Dolomites, Italy

A first night in Valdaora. Arriving at the Monguelfo train station, we will be awed by the soaring Alps to the north and south, but the serene slopes hardly hint at the drama that awaits us.

Our home for this first night is in the quiet village of Valdaora, just south of Monguelfo and perched above the river valley. Despite the serenity we’ll feel in this pastoral setting, we’ll also know that just to the south over the first crests lie the jagged spires of the Dolomites. Tomorrow we’ll dive headlong into a landscape that will stop us in our tracks—more times than we can count. Tomorrow, one of the greatest adventures of our lives begins in earnest.

Two nights in San Vigilio di Marebbe. Located at the end of a closed valley, there are only two ways to exit San Vigilio: back on the lone paved road in, or up and over a mountain. We will, of course, choose the latter for two rides from this idyllic setting. The first will take us over the spectacular Passo delle Erbe to the etherial Val di Funes. For the second, we leave civilization entirely and ride across Parco Naturale di Fanes-Sennes-Braies, a no-paved-roads national park that scrapes the sky. On the first ride, our legs and lungs will be challenged; on the second, our hearts and bike handling skills will need to be in top form. Once completed, we’ll check our pulse, pause, and be grateful for having been in this miraculous place, living out our dream on a bike.

One night in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The beating heart of the Dolomites is Cortina d’Ampezzo, home to the 1956 Winter Olympics. Few relics of those games remain and Cortina has become so much more than the village that once housed the world’s greatest athletes. But the reason the games were held here has not changed at all: The natural wonders that surround this valley form a year-round playground unsurpassed anywhere.

In summer, cyclists and hikers—world class and mere mortals—gather to hike, bike, and be awed, with Cortina more often than not serving as their base for adventures. For one night, we’ll join our fellow revelers and become part of the dazzle that defines modern-day Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Two nights in Misurina (near Tre Cime). As we will have learned from our first few days in the Dolomites, there is no shortage of spectacular peaks and ridges across the entire area. But, like any place even so amazing as this, there is one location that stands as its visual icon. In the Dolomites, that place is Tre Cime.

Tre Cime is a trio of spires that are both spectacularly beautiful and unusually accessible, both of which contribute to its iconic stature. A paved road climbs over 3,000 feet (a classic Dolomites bike ride) from valley to a refugio, where access changes to a gravel path leading to places usually reserved for great imaginations. We’ll ride and hike and find the wonderland of spires that includes Tre Cime, an otherworldly setting hard to believe, and even harder to leave.

Final night in San Candido. We started our trip in the valley that defines the northern limits of the Dolomites and we’ll finish our trip in this same valley, just north of Tre Cime. We choose this location because there may be no more beautiful village in the region, poised on the crest of the Val Pusteria in the shadow of the Tre Cime National Park, and just meters away from the Italy-Austria border. For the past several days, we’ll have been treated to one marvel after another, almost to the point of overwhelm. Strangely enough, over time we’ll come to appreciate this night’s opportunity for calm reflection as much as any of the peaks and valleys we will have explored over the past few days. It’s all a part of the overall story—one which we’ll never forget.