Today was a huge day for us and we are really proud of what we achieved!

After a breakfast of pancakes Katie and Matt left for the airport and Barney and I packed all of our stuff up. We had during the week managed to place items in nearly every room of the apartment!

We found out on Friday that the Sellaronda Bike Day was happening on Saturday - the day we were planning on heading to Cortina. However the opportunity to ride the circuit with NO traffic was just too tempting! Starting from Canazei would mean 2000m of ascent and around 34 miles. A daunting task! We originally planned on finding somewhere to hide our luggage near the turn towards the Pordoi pass however we totally got swept up with all the other riders and just kept going! We also didn't feel that comfortable with trying to hide it with thousands of people going by. So we slowly made our way up to the Pordoi pass with a lot of encouragement by the other riders. They gave us lots of "complimenti!" And "you are Heroes!". The climb was steady and there was plenty of shade for most of it to keep the heat at bay. Reaching the top felt like a real milestone - we were doing it! The gradients aren't too bad so as long as you keep determined and keep pedalling it's an enjoyable task. At the top we had a handful of peanuts and raisins, put on our fleeces and began the speedy descent to Arabba.

It was an absolute joy having the roads filled with cyclists and NO cars at all! No fumes, no loud engines, and no one to try and run you over as you take the best line speeding down the turns. But the best bit was seeing so many people out enjoying their journey under their own steam.

I got to test out my new brakes on the downhill and wow! I can now confidently brake down hill without wondering if my levers are going to suddenly bottom out. Thanks Mat for all the help changing them in Canazei!

We got down to Arabba, stripped off our fleeces and had a few more peanuts and raisins. Then it was back up to the next pass. The sun was in full shining power mode by now and we could feel the heat. But once again we set a steady pace, enjoying the new scenery and got to the top.

The top of the passes around the signs that have the elevation and name always have a huge crowd around them as people attempt to get the all important picture! We didn't want to stop too long here and there were a lot of people milling about, causing us once again to walk through the crowd until you got past the signs. I got a quick photo on my phone!

So down to Corvara we sped, feeling great that we'd accomplished two of the passes with barely stopping. The maize snacks that I had impromptu picked up the day before at the supermarket proved an a big win and Barney couldn't stop delighting in how many calories they had...

A third pass of the day needed to be conquered next and after another round of peanuts, raisins and maize snacks. The Gardena Pass was a big big climb. I think the longest of the day - or it sure felt like it at times! We actually managed to pass a couple of people uphill! Though we weren't going any faster I'm sure. There was a short section that was undergoing roadworks which made the surface rough and of course it was on a couple of the steeper turns! Short bursts of increased effort though got us over these. Getting to the top of Gardena at about 1430?!?! Meant that we wouldn't quite finish the day traffic free as they would reopen the roads after 3pm. But it did mean that we would complete about 80% of the route without cars, which was better than we had expected in the morning. So after another quick photo yet to be digged out we headed down, along and around to the climb up to Sela pass - the shortest climb of the day but in a way the most exciting!

The cars ended up joining us for most of this climb and we really noticed the difference. The good was that cyclists still far out weighed the cars and so they didn't have much chance of speeding around. The last bit up to Sela was really tough - our legs really wanted a rest by this point. We were determined to finish and pushed on, I clouding following everyone else through the red light at some short traffic lights. By now there were a few people walking - I couldn't blame them it's a huge day, and maybe their batteries had run out? I wasn't sure. We had a couple of short rest stops but edged our way up in the heat, encouraging those around us. The top was still busy with cyclists and there isn't much room around the sign to take a picture but we managed it! It was then time to collapse on to a bench and eat the rest of our food!

Before we got too cold we headed downhill in search of somewhere to camp in the sunshine. That turned out to be pretty easy. Though I did change my mind after we had pitched the tent... And Barney obliged by helping me run the tent across the road and up a short hill to improve our location 🤣. I was so grateful we had saved the tub of risotto as it meant the only thing to do was to heat it up and hey presto! Dinner was served.

We fell asleep quick that night... My watch said 4 days recovery needed - fat chance of that happening!

We woke up though, around midnight, to this terrifying and unusual animal call. A bit like a bark mixed with a scream? We had no idea what it was at first but it was close. Barney did a bit of googling and we realised it must be a lynx. It made a racket for ages until a motorbike came up the road, by which point it ran to the other side of the tent and further away - still making a huge amount of noise. Eventually it went quiet, I think another car went by... I fell asleep as I usually do but Barney spent quite a while longer wondering if he was about to become a big cats dinner.