Casera Mason il Vecchio MTB

After a busy, rainy week finally a chance to ride.  I mountain biked down Via Pedemontane to the turn for Sarone and headed up.  The sun was quite warm, felt great.  Shortly after the road from Villa di Villa joins the main road to Il Cansiglio, I took a right turn marked Casello della Guardia.  Beautiful paved lane ascending through beech forest.  It turns to dirt below Casello della Guardia: here go straight, avoiding the right turn to Malga Fossa di Sarone.  The road climbs, passing a left turnoff marked Casera Busabella- I'll try that another time.  You descend, climb some more to another left marked Rifugio Maset, another future exploration.

The forest opened up and the sun beamed down on me.  I crossed some rolling grassland and reached Malga Col dei Scios, a working cheese making farm which is open until winter, I guess.  From here I continued until I reached a barred, unmarked turnoff to the left in a beech grove.  From the map I figured this was the road to Casera Mason il Vecchio, a pretty forest house in the woods not far from Casera Ceresera.  Now I returned to the main road leading to Val Fritz and Piancavallo.  The skies above the ridge were deep blue, but I looked down and saw the top of a layer of overcast covering the  plains.  Soon I was descending through it, cold from the water vapor and windchill of riding.  I rode down through Bornass and tiptoed around the washed out road by the stream.  Jumped in a hot tub to thaw when I arrived home.  Fun ride!

Turn off main road right here (1000m)

Continue straight, don't turn right (1063m)

Don't turn here- saving Casera Busabella for next time

Don't turn here to Rifugio Maset- next time? (1250m)

Malga Col dei Scios- buy cheese here! (1330m)

Rolling grassland near Col dei Scios

Unmarked left turn to Casera Mason il Vecchio (1300m) 

 Casera Mason il Vecchio (1343m)

Looking down at the overcast below, near Val Friz (1560m) 

Monte Sauc (1645m) above Casera Campo