Each year, one week after the Maratona dles Dolomites, when all the motorcycle riders are just dying to get back to the Dolomite passes, they are shut down.

Instead, the entire region fills with cyclists for one of the best days of the year, The Sellaronda Bike Day. It is some serious fun.

The Sellaronda is the loop to do in the Dolomites. If you can just do one, this is it. The Sella itself is a freestanding island of Dolomite, it looks like a wedding cake with its many tiers and layers. The loop is about 55km around with about 1800 meters of climbing. The thing is, your neck will be as sore as your legs from looking around so much. To pedal a road bike around this loop is amazing. To pedal around it with no cars on the road is sublime. And finally, to pedal around it with about 16,000 other cyclists is, well, Italy.

DolomiteSport has some additional information about the big day ( here ) and how it can be done along with the Maratona dles Dolomites.