Rifugio Bornass 2

This is another local test of strength- it starts 5 km from my house at Costa, on Via Pedemontane and immediately slants upward.  The first 1.3 km to Santuario Madonna del Monte average 12.5%, with stretches of 15%+.  After that it's quite easy, averaging 5.4% for the remaining 8 km to Rifugio Bornass.

My approach with 39x26 gear was to stand for the whole first 1.3km, grinding out semi-circles on the steeper sections.  After the santuario, I sat and enjoyed a quiet easy climb through the  woods on the mountainside.  I did stand for the u-turns at the ends of the tornanti, which are perversely steeper than the traverses in-between, in contravention of normal practice.  This easy climb finishes at 767 meters.

The descent is wonderful- freshly paved and widened, full of banked tornanti, chicanes, and long steep ramps.  You end up at Pedemonte by Aviano.  Then another 200 meters of total climbing home.  I had to hurry because Silvano came back yesterday and I promised to take him to the supermercato this morning.  On the way home he told me about catching granchi with our neighbor Toni (who stays in Lido) on the diga (I'm guessing he means the MOSE project).  Must be fun, and they sound delicious.  

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