Col Alto da Pedemonte

This is the closest big climb to my house (about 7km away).  It starts at Pedemonte (160m) and finishes 15.6km later at Col Alto (1374m).

The bottom 11km portion is wide and smooth with great switchbacks, averaging around 8%.   After Castaldia (1090m), the top 4.6km is a narrow mountain lane through alpine meadows, averaging about 6%, with some steep ramps in the last km or so.

Today was a beautiful August weekend, so lots of cars heading for Piancavallo on the main road.  I went by a couple of riders who were also climbing, while dozens of early risers zoomed downhill.  But after turning off at Castaldia the mountain lane was mostly deserted.  A lady on a trekking bike asked me if the road downhill went to Piancavallo.  I told her to take a right at Castaldia.    Shortly afterwards her husband rolled by, so hopefully they found their way.

Great descent- very fast and fun.  On the ride back home two older guys, tucked-in and clutching their bikes' aerobars, passed me going up hill by Hotel Royal.  They were fast!

Edited to add:  Later in the afternoon Marilyn wanted to go for a walk, but it was too hot where we live (300m), so we put the dogs in the car and drove up toward Col Alto.   We hiked a ways along Viale delle Malghe, a trail which connects numerous hikers' shelters along the mountains' crest.  Beautiful wildflowers, karst outcroppings, alpine trees, views of the pianura.  And the dogs had a blast.

Monte Prat da Pielungo

This is another series of smaller local climbs, this time Pala Barzana, Orton and Monte Prat.

Climbing Pala Barzana I passed Bosplans and saw a fellow ahead on a steep straight stretch.  I stood in the pedals and soon caught up.   He was an older gentleman on a mountain bike, and we started talking.  He was very friendly and described his plan for today- after Pala Barzana (842m) ) he would climb the strada sterrata to Monte Jof, then descend to Maniago.  He was familiar with all the climbs I told him about, and even told me about a new one I'd always passed and presumed was an abandoned road.  His name is Ermiono.  Hopefully our paths will cross again someday.

Fun descent as always down the curves to Poffabro and then to Navarons.  After passing Lago Tramonti, I turned right toward Campone, and then over Piani di Clauzetto (675m).  Here a lovely lady was standing by her bike, waiting for someone.  A little further along I encountered who she was awaiting- an older man, flat on his back, cranking a handbike up this slope.  I said Bon di and he responded.  What courage it would take to climb a narrow public road on your back!  Not to mention the upper body strength.  That's determination!

After Pradis I climbed over Orton (699m) and then headed down through Pielungo to Val d'Arzino.  This is one the most beautiful roads I've ridden.  I need to go back in the car and hike down to the waterfall I glimpsed through the trees.  Quite loud, so I'm guessing it's big.

I rode briefly north on the Val d'Arzino road, then turned right on an unmarked road just before a bridge.  This is a paved forest road up to Monte Prat (894m).  I didn't see a soul on this 11 km climb, neither biking, hiking, nor driving.  Even the herd of pigs in the road on a previous visit were now absent.

I zoomed down the wonderful descent to Forgaria, and over the rollers to Pinzano, Valeriano, Lestans.  Made it home a little over 6 hours after departing.  Good ride!

Campone

World War I cemetery near Orton

Val Tochel meadows at 894m

East peak of Monte Cuar above Val Tochel

Pala Barzana, Piani Clauzetto, Orton, Monte Prat

Monte Pizzoc

Monte Pizzoc is another favorite local ride- rising from 31 meters up to 1536 meters, with challenging gradients, and beautiful scenery.

I left shortly after 7 AM riding the rolling hills down to ristorante Trota Blu and the turn off for Sarone.  The climb from here up to Malga Coda del Bosco (870m) has mostly southern exposure, so leave early on sunny summer days.

2 guys passed me on the middle of the climb, then slowed down.  I rode behind them up past the malga, then passed them.  This section is shaded by dense beech forest, and feels much cooler.  I reached the little pass La Crosetta (1118m) and continued downhill for a kilometer for the turn off for Monte Pizzoc.  The 2 guys passed me again, so I rode behind them awhile.  They turned off at Via Zuel (1280m) while I continued toward Pizzoc, so I thought they were gone.   A few minutes later they passed again.  What the heck?  Anyway they gradually slowed down again when the road got steeper around 1350 meters, so I ended up catching them again.  Very strange.

I continued briefly past end of pavement up to a nice flat look out area.  I was taking pictures when a very friendly man with his wife asked if I wanted him to take my picture.  I thought he might want one of them as well so I could send it to them later, but no.  He was very kind.

I descended briskly (fun but scary during vacation season, as people now have bigger cars, SUVs etc which take up most of the road, particularly in switchback turns).   At the bottom I felt pretty good and made it home (20km) fairly quickly, despite the heat.  Great ride!

      

Piancansiglio meadows, backed by mountains to the east

Sorry about the helmet hair

Tall peaks of Dolomiti Bellunesi 

Looking up Strada del Prosecco, from north end of Vittorio Veneto,
past Lago Revine and Tovena toward Valdobbiadene

Left background Monte Cesen (1750m), with Monte Grappa peeking from behind;
right foreground Monte Viscontin (1763m), with Pian delle Femene and Pian dei Grassi meadows 

Family of asini hanging round the watering hole

Campanule in alpine meadows of Pizzoc

Close up of campanule

Monte Cesen: Casere Budui to Rifugio Mariech

Monte Cesen towers 1750 meters above the Piave River valley and the prosecco vineyards stretching from Valdobbiadene toward Vittorio Veneto.  I rode a couple of climbs up the mountain last fall, but wanted to try a combination of the two.

From Vittorio Veneto (130m) I cruised up the rolling Strada del Prosecco to Combai (420m).  Lots of riders out on this lovely Sunday morning (also day before Ferragosto holiday).  Shortly after Combai I took a turn-off marked Osteria Madean.  The road starts out at 8% gradient, cloaked in thick chestnut tree forest.  After 3 km it steepens noticeably, varying from 9-12%.  The pavement is pretty torn up, so descending would be particularly difficult.  Around 1000 meters the shade starts thinning out and soon disappears- the exposed slopes were hot.   At 1200 meters the road levels out till Casere Budui.  Nice views of the grazing cows on the grassy slopes above, and lovely music from their bells.  Instead of turning around to descend, I continued on a long traverse to Pianezze at 1076 meters.  Lots of great views of the plains below, though it was hazy.  

At Pianezze I began the ascent to Rifugio Mariech.  This is a great road, never too steep, with good pavement, and even a row of trees along the southern exposure to keep it cool.  Great views of the grassy slopes of Monte Cesen from this climb- it's really pretty this time of year.  I reached the rifugio at 1510 meters, amid flocks of vacationers mulling around.   Soon I headed down the fantastic descent to Valdobbiadene (252m).  Below Pianezze the road is engulfed in dense forest, steeply winding down the switchbacks.  Fun!

From Valdobbiadene you climb a series of hills through the prosecco vineyards to Combai, and then a gradual rolling descent to Vittorio Veneto.  This was a great ride- maybe next time I'll try it the other way round.


Video of the Monte Cesen Bovine Bell Choir

The grassy slopes between Casere Budui and Pianezze

Meadows above Pianezze, with cloudy Monte Grappa in background

Looking down at the  traverse road heading toward Pianezze

The road climbing to Rifugio Mariech (upper right);
Valdobbiadene and Piave River in the haze on left

Climb to Casere Budui, left, and Rifugio Mariech, right 

Steepest point on Casere Budui climb and Rifugio Mariech climb

Counterclockwise loop

Monte Rest from South and North

Monte Rest is another wonderful local climb.  I decided to climb both the south and north approaches today instead of riding a loop to save time.  They are two quite distinct ascents.

After a long warm-up through Meduno (313m) and over the rolling hills to Tramonti di Sopra at 407m, the climb proper begins.  Beautiful switchbacks through the forest, streams brimming from the recent rains, and wildflowers covered with butterflies- this is a fantastic ride.  At Passo di Monte Rest (1060m) the road crests in a lovely spruce forest, and begins the plummet to Torrente Tagliamento (512m).

After reaching the river, I crossed the bridge and followed the flattish road along the riverbank for a kilometer or so.  I then turned back toward Monte Rest and started the ascent of the north side.  This climb is a bit more rugged, with short erratic switchbacks, but no less beautiful than the south side.  The streams, waterfalls and big trees are spectacular, to say nothing of the views of Val Tagliamento and surrounding peaks.

After the pass I zoomed down slope, with a few stops for fotos.  There were more bikers ascending the climb now, unlike earlier this morning.  I continued home and felt pretty good, completing 112 km with 1777 meters of climbing.

Both approaches to Passo di Monte Rest are excellent climbs and highly recommended.             

Looking west up Val Tagliamento  

Northeast down Val Tagliamento 

From the Tagliamento bridge

Cascade of Rio Grasia

Monte Rest's west cliff face towering above

The cliff face continues to the southeast

From a few hundred meters lower, the base
of the cliffs supporting the upper cliffs far above

Light orange butterfly

Brownish butterfly with spots

Cascade Torrente Viellia

Beautiful black and white zebra butterfly with reddish-orange lower wings 

Close up of pretty zebra butterfly

Elevation profile

The north climb, up from Torrente Tagliamento

South climb from Tramonti di Sopra

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

I've dreamed of climbing Tre Cime di Lavaredo ever since I heard of it.  For weeks I've been checking the weather daily, looking for a rain-free day at Misurina.  Today was the first one, so I jumped at the chance.  

I drove past Auronzo to Palus San Marco, a tiny settlement in the beautiful Somadida spruce forest.  From here I rode the bike up a 536 meter climb to the turn off for Misurina (if you go straight the climb continues to Passo di Tre Croci (1805m)).  This warm up was bit more difficult than I planned, with quite a few stretches of 10-12% gradient, but it definitely succeeded in warming me up.  After the turn-off, the Misurina road continues upward for another 100m to Misurina at 1752m.   A nice flattish stretch here, through pastures with bell-wearing cows and small light-brown horses with blond manes.  Tourists lured these horses to the fence and petted them, fed them apples, etc.  The flatness continued along the pretty lake (which I tried to focus on rather than the tourist places on the other side of the road.  

Leaving town you turn right toward Rifugio Auronzo,  at the base of Cime di Lavaredo.  After some easy riding, you hit the first climb, a 500m ramp averaging 12.4%.  That put me in the red zone and I was gasping etc.  I concentrated on standing on everything above 12%, using my back and glute muscles to push my legs downward,  pulling up on the bars on each downstroke, and  getting as much air in my lungs as possible with each inhalation (belly breathing, pulling ribcage upward).   Not sure I'm coordinated enough to do all of this at once, but maybe with practice it will all become part of my muscle memory. 

Toward the top of this ramp I arrived at the end of a long traffic jam.  There were no cars coming from the opposite direction so I passed the stationary line of cars.  Several drivers decided not to wait and tried turning around, blocking the road from edge to edge.  So I hopped off and walked along the road edge around the chaos for about 50 meters.  I reached a spot where I could restart laterally and then head back up the steep road, continuing past the line of waiting cars.  The jam stretched over the top of the hill, round the bend for a km to the toll plaza.  Cars and motorcycles must pay to use this road, but luckily bikes are free.

Shortly the steepness recommences as you grind up the slopes between tornanti ends.  At 1844m you cross a little bridge, and the road steepens a bit more.  For the next 4 km the average gradient is 11.7%, with some stretches above 16%.   I saw only one other bike ascending, a mountain biker whom I passed, but a few cyclists rode past descending.   One shouted "Hai fatta!" in encouragement.  Eventually you reach a large parking area for Rifugio Auronzo.  There is a short ramp to the rifugio, which is quite crowded with tourists.  If you continue straight up the parking lot you reach another ramp to an overlook area directly beneath Cima Ovest (2973m).  Awesome panoramas from here, and the air was so clear it seemed you could reach out and touch the surrounding peaks.  A hiking path circles the Tre Cime, so next time I'll try to bring some shoes and a bike lock.

Despite the bright sun, I soon got chilly with temps in the teens and gusty winds.  It's a wonderful descent with wide, smooth pavement, but a bit crowded in August, so you must anticipate cars cutting across the switchback ends, coming over the centerline in curves, etc.  I must have gotten an early start, because now a horde of cyclists were grinding up the hill.   The coda at the toll plaza was as long as ever and now almost completely stationary, because once the rifugio parking lot capacity is reached, they only admit one car when another car leaves.  After Misurina the glide down to Palus San Marco was very peaceful. 

I highly recommend this climb-  beautiful scenery, a great road, and challenging ascent.

Monte Cristallo (3221m) from the climb above Palus San Marco

Lago di Misurina, with my target in the distance

Cima Ovest (2973m) and Cima Grande (3000m)

Croda Rossa (3146m)- love the red rock

The panorama to southwest

Close up of Monte Cristallo

Lago di Misurina

Lago di Auronzo

Close up of Croda Rossa

Dolomite spires to southeast

Rifugio Auronzo below Cime Ovest and Grande

Close up of vertical rock walls Cima Grande

Campanule (bluebells) and cardo (thistle)

Map of the ride

Close up from Col San Angelo to Rifugio Auronzo

Altimetria from www.salite.ch