Monte Prat 2011

A beautiful sunny day, cold (5℃) when I started, but warming to near-April temps by the time I got home.  After the lengthy flat ride to Lestans, I rode the rollers through Pinzano to Fiume Arzino, and started the climb.  The switchbacks up to Forgaria (320m) have been resurfaced and are great, especially when descending.  At Forgoria you turn steeply upward toward San Rocco at 419m.  Here you get a brief respite and can enjoy the views of the Tagliamento River and Monte Ragogna across the way.  Climbing up out of San Rocco, you arrive on the wonderful newly rebuilt road to Monte Prat.  This was started before Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia descended through here in 2006, and was finally finished last Fall.  Really splendid curves and smooth pavement.

Slowly climbed by pastures with baby asinini and some beautiful chocolate brown sheep with curved horns.  Look closely in the picture below-  there is a jet black lamb lying in the sun next to her mama.  The road winds back and forth till 759 meters, overlooking the wide meadows of Monte Prat.  This section of the climb is just hard enough to challenge you, but doesn't beat you into submission.

After the pretty meadows you enter a lovely beech tree forest on a narrow mountain lane.  It ascends meanderingly to 903 meters at Val Tochel, a meadow at the base of Monte Cuar.  Monte Cuar is a very distinctive mountain you can recognize from far away, because it is shaped like a symmetrical arc of rocky cliffs with identical peaks at each end.  There are 3 ways to descend from here- west to Val d'Arzino, north through Cuel di Forchia pass  to Avesins, or back the way I came, to Forgaria.  I turned around and headed back.  After Monte Prat the great descent begins, wide sweeping tornanti, and my favorite, chicanes where you lean hard right then quickly flip over and lean hard left as you enter a 180 degree turn at the end of a switchback.  The silky smooth pavement ends at San Rocco, and the road becomes rough, but still steep and fun.  After Forgaria more newly paved switchbacks to play on till you reach Fiume Arzino.

From there it's a longish ride home, but the warm weather and sun made it seem easier.  I'll be repeating this ride (or some variation of it) soon.       

Shaggy asinino

Fuzzy baby asinino

Monte Cavallo 2251 meters

East peak of Monte Cuar 1477 meters

West peak of Monte Cuar

Monte Musi (1870m) across the Tagliamento River valley

Cuel di Forchia pass between Monte Cuar & Monte Covria

Frozen pond atop Monte Prat

Beautiful chocolate brown sheep-
click to enlarge and see black baby lamb

Forchia di Meduno - Monte Valinis

After finding Pala Barzana clear of snow at 840 meters, I thought I'd check out conditions a little higher up.  As I set out today it was overcast and cold, with no wind.  After a fast ride to Meduno at 313 meters, I headed steeply up a stretch of 10.8% toward Borgo San Martino.  Then the road mellows to 7-8% on up to Forchia di Meduno at 640 meters.  Lots of tractors hauling wood down from the forest today.

For the next kilometer from Forchia di Meduno to Forchia Piccola the road is almost flat, a good chance to catch your breath.  Then just as suddenly, it tilts steeply upward again, remaining constantly above 10% for 2.5 km.  The road climbs through a dense forest, shady even in February when the trees are bare.

Finally the constant 10% lets up a bit at 923 meters.   Then the pavement ends at 940 meters.  Now the road is very rocky- better suited to a mountain bike than bici di corsa with 23mm wide tires.  I managed to ride all the way up to 985 meters before encountering  a stretch of ice and snow in the road.  No snow on the surrounding pastures though.  At the  end of the road at 994 meters sat a couple of cars from Austria with hang gliders on the roof.  I saw the drivers standing on a nearby knoll- maybe deciding whether to make the leap.

The descent was very fast and curvy- fun!  Good ride.

Monte Raut, right.  In background, mountains of
Valcellina west escarpment

Frisanco, left foreground.  Poffabro, right

Emerald green Torrente Meduna,
town of Meduno in foreground

Icy pond atop Monte Valinis

Winter clouds

The grade

Pala Barzana 2011

Last February I tried climbing Pala Barzana and only made it to 650 meters before the snow was too deep.  But this year the snow of December seems to have melted everywhere I've ridden.  Yet I saw a "road closed" sign on the road by Andreis the other day- would I be able to cross the pass?

I climbed from Maniago and turned into Bus di Colvera gorge to avoid the tunnel.  A few hundred meters into the gorge I glanced at the river and saw a beautiful dark gray heron searching for food.  I slowed to stare and the heron must have caught a glimpse of me and took off, gently flapping his wings and slowly gliding up the canyon.  I continued to ride, constantly looking over the edge into the river.  Finally I saw the heron again, but he took off and continued up the canyon.  That was the last I saw of him, such a beautiful animal seemed out of place in an icy mountain stream, far from the warm summer lagoons of the Adriatic.   

At Poffabro I headed steeply upward to the edge of town, then down to Pian delle Merie.  Here you cross a mountain stream and head upward again.  At 650m where the snow started last February the road was closed again.  This time it was road work- they had bulldozed the broken pavement off of about 100 meters of roadway.  I walked because I wasn't sure how long the section lasted, but it looked rideable.  Afterward I remounted and continued on up to 842 meters at the Pala.  

The descent was a bit frosty so I rode slowly, and froze solid.  I stopped a few times to photograph the spectacular panorama.  At Andreis I pedaled fast as possible down to SP251, then turned left and cruised through the 4 km tunnel in record time.  Still didn't get warmed up till I got home and took a hot bath.   

Later in the afternoon I took the dogs for a walk down by the old aquadotto.  As we crossed over the bridge an eagle took off from under the bridge and landed in the tree tops.  Moments later its companion also took off and joined it in the trees.  Today was full of unexpected birds in unusual places! 

Monte Raut from the road above Bosplans 

Monte Corta left, Monte Castello right

Mountains above west escarpment Valcellina

Andreis surrounded by mountains

Monte Sestier 2080m, Monte Imuri 2049m, Monte Messer 2230m

Map of the switchbacks

Andreis - Barcis backroads

Decided to do a little exploring around Andreis and Barcis today.  Headed to Montereale, over Lago di Ravedis, through the 4 km tunnel, and then turned toward Andreis.  Before Andreis, I took a left turn up the steep twisty climb through Prapiero and Alcheda.  A large black Irish wolfhound sauntered toward me and I told him how bravo he was and he decided not to bite off my leg- just sniffed it instead.  A young lady with baby said Bon di to me and scolded the naughty dog.  Then the road was roadblocked because of a big slump which dropped a section of pavement down the hill.  I bypassed the slump with a bit of mountain biking and ended back on the road.  The road descended rapidly, then crossed Torrent Ledron on a narrow bridge, followed by a killer climb up to Andreis (just shy of 20%).

I stopped by the raptor recovery center, where injured birds are nursed back to health.  The views from up here were spectacular in every direction.  Cruised back down to the main road along Torrente Alba.  I tried one more little road, which after a nice climb ended in a dead end.

Back down the main road to the bridge under SP251, to the chasm where the Alba, Molassa, and Cellina rapids join in a jumble of water-carved rock.  Here I took the back road over Dint, a hill the highway tunnels under.  At Lake Barcis, I rode through town, then turned up toward Roppe.  On the steepest bit (maybe 18%?) I encountered another large dog, this time a very fluffy Teruvian.  His owner scolded him and he aborted the attack on my leg with inches to spare.  Good boy!

I was hoping to get some photos of the lake from above but there are so many trees at this level it wasn't possible.  I'll come back and hike up a bit higher above the tree-zone to get some pics.

Monte Raut 2025m

Monte Castello 1923m

Monte Corta 1760m

Peaks along west escarpment of Val Cellina

Raptor recovery center above Andreis

Ice fall at chasm of Torrente Alba

Grade of the ride 

Elevation profile

Route above Andreis

Route above Barcis

Canal di Cuna

I was planning to ride up Val Meduna to Tramonti di Sopra, but I noticed on the map a little paved road heading into the hills from Tramonti di Mezzo.  Turns out there is a hidden valley at the top of the road, with an historic abandoned village- see Canal di Cuna.  I set out to discover how far up the valley I could go.

After an hour of riding into 20 kph headwinds I arrived in Meduno.  Then up and down some rolling hills until reaching Lago dei Tramonti.  After the lake, the road heads up a lengthy stretch of 10-12% until Tramonti di Sotto, then you turn right toward Tramonti di Mezzo.  Here you turn right again onto a tiny road marked Canal di Cuna.  It's very narrow and rough, but not too steep at first.  Beautiful views (and sounds) of Torrente Chiarchia in the adjacent gorge.

Around 430 meters elevation, the road turns away from the torrente, and heads decidedly upward: 12 tornanti in 3 km gaining 350 meters elevation.  A couple of particularly steep stretches exceed 20% grade.  I tried standing for this whole 3 km, panting and gasping up the switchbacks.  For added fun, tire-swallowing drainage grates cross the road at intervals, with pine straw, tree limbs, and fallen rocks to boot.  I almost made it to the top, but finally vapor-locked at 727 meters.  After hyperventilating awhile, my bright-light-at-the-end-of-a-tunnel hallucination faded away, and I was back in the middle of a steep road.   No way to start and clip in at this angle with less than 2-meter wide pavement, so I donned cleat covers and walked.  The grade flattened out a bit at 750 meters- if I only could have lasted another 23 meters!

Shortly after, the road turns to dirt and stone.  Next time I'll try to ride up here with some sneakers in a knapsack, and hike on up to Forchia Zuviel 890 meters, then down toward the abandoned village at San Vincenzo.  From the website, sounds like there are great views of the surrounding peaks from Canal di Cuna.

Rode down the steep bits carefully, then rode fast as possible from Tramonti di Mezzo toward home.  The headwind from this morning was now at my back- felt like I was flying.

Torrente Meduna, with Monte Valcalda in background

Torrente Chiarchia 

Val Meduna from the road to Canal di Cuna

Torrente Chiarchia and Val Meduna

The grade up to Selva Piana, with two +20% stretches

From Tramonti di Mezzo to Selva Piana

Val Meduna from above

Spilimbergo

Cloudless calm day with temps around 0℃.  Rode down the slightly down-sloping farmroad to Tesis for an easy warm up, then turned east on the new road from San Foca to Spilimbergo.  It's smooth, wide, and has bridges over the Cellina, Colvera, Meduna and Cosa- avoiding the guadi (fords) where the old road crossed the riverbeds.  These were impassable after heavy rains, and the pavement often was swept away, making them dusty and rough the rest of the year.

South of Spilimbergo, the new road ends and a well-paved but narrower main road takes you to  Spilimbergo.  I thought I'd go around on the bypass, but a car was going straight so I couldn't turn, so rather than waiting a few seconds, I rode into town.  Very pretty old town.  It's famous for its mosaic makers (who have mosaics around the world- I remember one in Washington DC).   Also has lovely old buildings in the centro, and a castello (which I'll have to get some pictures of next time- got a late start today).

Rode home on the main road to Maniago (not too busy because big trucks are forbidden on Sundays).  Nice flat ride, good workout.

Large mosaic covering exterior wall of Chiesa di San Giuseppe e Pantaleone

Tower in the old city walls in Spilimbergo

San Foca - Cavasso Nuovo

After my near-death bonk on Sunday, I decided to take an easy flat ride today.  Headed down through San Leonardo toward San Foca, when a fog bank hit around 170 meters.  Very dense and wet.  I turned east at San Foca, crossed the Magredi della Cellina, and entered Vivaro.  It was so foggy I actually got turned around in Vivaro and started to go the wrong way.  Luckily I got back on track for Tesis.  The very gradual climb to Tesis was just enough to get me out of the fog- it's sunny again!

After Tesis, Arba and Colle, I turned west again at Cavasso Nuovo.  Rode fast as possible, down through Maniago, Ponte di Ravedis, and Montereale.  

Probably would have been better to avoid the fog by going via Campagna to Arba.  But then I wouldn't have been dazzled by the sunlit, gleaming scenery after emerging from the fog.

Waiting for Friulian bullet train to cross

Monte Rest from Arba

Monte Rest (1780 m) from Orgnese

Tarzo - San Lorenzo

Sunny and warm for January (10℃) so time to hit the road.  Thought I'd ride through the  prosecco vineyards in the hills above Conegliano to Soligo di Pieve.  Along the way, I passed hundreds of cyclists lured out by the fine weather.  Several bike club rides, with huge herds of bikers packed together, a few junior cycling race teams out for a training ride (with team car loud speaker goading them on), and countless small pacelines, pairs and lone wolves (like me).  I rode a bit faster than usual, which I paid for later.

At the Cadoro store in Vittorio Veneto, I turned left toward Cozzuolo.  It's a nice climb up a couple hundred meters, briefly levels out in the vineyards, then dives down to the intersection for Corbanese.  From here a long climb up toward Corbanese- the turn off for Soligo di Pieve was allegedly somewhere along here, but I never saw it.  I'll have to print out a trip-tic next time.

At Corbanese I turned right toward Tarzo.  Before I got to town I saw a turn off signed Panoramica Tarzo-San Lorenzo.  I jumped on this, and was rewarded with a lovely ride through a little side valley covered in vineyards.  The road is quite steep in some sections, hitting 15%.  Then it joins the main road from Tarzo to San Lorenzo, which is a better constructed road.  There are switchbacks to keep the steepness down as you wind through the forest to Passo di San Lorenzo (417 meters).  A junior cycling team and team car were gathered at the pass, waiting for stragglers to finish the climb up from Vittorio Veneto.  Maybe from there they descended to Tarzo.

The road then winds down more switchbacks to San Lorenzo village, then down a set of roughly paved switchbacks to Vittorio Veneto.  I rode through town and then through Anzano for a change of scenery.

The ride home up Via Pedemontane Occidentale was rough- I had burnt up too much energy on the outbound leg, had only half a water bottle left and 20 miles of rolling hills to go.  I gradually wound down and bonked, crawling home in first gear.   A couple of glasses of mango tea with lite salt and honey perked me up enough to go on a nice walk in the woods with Marilyn and the pups.  Lots of people out for walks, enjoying the beautiful day.

Monte Altare (left), Monte Pizzoc in background

From the road to San Lorenzo, looking west toward Tarzo 

Pian delle femene

Prosecco vines on road to San Lorenzo

Looking down at San Lorenzo village

Grade from Vittorio Veneto to Tarzo - San Lorenzo