Val di Preone

Val d’Arzino and Val di Preone are some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.  They feel very remote and wild, yet are easy to access.  Luckily a great engineer, Giacomo Ceconi, built a wide highway with easy gradients all the way up the gorge.  Then there’s a fork in the road: right begins the climb to Sella Chianzutan, left the easier gradient to Cascate d’Arzino and Val di Preone.  After the gorgeous grassy altopiano I descend steeply to the bridge over Torrente Preone.  Normally I reach this from Monte Rest and Socchieve but roadworks prevent that this summer.  So I turned around and headed back up the escarpment.

The ride home is longish but I brought 3 liters of gatorade, 2 bananas and got more water ar Pinzano. That seemed to help a lot.

Waterfall in Val d'Arzino

Natural arch with waterfall  

Val di Preone grassy altopiano

Monte Verzegnis

Torrente Preone

Val d'Arzino with Monte Flagjel

The climb is longer if you start at the town
 of Preone but this is the steep secction 

Malga Fara

I rode through the tunnel to Andreis and headed up the beautiful pass road toward Pala Barzana.  Shortly after Bosplans turn right toward Malga Fara and begin ascending more steeply.  Great views of the valley below.  Now descend back to the turnoff and again begin ascending steeply for a few hundred meters.  After the pass descend and turn right on the road to Valdelfrina.  Very pretty little settlement.

Now descend on the pleasant ride along Torrente Muie to Navarons, across the Meduna and home.  At Maniago thunderheads were looming and finally burst as I crossed the Cellina.  The rain was nice and cool and stopped after Malnisio.  Fun ride with a bagno gratis at the finish.

Piancavallo-Cansiglio

A cool and cloudy July day, perfect for a big climb.   I rode Fedaia down to Aviano and turned upward toward Piancavallo.  At the finish I turned onto the road for Sauc and then Valle Friz.
This is the best part of the ride: the Panaramica Piancavallo-Cansiglio, a few miles of curvy saliscendi atop the front range of Friulian Dolomiti.

Too quickly it ends at the turn off at Candaglia.  This is a rough dirt road which slows you to a snail’s pace on a road bike.  You cross into the Cansiglio, rejoining rough pavement at Casa Forestale, where a large group of kids were enjoying an outing.  After a brief steep descent you reach the second best segment of the ride: the gravel road to Paradise and La Crosetta.  It has some rough bits but you can generally go as fast as you dare on roadbike tires.  Spectacular setting among the big trees and karst formations.

At La Crosetta you begin the long twisty descent to Palu and Via Pedemontane.  I had been freezing from Candaglia to Sarone.  Must remember to carry legwarmers in July from now on.

Headland above Val Grande

Dolina between Piancavallo and Il Cansiglio

Sheep grazing Col della Gallina

The road to Paradise

19 km averaging 8%

Pala d'Altei MTB

Another attempt to reach the summit of Pala d'Altei, a mountain I wake up seeing from my bedroom window every morning but have never reached the top.  The ride began well but halfway through the gravel section I shifted and the chain was stuck between the big cog and the spokes.  I tried pulling it but no go.  Finally I pulled the wheel off (still dangling from the chain), put both feet on the wheel and pulled the chain like tensioning a long bow.  That worked.

Everything still functioned so I pressed on.  At the end of the gravel road I hid my bike in the foliage and started hiking.  This eastern approach is shady and cool, very welcome on this sunny day.   Eventually I reached the hollow that was full of snow back in April.  I headed up the trail to the top of  Pala d'Altei, which was covered with wildflowers and (unfortunately) stinging nettles.  So many stings that the hair on my legs felt like it was hallucinating, very disconcerting.  

The walk back was easy and the descent uneventful.  This type of riding/hiking is pretty habit forming.  I'll try to do it more often.    

Lago di Ravedis

The cross on the mountaintop 

Grizzo and Malnisio

Cross close-up

Rhododendron hunkering down in its cranny

Giais far below

Mostly on the bike, walking toward the end

Monte Lussari MTB

I've been dreaming of this climb ever since I read about the trio of pilgrimage churches on the Italo-Slovene border:  Castelmonte, Sveta Gora and Monte Lussari.  They're all atop steep summits which  the pilgrims would ascend on foot after an even longer hike from their hometowns.  Today I passed a few hikers on the ascent and one other biker.  Most people now days take the funvia (cable car).

You start at Valbruna just off the road to Tarviso.  After a brief paved warm up the road crosses a bridge over Torente Saisera  and slants steeply upward.  I gave it my best shot but eventually had to push the bike up the steeper bits.  Maybe a quarter or a third of the climb I had to walk.  After the worst is past, you see the church afar on a hill and the gradient moderates slightly.  Then on the ski slope at the end it pitches up again briefly.

I walked through the tiny village (now a row of souvenir shops) and finally reached the church, very pretty with its sundial and steeple.  Very cold up here even in late June, so I donned my windshirt and arm warmers, wishing I'd brought leg warmers too.

The descent is very steep with loose gravel so I went slowly to avoid sliding over a cliff.  I will try a variant next time: to Jof di Sompdogna, which connects to paved road to Dogna on Torrente Fella.  This area is irresistibly undeveloped and wild.  Must return.  

The mountainscape

Pretty old church

The climb

Malga Monte Rest Hike

I drove to Tramonti di Sopra intending to continue driving to the pass, but the road was still closed for landslide repairs.  So I walked all the way.  The road from the pass to Malga Monte Rest is surprisingly good.  I’ll try MTBing it someday (some parts may be too steep).   The view from the altopiano is spectacular.  I’ll try to reach the summit next time for a 360 degree panorama. The trail connects to Preone as well, another future adventure.  Glorious hike.

Noisy stream

A cool lenticular cloud

View from trail toward the upper Tagliamento

Similar a bit higher up

Looking south down Fiume Meduno 

Beautiful grassy bald

Cima di Monte Rest

Peaks to the northwest

Southwestardly

Southerly view

Looking back: the vertical escarpment
on the edge of Monte Rest

Barcis-Collalto

Lovely morning to take Maxima for a spin on the backroad to Piancavallo.  Deserted, quiet,  cool and green.  So nice I had to take the little detour to Collalto.  More heaven.

Monte Cavallo 

Candaglia

Sentiero degli Malghe

Col Visentin MTB

Haven’t ridden this loop since 2015, a shame to wait so long.  It begins at Longhere outside Vittorio Veneto, and quickly gets very steep.  It hardly ever lets up, finally ending at Pian dei Grassi .  I didn’t bother stopping though: there are 600 more meters to climb.  Finally at 1700 meters you reach the top.

Now the fun begins, descending on gravel, concrete, paving stones, mixed with a crowd of weekend excursionists.  Exhilerating.  At Monte Faverghere you return  to asphalt and zoom down through Nevegal to Cunan, turn at the cemetery and descend through Roncan to Cornelade.  Ride along the lake then descend to Vittorio Veneto.  Fun workout in perfect weather, gorgeous Dolomiti peaks, heaven.

Looking back at the climb from Col Visentin

Dolomiti Bellunese

Wild rhododendron

Belluno and surrounding Dolomiti 

From the ridge Lago Santa Croce, Mezzomiglio altopiano

The climb