Montaner

I left home feeling energetic but by the time I reached Caneva I was really feeling the hard climb of yesterday.  I avoided the usually hilly approach to Villa di Villa and took the lower route.  After Sarmede there was no avoiding the inevitable, so I just stood and gutted out the 1.5 km of 10% (again with +15% ramps).  Afterward, I stopped and pretended to photograph the countryside, whilst softly whimpering and moaning in pain.

Once I regained my composure I continued along the saliscendi of the hillside road.  It's a beautiful conch valley, with starting points for many steeper climbs up toward Il Cansiglio.  At Fregona the road heads downward, leveling out around Cappela Maggiore.   Again I was doing my best to stay on the flats, and succeeded all the way to Marsure where again there's just no getting around it.

BTW at the industrial zone of Polcenigo I tried a shortcut to Budoia which ended in a dirt road and a flooded gravel pit.  I rode through the woods on some muddy singletrack but the highway bridge in the distance was still on the wrong side of the water.  I hiked through the woods carrying my road bike and finally reached  the bridge.  So don't turn into the industrial zone at the Cimolais sign, wait till you see the SEDIT sign (that road leads to Budoia).
 

Olive groves and vineyards in Rugolo 

Sheep and lambs enjoying the sunshine

The view west toward Monte Cesen