Forcella Tamer

The weather forecast called for rain starting at noon, so I decided to do a local ride with some climbs before the downfall began.  After Maniago, just before Fanna I turned left on the road up Monte San Lorenzo.  I recommend only climbing this on Sunday or holiday because on weekdays it has giant dump trucks loaded with rock quarried at Monte San Lorenzo headed for the cementificio of Fanna.  The road has some damage from heavy rains undermining the roadbed, causing a large slump.  It's a great little workout, 2.6km averaging 8%.

Steeply down the other side to Valcolvera, and just before Poffabro turn right down Val Muie.  Fun rolling road descending after Navarons to Fiume Meduna, then steeply up to the main road for Monte Rest.  Turn left, skirt the shore of Lago di Redona until you reach the right turn toward Campone, then climb gently up the gorge of Torrente Chiarzo.  This wonderful road eventually reaches a sharp dogleg right turn up the mountainside.  I dreaded climbing this because previously the steep pavement was mostly torn up, with wet, algae-covered slippery stones: hard to climb without standing, yet nearly impossible to get traction with an unweighted rear wheel.  Luckily after a couple hundred meters it was newly paved (I guess 1 or 2 years ago).  The surface was great and the gradient was climbable seated, in 34 X 27 gear.  The road is barricaded and marked closed because of a landslide, but they've cleared the rubble from the road and are now shoring up the adjacent slope: on a bike it's no problem.   From the start of this climb to Forcella Tamer you climb 5.5 km, averaging 9.6% gradient. 

At 900m there is a cattle gate, a short stretch of paved road, and then rocky MTB riding to 1000m where the parapendi launch at Monte Valinis.  I decided to turn around at the gate so I could beat the rain.  I descended the way I'd come all the way down to the Campone road at 432m.  

After passing through Campone I began the climb up to Piani di Clauzetto at 673m.  Descending to Pradis di Sotto at 537m I noticed an unusual number of hikers, runners.  Turned out they were having a marcia, similar to Volksmarch in Germany.  I threaded through the walkers and headed up the last climb of the day through Pradis di Sopra to Cristo at 717m.  After Clauzetto I switchbacked to Travesio, then to Toppo, across Fiume Meduna, through Fanna to Maniago and home.  The predicted rain was nowhere to be seen; in fact it was now sunny and warm.  Meno male, it motivated me to ride fast and I enjoyed the rolling ride.     

Monte Raut from Monte San Lorenzo;
I'll try to hike there from Panuch in September

The rehabilitated former quarry on Monte San Lorenzo's
northeast side; the south side is still being quarried.  Beautiful
west side is still natural, with Chiesa di San Lorenzo high
 above the cliffs along Bus di Colvera

Shoring up the landslide on Campone - Forcella
Tamer road.  Note the new pavement.

Monte San Lorenzo - Frisanco

Buon anno!  Perfect sunny winter day so I took a little ride toward Fanna, then turned left toward Monte San Lorenzo.  This is a smooth, wide, well-paved road, usually full of large trucks hauling rock from the quarry on Monte San Lorenzo to the cement plant at Fanna.  But on Sundays and holidays it's deserted.  The gradient is a good workout but never impossibly steep.  Very nice to descend too because of the wide switchbacks.  Today instead I descended northward on a narrow mountain lane to Valcolvera.  From here I continued north to the turnoff for Frisanco and headed up again, steeply but not unreasonable.  Just before Frisanco I turned right at the sign marked Madonna della Stangada.  This is a beautiful ridgetop road that climbs high above Val Muie (to the north) with great views of Monte Raut, Monte Valcalda, Monte Rest, and the hillside town of Casasola.  Soon you reach a pretty old church, Madonna della Stangada.  The road continues briefly to Valdistali then dead ends.  I think you can hike down to the Meduna River from the road.

Rode back quickly so I'd make it home by dinnertime.  No black-eyed peas, collard greens and sweet potatoes but I substituted ceci, costa da bietola, and zucca.  Hopefully it brings good luck in the new year!

"Reclaimed" remnant of Monte San Lorenzo's east slope; luckily the
west slope is still a beautiful hiking area with 13th century church  

View northward toward Monte Raut

Beautiful Madonna della Stangada church

Looking down at the campanile di Frisanco; note
characteristic wooden balconies on house (right)

Vals

After a few days of fog, cloudy cold and rain the sun finally re-emerged this morning.  I warmed up through Maniago and turned toward Fanna.   Just before Fanna is a left turn for Via Vals.  It's an unusual mountain road- very wide, well-paved with broad switchback ends.  These accommodate huge open- hopper trucks carrying rock from the open-face mine on Monte San Lorenzo down to the cement mill near Fanna.  The remnant of poor Monte San Lorenzo appears ready to collapse at any  moment.

It's a good climb, scaling 240 meters in 3.3 km (around 8%).  At the top is the trailhead for Chiesa San Lorenzo, on the lovely unscathed western side of the mountain.  A bit further is a turnoff for the cliffside road to Vals, a tiny settlement of a dozen houses.  The pavement ended here so I headed back, then turned right to descend steeply to Valcolvera.  The little river was frozen solid along here, quite pretty (decided not to bring my camera today.  Doh!)  Just after the turnoff for Frisanco I headed right down Val Muié.  Beautiful even in winter, with its stream frozen over as well.  After Navarons I crossed the Meduna, then headed home via Meduno, Fanna, Maniago.  Nice ride!

Monte San Lorenzo, Valdistali

I had an ulterior motive for this ride- needed a brake test for a new front rim. A few months ago on the descent from Clauzetto to Pradis di Sotto, I hit a pointed rock in the road. It blew the front inner tube, which I replaced and continued. I trued the wheel when I got home and didn't see any obvious damage. But in subsequent hard braking during descents, I've gotten bad chatter from the front brake. I substituted my old Campagnolo Montreal wheel (with 1996 Chorus hub) on Piancavallo last week, and had no chatter. So I thought I'd rebuild the Ambrosio Evolution wheel using a spare Mavic Open 4 CD rim I've had in the attic for 10 years, but it's 36 hole, and the 2005 Chorus hub on the Merckx is 32. I ordered a replacement Ambrosio Evolution rim from www.all4cycling.com . It arrived in 2 days, the price was the cheapest I could find online (€24), and they sent me an extra rim! Now that's good service. Maybe I'll use it to rebuild the rear wheel later.

I built the wheel yesterday, using some DT Swiss double-butted 2.0-1.8 spokes I had in the attic- amazingly they were almost the perfect length, though I had to lace them 3-cross to fit. What are the odds with different make/model rims and newer model hubs?

So today was the test- could it handle the mountains?

I warmed up on the plain and turned upward at Fanna. The road is wide and has great switchbacks- it was a good climb, though with many trucks hauling crushed rock from the mine at the top to the cement plant in Fanna. At the crest, 475 meters, I saw the closed road to Chiesa di San Lorenzo, which is a 13th century church. I hear it's a beautiful place, so someday soon I'll try to hike to it via a different route- many pics and info about the Monte San Lorenzo church, Roman road, old houses, and the environment here: http://www.montesanlorenzo.org/chiesetta.htm

From there I descended on an old mountain road- no switchbacks, narrow and steep. At speed I grabbed a handful of front brake and stopped on a dime. Sped up again and braked the front as hard as I could- no chatter, and so strong I could feel the back tire lift up, which was a little hairy because for a moment I felt like I was balancing on the front wheel on a curvy road with steep drop off to the side. The new rim works great.

Up the Valcolvera, and then climbed up past Frisanco to Valdistali. It's a beautiful ridge road with the plain stretching to the horizon on one side, and on the other, the wooded Val Muiè, with the hillside town of Casasola across the valley. 568 meters is the highpoint on the road.

I turned around at the end of the asfalto and descended to Valcolvera, stopping in Bus di Colvera to take some pictures. It's an awesome gorge, with Monte San Lorenzo on one side, and Monte Jouf on the other. Go see it if you're in the area.

New Ambrosio Evolution rim

Wild primule near Valdistali

Frisanco campanile from the ridge road

Bus di Colvera

Grotto in Bus Colvera

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