Hi, my name is Tomomi.

Ever since visiting Bolzano for the By Design or By Disaster conference in 2022, I dreamed of coming back to cycle in the Dolomites. A plan started to form when I promised I’d visit A in Innsbruck soon, and M declared they wanted to cycle, too. It went on my list of big things to do at the start of year 2024. I love the Alps and the Pyrenees but the Dolomites are just so darn dramatic. They call for ambition. So I decided it was time to up my bike-on-train game, on top of committing to my first multi-day cycling trip in Italy. (L’Eroica in Tuscany was a one day event on a rental bike, with Italian friends who had a car.) I bought a new bicycle, trained almost every day in August, mapped an epic route with Sella Ronda Day as the highlight, and met M in Bolzano to kick it off.

Day One

This was the buy-in ride. First, a flat ride out of Bolzano along the river to Waidbruck. A coffee break, then up some steep and winding climbs. Then, a few more hours of climbing on busy car-filled roads till we got to the town of Sëlva Val Gardena which looked magically misty. It was a lot of elevation for the first day, and it didn’t help that we missed the window for a restaurant lunch. Insufficient fuel management!

But we arrived in Sëlva at a decent hour, and were able to relax as we got closer. Sëlva is an upscale ski and spa town, and our hotel was a nice one. I picked up a pack of insoles to ease my janky left knee, and did a bit of laundry. Having had a sad sandwich for lunch, we carefully chose our spot for dinner. I had a steak with porcini mushrooms, with a bowl of rice and beer—a most excellent combination to finish off a big day. The views of the mountains were already crazy beautiful, and we collapsed into bed to the backdrop of the town buzzing with cyclists.

Day Two

I can’t say enough good things about Sella Ronda Day. The roads are reserved from 8:30-16:00 for cyclists to ride four legendary passes around the Sella Group—Sella, Gardena, Pordoi and Campolongo—and thousands of people show up for the occasion. The event is free with no registration process, and you can start and stop anywhere along the loop as long as you’re going in the right direction. As far as event organizing goes, it’s a low key affair. There are a couple of bike mechanic stands and food trucks. No one is checking your time, and the local restaurants and hotels seem to treat it as just another day.

The views are anything but low key. Every bend gives you a truly magnificent view. The ascents are tough, with a lot of huffing and puffing. The descents are an absolute thrill, one hairpin after another, and you want it to continue on forever. Everyone is in a jubilant mood, from the roadies in their latex to the eBike friend groups. Kids that everyone watches out of the corner of their eye (will they make it?!), and the cool parents carting their sleeping kid in the back. Soaking in companionship and the beauty of this region, rejoicing in our health and fitness. What more could we want?

Our plan was to do three of the four passes, and we arrived in Corvara just as the cars started taking over the roads again. After a celebratory beer, we soaked in the hotel jacuzzi and enjoyed another great dinner. What an amazing day!

I wouldn’t have attempted this distance and elevation if it weren’t for the occasion of an event. It certainly would have been a very different experience if there were cars—I understand these are very busy roads, which motivates me to come back another year. I’d need to be considerably faster to finish the loop in seven hours, and I can’t think of a worthier reason to train.

Day Three

This turned to be a difficult day with a flat tire and plenty of rain. I knew going into this trip that I could fix a flat on my own bike but little else, and we resolved this mechanical by hitching a ride to the nearest bike shop in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Getting to the hotel from there was an hour on a busy road under torrential rain. There were a lot of clothes and shoes to dry afterwards.

But goodness the mountains were gorgeous. In the cloudy mist, the cliffs looked ethreal. It’s incredible to me that one can travel to such places on two wheels, constrained simply by whatever is in least supply—imagination, fitness or cash. And time of course, but I’ll tuck that under imagination.

Day Four

This turned out to be our last day of cycling, as we wrapped up a day early to return M’s rental bike by mid-day. There’s an old train track from Cortina d’Ampezza to Toblach-Dobbiaco that’s been converted into a road. It’s a nice ride, descending through to leave the mountainous region. I took the road while M took the parallel mountain bike road. I was sad to leave these views behind but with plenty of time on our hands, we had not one but two lunches and I took the opportunity to taste another porcini dish.

The road from Toblach-Dobbiaco to Valdaora-Anterselva is an impressively manicured cycling lane. I tend to find riverside cycling boring, since it’s flat and the views stay the same-ish. This one was not any different but it made me curious about the area (who funds this!?). We started switching gears to the next Innsbruck leg, while scheming how we might spend more time in this part of South Tyrol.

All about the train travel

It’s possible to get from Paris to Bolzano by train on the same day. It’s just a very long one, leaving home at 6:00 in the morning to arrive at 20:00. Four trains, changing in Zurich, Milano, and Verona. Figuring out this route and booking the tickets were a big part of my trip planning. I needed to find connections with sufficient transfer times, and check luggage regulations for each line. I was worried about getting stranded somewhere, and anxious about having to pack and unpack my bicycle in crowded train stations.

Figuring out how to carry everything was a challenge, too—two set-ups for “train mode” and “riding mode”. I had enough gear and experience with the latter, but the former needed to be dialled in so that I could get to Bolzano with as little stress as possible.

The bike would have both wheels off, in a bag over my shoulder, with my other belongings in a bag I wouldn’t need in “riding mode”. After many hours reviewing packable bags, I found one that weighs an astonishing 135g and rolls into the size of my fist. It was perfect for tossing in all of the unwieldy items—helmet, handlebar bag, saddle bag, water bottle, snacks—and have both hands free for the bike bag. I practiced packing and unpacking the bike during the summer, too, timing myself and watching YouTube videos to pick up as many tricks as I could.

Now having successfully completed the trip, I will document it in excessive detail for anyone interested in lugging their bike in a bag across Europe—most likely, my future self planning another trip.

My first train was the TGV Lyria from Paris Gare de Lyon to Zurich, a 4h04 ride. As it was a 07:22 train, there were only a handful of other passengers. I had booked a seat on the lower deck and went to the platform early (first photo). The bike didn’t quite fit the luggage rack, so I looped it with a bungee chord (second photo). When a staffer came by to check our tickets, she told me it can’t be in the aisle and that I needed to move it to the luggage rack in the middle of the carriage. She went to check first that there was space, so I wonder if she might have let me leave the bike if there wasn’t any. In any case, it was easier than I thought to carry the bike down the cramped aisle, and I found that the bag fit the negative space of the rack area (third photo). Not bad!

My second train was a 3h17-long ItaliaRail EuroCity from Zurich to Milano Centrale. I found a quiet corner at Zurich station (first photo) and had a snack. The ItaliaRail train was a modern one, with a spacious hallway next to the bathroom. I wrapped my bungee cord to the rail, glad I’d brought a thick one. The hallway had a slight slope, so my bike teetered at times. Next time, I’ll pack two cords.

Then it was a 1hr13 train from Milano Centrale to Verona Porta Nuova, and 1hr35min onto Bolzano/Bozen. Both were old trains without much space. Taking a cue from boisterous Italians that banged into anything that got in the way, I hogged the luggage rack (first photo) and just let people walk into it. On the last train, I tied my bike to the pole in the small hallway next to someone’s stroller (second photo). Both were totally in the way (third photo) and it seemed to be fine.

Once the cycling leg of our trip was complete, we hopped on the Sud Tirol train that goes from Dobbiaco/Toblach through to valley to Fortezza/Franzensfeste. This is a modern tourism train, with plenty of space for assembled bicycles and big windows to enjoy the view (second photo). The one from Fortezza to Innsbruck needed a bike ticket, which I didn’t have. I was able to pay onboard and get permission to tuck my bag next to the bicycles. This was disappointing, as there are two types of trains that run this route and I had planned to catch the other one which doesn’t require bikes to have their own tickets.

Bored of bikes on trains yet? Let’s speed through the last part, finally going home to Paris. The 3h30 train from Innsbruck to Zurich requires a bike ticket, as there are limited bike racks (first photo). No bikes-in-a-bag are allowed. This train was several hours late, and I missed the connection to the TVG Lyria that would have taken me home at a reasonable hour. To make matters worse, I had to pay full price for a new ticket since my first ticket was from Trainline, a third-party seller. Argh. There was a later train so I could get home on the same day, at least.

Several bonus hours at Zurich train station with a bicycle introduced new variables. Going to the restroom required leaving it outside for a few minutes, as the toilet ticket staff wouldn’t let me take it into the ladies’ area. I really wanted a hot meal but the outside seating was only for drinks and snacks. A kind waitress told me she’d watch my bike, so I went inside and scarfed down an overpriced pizza. Another waiter told me the police do rounds to confiscate any unattended items, and shooed me out. I went to the platform early, and packed my bike.

My seat was on the upper deck this time, so I got to try carrying the bike up the tiny staircase. It’s fine. There’s a luggage area in the upstairs hallway (second photo) which is pretty small. But I already knew that the mid-car space would fit my bike—in fact, this time I laid it on its side to keep it out of the way for other luggage (third photo).

In Paris, the local train that would have gotten me close enough to walk home wasn’t running for some reason. Welcome back. I wearily unpacked my bike for the last time, glad I’d made sure to have a full meal at Zurich, and cycled 40min in the dark to reach home at last.

Packing list

On me

• Buff headband and helmet

• Cycling gloves

• Cycling sunglasses

• Cycling jersey

• Bib shorts

• Shokz headphones, iPhone, smartwatch

• Autumn cycling jacket

• Packable wind breaker

• Scarpa shoes (for both cycling and town use)

• Hand towel

• Hiking pants (these were meant for off-bike but I ended up wearing them on-bike since it was windy)

On the bicycle

• Garmin

• Rear light

• Water bottle

Seatpost bag

Clothes in a stuff sac

• Alternate hand towel

• Alternate bib shorts

• Alternate short sleeved jersey

• Sleep shirt

• 2 sets of underthings and socks

• Flipflops in a ziploc

• Big ziploc for dirty laundry

Toiletries

• Tooth brush, floss, toothpaste

• Nail clippers, shaver

• Face cream, face wash, body lotion

• Shampoo, conditioner (skip next time)

• Tiger balm, bandaids, aspirin

• Laundry detergent

• Toe separators (luxury item!)