Guest Testimonial: Dolomites Mountain High
Guest Testimonial: Dolomites Mountain High
Lynea Keeps Up in the Dolomites
This wouldn’t be Lynea and Dan’s first bicycle tour–not by a long shot. But the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy? Obviously, there would be steep, rugged climbs. Dan looked forward to these with excitement, Lynea, with some trepidation!
“We’ll reserve an e-bike,” they agreed.
As a girl with modest natural athletic ability and two athletic older brothers, Lynea had spent her childhood “trying to keep up.” Then, she married an innately athletic Dan. They adopted cycling as a form of recreational exercise, and the “keeping up” started all over.
“With our uneven abilities, we had to compromise. We tried to choose tours that weren’t too difficult for me or too easy for Dan.” Still, he would be in the front of the group while she rode with those who brought up the rear.
Lynea found that the intense training before a tour took a lot of the fun out of what should be a vacation. For the Dolomite tour she indeed requested an e-bike. “It was a game changer,” she said. “We were able to ride together, and I enjoyed the cycling so much more being with Dan rather than somewhere off the back.”
When they registered for Ciclismo Classico’s “Ride the Dolomites” tour, Lynea chose an upright-style E-Road-Bike with a few special adjustments to accommodate neck arthritis.
One day early in the tour, the guests found themselves riding in the pouring rain. Lynea was one of only three riders who powered through the distance. “It was tough,” she admitted, “but once I decided it was possible, I took on the challenge and was determined to finish. After all, this would be my only chance to see this beautiful moment in Italy. So I took the chance and rode inch by inch, mile by mile. And indeed, the scenery was amazing!”
The next day, however, she had a severe cold. While the others were riding their bikes, she spent the day recovering in the support van. “It was a low point in a way. But at the same time, the guides and fellow guests came around to offer assistance–and meds! That sense of community really made me feel cared about and made that day so much better.”
Lynea’s almost favorite day of the Dolomites tour was the hike day. “That’s partly because it was a change of activity,” she said, “but also, we were right in among those mountains. You could turn in a circle, and everywhere you looked, there were glorious views. And I loved the history–restored World War 1 bunkers and trenches and the guide’s stories of the area.
But the absolute most rewarding moment of the tour came during the toughest, longest ride. Dan and Lynea were the only two guests to make it all the way to the top of the extra loop. “It was an exhilarating accomplishment–the view was the most spectacular, and we were able to see it together!” Gianpaolo, the guide accompanying them, actually made a video call to Enrico (Ciclismo’s route planner) to brag about the two of them.
Any Ciclismo tour is apt to be full of surprises, most delightful. Lynea found the most surprising aspect of this tour to be the area’s unique culture, which is quite different from any other part of Italy. Once part of Austria, this Dolomite region in the north has a strong German influence, seen in the food, language, and architecture.
As for deciding whether this tour is for you, Lynea passed along some advice she once received from a friend: “It’s easy to make decisions based on others’ influence. But the harder thing is to be brutally honest with yourself about what you can do and what you want to do. Choose your challenge so that you don’t just keep up but rather that you love every minute of your bicycle journey!”