Il Moriglion di Penna

In just about twenty kilometers and a modest elevation gain this ride is a concentrate of a cyclo-mountaineering tour, a great training ground especially in the winter months, or for a nice evening outing before the sun sets and the twilight lights still illuminate to try your hand at the short but daring descent.

Departing from the parking lot of the elementary school in Sorbano just outside of Lucca, we head toward Vicopelago where the climb begins, very steep in places, to the small village of Pozzuolo and then continues until we reach the village of 4 Venti. Arriving on the paved road coming from Molina di Quosa we travel a few dozen meters and turn left on 00 until we reach the crossroads of Croce di Vaccoli where we take Cai 116 indicating Moriglion di Penna. Initially the path keeps wide steep and rideable, but when we arrive at an area where there is a shelter it turns into a path from where we have to start pushing and accompanying the bike until we reach the summit.

At an elevation of about 530 meters, Cai 116 would immediately begin to descend, so to reach the summit we have to make a short detour and then return to the junction. The short section is not cyclable so if you want you can also leave your bikes at the marker and continue on foot to the summit. Continuing down the trail 116 immediately proves to be very difficult suitable only for those with excellent skills and familiarity with trialist passages. Some passages are not feasible in the saddle (at least for me) but overall the descent is done for a good 85 percent becoming more and more affordable as you descend. Obviously I do not recommend it to anyone who is not used to the trialistic, steep and bumpy genre, it is a very borderline descent so if you decide to tackle it I disclaim any responsibility.

The Moriglion di Penna can be descended much more easily from the junction to the Croci di Vaccoli, which I did on the way up, while to go up you can do so via a trail just ahead at the Croci di Vaccoli at about elevation 370 that leads to the same junction where the descent described above begins.