Will Climb for Strudel

Being the simple minded person that I am, it doesn't take much to amuse me.
Put a piece of strudel on top of a mountain, and I will do what it takes to get up there to eat it! This was at the front of my mind as we began the 2nd ride of our Italian Cycling Crescendo Trip.

Day 2 greeted us with bright sunshine and blue skies. Raja was feeling much better and ready to ride. I had so much fun on yesterday's adventure, I suggested we do the same route so he could see it all for himself. We've been up to the Alpe di Siusi hiking, but this was our first time on bike. It's always a different experience on 2 wheels. I didn't mind at all having to repeat the same climb with the same views. How could you tire of this?





Plenty of helmetless Italians were out today. Colorful cycling shorts are the norm in Euroland. Most cyclists wear brightly colored kits and many are laden down with enormous backpacks. It took me a while to realize that they carry a full wardrobe in those packs. When you do these descents, you need about 10 layers of clothes to keep you warm.




Today seemed to be more crowded than yesterday. Hikers, horses, cyclists.
I'm not complaining, in fact, I love it.



Excuse me, hello, on your left, excuse me, hi, hello




Once we reached the top of the climb at the village of Compatsch, we continued along the road to take in the tremendous views. It was even more dramatic the second time around. Double click on the video clip to take a rest stop with us and enjoy the view. And yes, that is the wind you hear.



Views, views, and more views. Makes road riding pretty tolerable. If we only had this on the comet at home.





Even though the wind had made things a bit chilly, 8 degrees Celsius to be exact, we were determined to continue our quest for strudel. Raja, still on the fringes of getting over his sickness, probably did not need to be exerting himself on such a climb with cold air in his lungs. But we're talking about some killer strudel here! The show must go on! We've already gotten 2,000' out of the way.
Just 1,000' more to go.




We reached our destination: Panorama Hotel, perched on top of the world. Two slices of apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce and a cup of hot chocolate. MMMMmmmmmm.
Strudel mit view!



We bundled up to make the long descent down. I have a hard time concentrating with all these mountains distracting me.




Back at our hotel, Raja is still ready for more riding. Just a few meters down the road were some signs for biking paths. Woohoo! Let's go exploring!




This gave us ideas for more riding in the days to come. Maybe we can extend our trip to a month, no, two.
A wonderful day of climbing and eating! What more could I ask for?
A sauna perhaps? How convenient, included in our stay was use at the hotel's relaxing sauna room. Beautiful Italian tile mosaics, a cup of peppermint tea, and the whole Euro sauna experience. I think I've died and gone to heaven.

Double click the slide show to go to the gallery or just watch it right here.


PS. Check out these figs. They were huge, so juicy and delicious.
Can't find these at Kroger.


I could hardly wait for tomorrow's adventure.