The European Chronicles 2026.13 - Le Dolomiti, Un Problema & A Hiatus
Tom Petty Isn't Always Right "Most things I worry about never happen anyway." - Tom Petty, Crawling Back To You, 1994. Focus on "most." I'm riding around La Thuile, the small roads and Iseran, thinking in the quiet of my helmet, "You know, up and down all these passes, negotiating all these incredibly tight hairpins, is hard on the clutch. You feather it constantly, there's hard acceleration up steep hills, it gets a workout. The brakes too, and I've already replaced those, front and rear, way sooner than ever in the US. Maybe after 7 years of doing this, the last few 2-up which adds to the strain, I should replace the clutch this coming winter, you know, just to be safe." Wrong. I needed to replace it this PAST winter. Did I "think" the problem into existence while riding around in France? My last rooftop breakfast at Riva del Garda...sigh... I've got a multi-pass route planned to the Dolomites, including Passo Manghe...
