Futures Past -- Dolomites Challenge

This is a remembrance of the first Cents Cols Challenge in the Dolomites, and my first participation in the unique challenges Phil Deeker has been developing over recent years (Alps, Pyrenees). He recently tweeted that he promised not to create anything harder than this Dolomites Challenge, and for good reason I think.

Looking back, the stats of 2,000km and over 50,000 meters of climbing in ten days do not do justice to the difficulty of the event -- the relentless gradients, the pioneer nature of the inaugural challenge (how far is it again, Phil?) and the unpredictable nature of riding in the mountains (weather, injuries, etc.) give flesh to a roadbook whose dry facts are intimidating, but the reality of which is both more daunting and more rewarding than first imagined.

So, how did I end up in San Pellegrino Terme on September 3, 2012 to roll out for Stage 1?

 

The former grand hotel of San Pellegrino the morning of our departure