It's a good write up, khg. Good enough for me to know I would never do it! I know as soon as I start anything that resembles training, it takes all the love out of riding for me. I know I'll never be the fastest on a tour, and I have never been the slowest, but my mantra is to just get up the hills as slowly as I need to, to get up them in these kinds of situations. Sun and heat affect me, eating and drinking (an important part of the tours I've done in Europe) affect me, it seems, way more than others. I do ride a lot of hills, and that's how I've got to where I am at. I guess I just don't want to suffer as much as others. It does look beautiful, but I think that any vacation for me in the Dolomites would be what we call a "regular person" vacation, with a little riding and hiking thrown in. In fact, that's what my 2 vacations in Italy have been, and I loved it.