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.

Pielungo

Returned to a favorite place on a windy, winter day with crystal-clear sky.  I rode the loop counter clockwise for a change, with a beautiful climb from Pielungo to Orton.  I'm still blissing an hour later.  Must return

View up Val d'Arzino, with Castello Ceconi in foreground

German/Italian cemetery from Battaglia di Pradis (WW I)

Brussa

Brussa is a lovely undeveloped beach between Bibione and Caorle.  There's a museum (closed on this February day) which I'd like to visit.  It has a high observation blind which would be handy for spotting birds  http://www.isisleonardodavinci.gov.it/cicloturismo/mare/Brussa.html .  The dirt roads were wet from recent rain so I and the bike were covered with strada bianca spray.  Regardless, I had a great ride and enjoyed seeing all the wading birds in channels to the north.  I would like to try this ride again in early summer.

Driftwood on the sand

East toward Bibione

West toward Caorle

Ronciade Snowshoe

I wasn't sure there'd be enough snow- a couple weeks ago I rode up here and it was frost-free.  But it turns out there's plenty. I'm guessing 2 or 3 feet.  I headed up the trail from Coll Alto  and before long I was on virgin snow, no footprints or sci di fondo tracks.  By the time I reached the Trail Junction where I planned to head back on the high trail I was exhausted.  Definitely uses different muscles than road biking.  I stumbled back to the car on the same trail I'd come on, in a snowshoe-induced stupor.  Some food and a hot bath and I feel good as new.  I will return soon.  

Plow clearing the road in Piancavallo

More plowing 

View from Coll Alto

Faggio forest of Ronciade

Monte Cavallo

La Crosetta

Finally a sunny day.  I decided to try climbing Monte Pizzoc if the road was clear.  We had some rain down here so I thought it might be snowy at altitude.  Road was clear until around 900 meters then gradually turned snowy.   It's been plowed so no problem ascending though still slippery to descend.

After La Crosetta I continued to the turnoff for Monte Pizzoc: no dice. Ankle-deep snow on the steep gradient.  So I turned back.  The weather had clouded up, which was fog at this height.  Lower down it was gloomy overcast.  I rode home in a semi-frozen state and took a hot bath to thaw out.  Maybe next week I'll go snowshoeing.

Frosty branches lit by sun

I'll try again in April

More hoar-frost covered beech trees

Sella Chianzutan

Sella Chianzutan is a favorite ride, winding up through beautiful Val d'Arzino gorge. It switchbacks up to a saddle valley between Monte Verzegnis and Monte Piombada.  I turned around here, but you could also zoom down the other side past Lago di Verzegnis to Fiume Tagliamento and Tolmezzo.  No snow today, but I did see a light dusting of frost on the mountains. 

Colle dei Larici

Monte Verzegnis

Nice workout after 50 km warmup

San Lorenzo

A fun ride to Vittorio Veneto, with the lovely climb up to San Lorenzo (415 meters).  Afterward descended near Tarzo, then through the rolling vineyards and olive groves to Cozzuolo.  Must credit Paul Kim for introducing me to these pleasant Veneto backroads over the past few years.

Apologies again for lack of photos- too hazy.

Collalto

I thought I'd try the climb up to Collalto this morning to see if it was snowed over.  No, it too is snowless.  I was surprised how hard the climb felt, then I realized I wasn't breathing.  It seems it would come naturally by now, but no, I must concentrate on taking deeper breaths when exercising hard.  Once I get back in the habit I won't have to think about it so much.

Sorry for the lack of pics, it was quite hazy. I saw two beautiful eagles, also a couple of small yellow songbirds.  Nice quiet ride.

     

Passo Monte Rest

A strange ride for late January in northern Italy.  After I climbed above the overcast from Lago di Redona the sky was suddenly crystal clear, windless and though still frigid, felt like October.  No snow, no ice, not even frost, just the tawny, golden color of dry grass.  As I headed up the switchbacks I met only one soul, a hiker who waved and said "Tag!"  I was wearing a balaclava and Oakley's but somehow he knew I had German ancestry.  

At the deserted pass there was no snow, and looking at the summit above it was the same.  I rode down the north side a bit and noted the Carnic alps have some snow, but sparse.  This could all change in a week or two though so there's still hope.

The ride back down and home was fun.  I may try this as a loop coming back over Selle Chianzutan.  Never did that in winter before.

Monte Rest, left, and Monte Valcalda, right, from Maleon

Close up of snowless Monte Rest

Close up Monte Valcalda

Summit of Monte Rest from the pass

The hill to right of pass has bear caves with surveillance cameras

It's a good workout