Giro orgasmico in Garfagnana

Spectacular ride in Garfagnana, to say the least. Starting at Lake Pontecosi, you begin to climb with the first ramps at Villetta San Romano. You take a nice dirt road that leads to the village of Giappone, then becomes a more challenging mule track that climbs to Corfino, coming out just in front of the Carabinieri Forestali barracks. From here the only significant stretch of asphalt (however in a pleasant and typically mountainous environment), leading to the Orecchiella State Nature Reserve. The climb is not yet over. The road leading to the Sella di Campaiana climbs with a constant gradient, alternating between short paved and other unpaved sections. When we reach the saddle we descend a few hundred meters, then take a forest track immersed in a beautiful beech forest that, not without effort, climbs up to intercept the CAI 58 path directed to Fonte del Buon Vino, at 1764m asl. This trail can be pedaled almost all the way, there are few sections where you have to put your bike on your back.

When you reach the Fonte, the panorama opens up: the highest peaks of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Apuan Alps emerge from a "sea" of fog that settles at lower altitudes, preventing the sun's rays from reaching the valleys below. We proceed, now, on the ridge trail, gradually becoming more technical. Taking CAI path 64 to the Serra di Corfino, one must regain a few meters of altitude, on a path covered by a soft layer of beech leaves that does not facilitate progression. Reaching the top of the Serra, the descent begins, technical and fun. At the end, we continue on the still technical CAI 64 trail, descending towards the Granaiola Shelter and arriving at Campaiana. We then take, then, CAI path 58, also known as the "muletrack of the Pilgrim." After an initial false-flat section, the descent begins: technical, never trivial and requiring excellent driving skills. In 500m of elevation gain we reach Corfino again. But it's not over yet: we descend through chestnut woods towards Sillicagnana, passing by the fun toboggan of Garfaland. Last efforts along the Via del Volto Santo to the small village of Sambuca and then back to the starting point at Lake Pontecosi.

Track recorded in November 2020.