Monte Mulon MTB

Overcast morning, threatening to rain any minute.  Luckily it was just bluffing. I rode to Meduno and up to Forchia Meduno then to the turnoff for Campone and Monte Valinis.  Here I started up a dirt road toward Monte Mulon.  The steeper bits were concreted, but still an excellent workout.  There was a latched gate marked "private property" at 928 meters and it was all snowy from there on so I turned around.  Took some pictures first though, including bear tracks in the snow.  Very cool to see those, I think they may be the first ones I've seen in Italy.  Good ride, I'll try again this summer.

Karstic outcropping below the summit

The snowy cloudy summit

Bear prints

Pussy willows?  Don't know

The climb from Meduno to 928 meters

Climb up the dirt road from Campone/Mt Valinis junction

Monte Jouf MTB

Overcast Easter morning  for a MTB ride up nearby Monte Jouf.  My legs got a brief warm up on the 9 km road from home, then it tilts up sharply.  After a brief paved stretch it becomes a wide well-graded dirt road.  The gradient is constant so once you get in the right rhythm you just keep going for an hour or so.  Up above 1000 meters patches of snow appeared which gradually covered the road.  I pushed the bike through the snow awhile but eventually got tired and my feet were getting wet/cold.  Ride down was great fun.  Have to try this again in a few months.

After about half-km of pushing bike through snow,
 I quit here at 1100 meters

Col Alto Monumento ai Partigiani MTB

I've tried to reach this monument a couple of times but always end up somewhere else.  Today I finally nailed it.  It's atop a treeless summit and can be seen for miles around, especially the billowing Italian flag.  I rode from Rugolo up to Dal Cin, but it's much easier from the Carbonai park along Strada dei Patriarchi (the way I descended).  It's a beautiful spot with a great view, and a moving inscription on the monument, commemorating 406 Partigiani killed by Italian fascists in the latter part of World War II.

Monument at 866 meters

The flag, normally billowing, seems torn by the recent high winds.
The Alpini will fix it soon

Visentin and Pizzoc

The wall from Rugolo to Chiesetta Alpini

From Rugolo to summit

Val di Lama MTB

A glorious Spring Day, with birds singing everywhere and all the plants budding/flowering.  I rode the MTB down to Coltura and headed up the hill to Mezzomonte.  Just past the cemetery before you reach the town turn left and start climbing.  I ran into snow around 1020 meters and hiked a little way to see if it was just a patch, but no it kept on being snowy.  So my original destination of Val di Lama fell through.  I'll try again later this Spring.

Looking back down the snowy road I'd hiked up

The road just keeps getting snowier, and steeper too

Busa del Sauc Snowshoeing

Marilyn wanted to go snowshoeing too so I drove to Piancavallo, parked by the turnoff for Sauc and we set off.  After a short warmup hiking she hit the snowshoe trail.  Very impressed how well she did after a long break (maybe 10 years?)

The snow is very deep this year

Casera Caseratte Snowshoe

Went snow shoeing this morning from Collalto to Casera Caseratte.  I tried finding my way in the very deep virgin snow to Casera Valfredda but after maybe one kilometer I was done.  Exhausting.   What a spectacular day!

Double cross-cann

When I bought my used Merckx 8 years ago I had a problem with the left shifter body which is made of carbon.  I can't remember what was wrong but I only needed a new body, not the works inside, so I bought a Campy Record brake lever body (for people who use bar end shifters) and converted it, saving a €100.

Then today I was cleaning and lubing my Viner Maxima, which has never been the same since visiting the muddy strade bianche near the beach at Brussa last month.  Hosing it down and oiling everything didn't help much so today I tried re-doing it all.  The front derailleur was still punchy so I tried cycling it a few times and the carbon fiber lever snapped off.  I'm a pretty skinny guy but apparently I'm powerful enough to snap carbon parts with ease.   So I went to the now semi-retired Merckx and cross-canned the left ergo shifter, again.  Hopefully no purists are offended by my mix-and-match gruppo.

      

Alpago Cansiglio

Great ride along the pedemontana to Vittorio Veneto, north to Lago di Santa Croce, up twisty SR422 from Farra d'Alpago to Tambre, across the Cansiglio forest and alto piano, then back down to the pedemontana at Sarone.  Hardest ride I've done since the collarbone event and I felt it. Definitely need to work harder this Spring to prepare for those long summer rides.

I apologize for lack of photos but it was sunny/hazy in Alpago then huge black storm clouds in Cansiglio.