|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
| |
|
Colle Di San Zeno
I came onto this route because the higher Passo Crocedimini
was still closed because of snow. Not many cars seem to find
their way onto this road, and that even though it really is
not very narrow. Aerial views of villages and church towers
were the main attraction on this route for me. For great
mountain views there are probably better routes, but if the
weather is hazy sunshine, that limits far views to imagined
objects, this may not be that important.
The first two villages after Pezzaze were my favorite part of
the ride. Climbing progress can be measured in "church
tower" units. There are two types of this unit to choose
from. Besides two medieval town cores there are also many modern
buildings that speckle the green hazy hills below the peaks. After the first dozen or so switchbacks the road withdrawns
into the forest, and traverses along the hillside. At one point
the trees open up and a pass can be seen just below the bread
loaf shaped mountain across the valley. But after the traverse,
the road starts to climb again in long switchbacks. That pass
was higher than it looked. My heavy touring luggage may also
have played a part in thie impression. On top is a albergo, a
power line and another limited hazy view to the north.
From North. (described downwards)
After rolling down two traverses you find yourself looking up at
a single ski slope, an artificial gash in the mountain, and not
much more. After that the road disappears in the forest. The
next and last exciting part is the final descent to the Lago
d'Iseo. From Fraine, across the wide valley another town lies
plastered on the mountain at half height. Below there are
factories and expressways, shops and traffic jams, you can
almost hear it up here. - No you can't. Because up here there
are still no cars, just a few quiet crucifixes. But the anxiety
of rejoining the modern traffic world made me think I heard
cars. But once you get down, it is actually very manageable. A
Piste Ciclabile leads in both directions. I took the one north -
but only for a short time. This route is only partly paved and
contains a few very steep sections somewhere north of Darvo, and
at times is much longer than the road. A Day on a Tour ( < Colle Maniva | Passo
di Gavia > )
|
|
|
advertisement |
|
|
advertisement |