Falcade is a ski village at the head of the Biois valley, in the Veneto side of the Dolomites, and it has the slightly sleepy, practical feel of a place that is much busier in January than in June. The valley is narrow and green, with steep forested slopes and, rising behind, the pale walls of the Pale di San Martino and the Marmolada group beyond. Villages along it, such as Canale d'Agordo, a few kilometres down, are small and traditional, with wooden balconies, stone fountains and churches with onion-domed or pointed towers. Canale d'Agordo is also the birthplace of Albino Luciani, who became Pope John Paul I in 1978 and died after only thirty-three days.
For riders, Falcade matters because it is the junction between two excellent passes. Heading west, the road climbs steeply to Passo San Pellegrino, while north-west the road to Passo Valles winds up through forest and meadow toward the Paneveggio area. The surface is typically good, the bends are well-engineered and the gradients are steady, but the Dolomite weather can be changeable and thunderstorms in the afternoon are common in summer. Traffic is moderate during the week and heavier at weekends and in August. Early morning rides are the most pleasant, with mist in the valley and the first sunlight on the rock.
The village has the services you might expect of a ski town: bars, bakeries, supermarkets and restaurants, and you can find simple Dolomite food such as polenta, venison, cheese and the dumplings called canederli. A sit-down lunch is easy. It is also a good place for a bed if you want to ride the passes at both ends of the day. There is fuel in the valley, but if you are in doubt, Agordo, to the south, is the larger town with several stations, and it is wise not to start a pass with the tank low.
In summer, the cable car in Falcade runs up towards the peaks, giving walkers quick access to alpine trails, and in winter the village comes alive with skiers. The lower slopes are dotted with old farmhouses and haybarns, and in June the meadows are full of wildflowers.
If you arrive in the evening, linger a moment on the main street. The light on the peaks as the sun sets is the sort of thing the Dolomites do very well.