I thought I was going to have an easy day today. My legs were tired, and this is the middle day in the Dolomites. So, a "rest" day seemed like a good idea. Rather than leaving from my hotel, I drove the car (and my bike) to Pocol--thinking I was cutting 11K of climbing down to 6K. The climb was tough straight out of Cortina averaging 7.5% over 5 miles with ramps of 14%. I knew the end was going to be steep, and I thought I might even skip the dog-leg past Misurina--which guys on the road (from Paraguay and Spain) told me the last 4K was 19%! I started the climb and felt ok--finding my rhythm and chugging up while staying in the saddle just about the entire time. I was not able to enjoy the view on the way up, since I was solely focused on the 3ft. right in front of my wheel! I was rewarded at the top with spectacular views of an alpine lake, glacier and gorgeous peaks. My route map actually told me I was done when I reached the lower car park, but I pressed on until the road stopped, and I'm so glad I did.
The ride down was so steep that I stopped a couple of times to make sure my carbon wheels cooled down (lest I blow out a tire).
I was definitely kicking myself for not parking the car down in Cortina--rather than 3 miles up the hill with another 1K of elevation gain.