LHS abroad.: Day 26 - 27 July - Giro delle Dolomiti Stage 2

I'm writing this on the rest day (29 July) because I've been too shagged to do it earlier.

Today was stage 2. 143 km. 2500m of climbing. The timed section was a 6km climb with the last km at over 15% gradient - it broke me, I won't lie. Nothing I've done in the last year has prepared me for hills that steep. Horrible.

But it was beautiful! I'll let the photos do the talking. If Ang and I aren't smiling it's because we're lamenting our saddle sores. ;)

I've also moved out of my AirBNB student shared flat accommodation into a hotel for 3 nights, then another airbnb (only one other person, not a share house) for 3 more nights.

Best decision ever.

I tried and tried with the house but really it wasn't appropriate for my needs. The first night there was a bar across the street playing loud music and a lot of noise at night. The house was filthy. I had to buy toilet paper for the house as there was none to use. The hot water in the one working shower was so unpredictable that any false move resulted in scalding (!!!) hot jets of death. I also slipped over in the kitchen and bruised my hip when a housemate was mopping up (way too much water and she didn't warn me before starting to mop). On Monday night (before today's 143km ride) I was kept awake by noise in the courtyard behind the house, and then one housemate decided he wanted to cook dinner loudly at 12:30am so I probably slept from 1 until 5... and up out of bed at 6 to get ready for the ride. Not ideal.

I got home after the ride and agonised for an hour but at 9pm I snapped, booked a hotel, packed my things, called my host and left.

SO all in all the hotel I'm in now is an oasis. Anyway, here are photos from the ride :)