From Feltre to Passo Cereda – loop tour

You quickly get used to the pleasant things in life. Unlike my off-day in Dervio, I could have gotten used to it this time. A great guesthouse, balcony, city walk, pizza, and beer. It felt really good... Flashback: Almost exactly a year ago, my cycling destination was also Belluno. That day is still vivid in my memory, because everything came together: a train cancellation by Deutsche Bahn, a horrific tunnel ride alongside crazy DHL speeders, and heavy rain/thunderstorms that lasted for hours. Anyway, I cycled through the Val de Mis that day and was absolutely thrilled. Unfortunately, I could hardly take any pictures, let alone enjoy the moment. So, for a long time, I was thinking: I have to come back here! On my off-day, I planned back and forth, but ultimately, only Strada 50 seemed to be an option. Disadvantage: Lots of tunnels. At breakfast, the guesthouse owner said, "You can avoid all the tunnels, and there's not much traffic." Well then... Well, I don't know if Italians have a different understanding of busy roads, but I found it borderline. Hordes of cars and, of course, the inevitable groups of motorcycles. Almost exclusively domestic license plates; I think the area has an acute problem with too many cars and too few roads. So I practiced composure as hundreds of metal vehicles passed me, sometimes with sufficient distance, sometimes with criminally little. I was actually able to avoid the first few tunnels, but I think things got interesting with the third one. The detour ended right at a barrier, behind which I entered the tunnel for the last 300 meters. Anyway, I pushed my bike under the barrier at an angle, waited for the right moment, and then went full throttle. All easy. But then the final boss, 1.3 km long, was waiting for me. According to Komoot, it was avoidable. Unfortunately, after 700m, I encountered a stone blockade (like the one in front of the Christmas market) that I couldn't possibly maneuver my bike past. So now it was time to head back, close my eyes, and go through. Okay, I decided to keep my eyes open after all. The noise in the tunnel was indescribable, but somehow... I don't know if I've become too numb to it, but I just kept going, and it worked. I stopped briefly twice and waited because of bus traffic from behind and oncoming traffic, but otherwise... it went really well! Feeling so high and enjoying the first glimpses of the magnificent Dolomites, I then reached the Passo Cereda, which I somehow hadn't really expected after Grimsel and Furka. But it turned out to be a nasty beast, with 6km of almost double-digit gradients, so that was pretty tough. I somehow managed to get up there, and then a long descent, repeatedly interrupted by vicious intermediate climbs. Then into the Val de Mis, how wonderful! I think this is another one of those places; photos can't really capture it. There are crowds in the lower part by the lake; it doesn't seem to be as much of an insider's area as I thought. Lines of cars along the side of the road, like we see in the Kirnitzsch Valley on weekends. The last few kilometers to Belluno, I cursed a bit at times because of nasty bites, but eventually, I made it. Great day!