Monthly Archives : January 2024

Culinary tour of the trip


My first hotel was halfway up a mountain with nothing nearby, so when asked if I wanted to dine at the hotel for 20 euros it was a quick yes. Little did I know how great the food would be or that I would eat here each night of my stay! Night 1 Hotel Burgaunerhof Breakfast Buffet Hotel Burgaunerhof Night…

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Time slipped away too quickly


After another morning run we headed straight for Saint Mark’s Basilica. There was no line and we paid your euros and headed inside. It is an impressive building and even more so for Cheresa and Anna who have not been any of the large churches in Europe. We opted for the optional tour of the museum which allows for going…

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Crossing many things on the list


With only a couple days we packed in a lot today. But first up Anna and Cheresa wanted to get a workout. I was very skeptical of their plan to run around Venice but it actually worked out for them. Seven miles later they were back for breakfast before the adventure started. Since I had scoped things out already I…

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These dogs are tired!


The gun laws in Europe require a permit holder for a rifle, and only that permit holder, to transport the rifle. What this meant is that Anna and her teammate were unable to drive with me yesterday to Venecia and had to wait until the team moved to their Airbnb before they could come to Venecia. I had mapped it…

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On to Venicia to stretch my legs


I skipped out on the final day of the biathlon races in Ridanna and after breakfast hit the road. It was a smooth drive with no issues (thankfully) and the only surprise was the total cost for tolls. On the drive into the Dolomites I had four or five toll booths and on the drive back only one but the…

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Exploring and having fun on a training day


No racing today, but Anna had training in the morning so after a huge breakfast I headed into Sterzing to explore a bit. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself… I woke up with the good idea that rather than risk driving up the mountain (something that I went to bed very stressed about) I could ride the bus. Duh…

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Back to racing!


With the next race in Ridanna it was time to leave Cortina with an early morning departure. I still had the chains on the tires so it wasn’t much concern driving down the mountain but reaching the valley off they came and the concern for black ice. Thankfully it was not a issue and with plenty of time I pulled…

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Last of skiing, hitting it hard


There are two parts to the ski area in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Tofana and Faloria/Cristallo. Yesterday I skied Tofana and today the plan was to ski the Faloria/Cristallo. It was about a fifteen minute drive from town to the parking lot Rio Gere. The road separates the two lifts and I kicked off the day doing a few laps before the…

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Wow that was a lot of miles on skis…


As suggested by the guy at the ski rental I choose to ski the resort outside of my hotel (which is about 5km from the actual base area). I was glad to have scoped out the nearby trails yesterday as the logistics of this resort are overwhelming. I made it over to a new area and took multiple lifts to…

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A stressful drive to Cortina d’Ampezzo


I ate a quick breakfast and was on the road by 9:30am, since I was concerned about road conditions and the trip was estimated to take three and a half hours. I used the chains to get off the mountain and thankfully the roads were in good condition in the valley. From there the driving was good through Bolzano as…

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Another day and a snowy race


After last night’s drama, I was relieved to have the tire chains on the car for the 10km drive up to the biathlon course. But first was clearing the car of a foot of new snow and shoveling out the sides to inspect the chains. Thankfully all looked good. A fuel up of the amazing breakfast buffet before I hit…

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