much in terms of energy refuelling nor in terms of warming me up, but it sure lifted my morale!

(Above: The town of Falcade on the way to Cencenighe)

Sated with what amounted to a snack of junk food, I proceded to negotiate the remaining short descent to Cencenighe (773m). All told, I gave back over 1,100 meters (3,400 feet) from the summit of San Pellegrino down to the Alleghe valley.