The point of departure is the bus station [formerly the train station] at Cortina d'Ampezzo which one can also reach from Calalzo along the bike route.
Follow the bike route from the parking lot to the north of the station; for a few miles the route is paved all the way to the entrance of the Cortina Hospital. Shortly after the route is unpaved. The surface is in fair condition but not perfect. Loose gravel and stones create some difficulties especially in the downhill sections.
The path climbs with a very gentle gradient, through a mostly-uninhabited area; the only points of reference are the old train stations at Fiannes and Ospitale; at the end we arrive at the pass at Cimabanche (1,530 m or 5,029 ft above sea level) where the bike path joins the main road. Here also are the boundaries between the provinces of Belluno and Bolzano, and the regions of the Veneto and Alto Adige.
The descent to Dobbiaco begins just after the Cimabanche pass; anyone who doesn't like descending on a loose gravel path can get back on the statale since traffic is not very heavy on this stretch. If you stay on the unpaved section allow for considerably more time because of the severe ups and downs and stretches that are in a bad condition. In brief, it is recommended to use a mountain bike with fat tires.
You first arrive along the lakeshore of Lago di Dobbiaco and from there the final descent leads into the village of Dobbiaco (Toblach), the resort destination of Val Pusteria (Pustertal).
Just before the level crossing over the railroad tracks of the Fortezza-Lienz line, on the right, is the beginning of the Drava bike path (Drauradweg); the first section, very easy for being entirely paved and in a slight but steady descent, takes one to Lienz, the capital of Tirolo Orientale (Ost Tirol).