Blood Streaked Mucous Before Period

THE pestiferous Cornizzolo

You know, the Brianza is not joking, are not bullies: a few words and expressions in the parks and also expressing enthusiasm. Cosi 'reading the mythical past and Valleys Bike, Ontario, I find that the climb to Valcava is credited with a mere 4 - on a scale from 1 to 5. I remember still Valcava with its pitiless ramps in more than 14%. Something to put your foot on the ground but then no 'be able to leave. So there's no 'wonder and' with a certain uneasiness that I approach with the Hannibal randonneur to climb the same book called "pestiferous" and "atrocious tears with up to 18%" veterans beautiful 5 -.

but the challenge is' the challenge and then just read those comments prompted me to try. For more 'promises to be the ascent superpanoramica, ending in a sort of terrace brianza to over 1100 meters. Stuff to see Milan.

Unfortunately today the day is not 'ideal: the sky and' milky and a sultry haze envelops the hills Brianza. We left early in order to avoid the heat, we left the car in Casatenovo and, after having lost and found in the approach, we arrive at the lake around 9 Pusiano.

Pusiano

From here the easy slope that leads us to Eupilio, on the shores of Lake Segrino. A climb that is used to warm up his leg "(as if any were needed with just under 30 degrees ..). Leg is severely tested when Eupilio to turn left and follow the Cornizzolo. The road makes us understand that just do not mess around. The ramps also inside the country are really hard: I would say about 13-14% by eye. But the road 'and after a little wide and shaded paved a little bit.

Me and Hannibal we look a bit ' stunned, we are at 350 m above sea level and we must get beyond 1100, if it continues this way 'and then' really hard! Rather not continue this way '.

Continue worse.

The fund becomes irregular, and gravely damaged. In return, the slope increases at every turn. Although the curves do not give truce, now the chain comes off from 27 MAI (and before there ', 34). I go up, as usual, sitting down. Cycling skidding not apply to me, I labor a lot and do not recover. Is exceeded by a guy who climbs a rather hunched and growling skidding.

When the slopes are so 'hard to overtake the concept should be adjusted. Ie ': passing the word carries with it' the idea Speed \u200b\u200b',' vroooom ...." "Swoooosh ...." air that moves and opponent who disappears in the distance. But in this case the overtaking and 'a kind of long, agonizing coaching. A kind of puffing and panting ..... coupling that lasts a while. A lot! I mean here the race is not 'who goes' fast, but those who go less slow.

Hannibal "Rando-man"

Pero 'the guy I finally surpasses and even though I see them' a few feet in front of me, I know that in these climbs the few feet can mean several minutes early. 'He's history of overtaking in the meantime I need to distract myself and not think about what I'm struggling. The heart and 'consistently very high and this low frequency ride sitting acid accumulates in the muscles of the legs.

Then suddenly, after a quick wriggling among chestnut trees and a couple of huts reappear I see the guy stopped in front of a bar. And 'the bar that controls access to the cars in the second part of the climb. I stop myself to go around and I feel that the guy asks a gentleman who came down from the woods, "but the way most 'up and' all well '?" "He makes" a little 'worse, "and the guy" then I will stop here otherwise you know what problems to get off then! "I think to myself that I am rather more concerned with' the problems that I'll have 'not but to climb down. Hannibal arrives, climb over and go.

It 's true that the road a bit worse from here'. But it is not 'so much the bottom, and' the slope! And 'in fact came the fateful stretch of 4 km to 13% on average (the one with the "heinous" spikes to 18%). A beastly difficult. At some point along a sort of straight vertical I really thought that I would not have done. I had to get up on the pedals to move up to 7 km / h by a gargantuan effort and slipping on the gravel. Proceed seated and 'impossible: if you pull the handle risk skyrockets. You also stop and 'impossible. Apart from the pride that stops me, but then how do I start? This leads me to gradually upwards. Indeed the advantage of riding on these slopes and improbable 'that the figure rose quickly. After dodging a couple of cows grimpeur "with lots of bells, the forest suddenly gives way to alpine meadows and landscape.

Paragliding take-off in Lake Pusiano background, we are approximately 900m

The views from here would be wonderful if the air were not so 'milky. But there 'a long time to get distracted, the hard piece and' behind his back, but others are still rising 200-300 m from 8 to 10%. And now with legs fully lignified and the company 'hard. But little by little, a ride after another, we reach a point where the paved road and runs into the coast. Down there ' the refuge. But it 's a seat behind e. .. there' yet to get one last mangy rampetta and that 'if the pestiferous really thought you were addressing when it arrived. Finally, a quick descent and come to the shelter. We are at 1080 but the spike Pusiano lakes and Hanno. Cliffs and meadows around us, more 'down, chestnut.

From Refuge to Cornizzolo

There 's time to catch his breath, fill your water bottle and enjoy, as far as you can' and the view. Then the descent begins. E 'really hard. You can not 'give up the brakes' cause slow down on the gravel and 'impossible speed and with these slopes' gets up right away. For more ' There are a lot of cross drainage channels noiossissime that massage with the dropouts of our very special affection. It 's true that the climb down from the side view looks more' hard: this one seems really impossible.

Hannibal meditates on the difficulty 'of the descent

Eupilio Back to Hannibal starts to climb to the castle Brianza Colle Brianza Lissolo for .. and then to "make sense of the day," he says. For me the day and 'already' sensatissima, so 'as soon surfaced at the end of the slope of Ello take the ball and point the muzzle and the old dear Casatenovo Patermobile. At the bottom are the owner of the car has its advantages .....

Hannibal reluctantly collects my laziness: for a 70 km randonneur like him are barely a antipastino.Ma then I see that 34-35 degrees where we cycle going up to Monticello are flared a bit 'too (hopefully, so 'does not disappoint too .....).

At the end we are back to the car with 75 miles and just under 1400 m scaled. but feet and climbing! The evil and 'been tamed.

House Alarm Trouble Light

footsteps of Cadorna Line

ON THE TRAIL OF THE LINE CADORNA

When the heat is not from 'truce is not' easy ride either. We must therefore find routes that, as you can ', AFA expose as little as possible. A first solution and 'cycling in cool, a long lake, for example. An alternative solution 'to the heights. In the absence of high altitude lakes in the vicinity of Milan, we have opted for a route that, after a few km of lake Como, rises to nearly 1600 meters. This is the climb to the mountain Rifugio Venini Galbiga. A challenging climb, long the most 'of 27 km with a vertical drop of respect (more' than 1300 meters).

Stefano

It 's the weekend of the Marathon of the Dolomites, Val Badia is full of cyclists from Milan and Como in the direction we start in two: myself and Stephen, with a history of strong triathlete Water polo at the highest levels. Stephen 's a powerhouse, pushing on falsopiani effortlessly rapportoni preposterous. But the delicate texture of tires Vittoria is uncomfortable with the 90 pounds of muscle than ours. We begin 'with a nice little hole after Cernobbio. Never mind: we fix everything and just to be safe, back, from a cyclist Stefano buy an air chamber and a new tire.

Starting over at a time of Argegno. The ride along the lake and 'as always pleasant and the temperature, despite the delay due to the unexpected, and' still acceptable. In short we Argegno. Shortly after the country announced a quick pull to the left of the first ramps of the climb to San Fedele Intelvi.

The road and 'large enough and busy: rooms with slopes of 6-7%. Nothing terrible, but after the slight ups and downs of the lake, the climb is not here to 'truce. From Argegno in San Fedele, through Dizzasco and Castiglione, are more 'than 500 m in altitude without a moment's pause to catch his breath. We go up a good pace, indeed, very good rhythm! The Garmin confirms the efforts we are constantly over 1000m of VAM. As I pedal I wonder "where do I go? After San Fedele will be another 800 m in altitude, as if I burn them all now?". But I made the suicide rate and there 'nothing to do. Stefano rooms of pure power and does not give half a centimeter.

Val d'intelvi

Finally we arrived in San Fedele. E 'already' time to fill the bottle. Break bar, and here I experience the advantage of riding with a bronze Statues dress triathlete. Entered the two nice ladies sitting at the bar counter with cap and spotted our croissants and a couple of glances after entering mode '' mo 'I'll show you .. " and begin with a series of jokes and compliments. Like 'but' cause you all this trouble? " and Stephen (politely) "'cause after the endorphins you feel better" and they "' my husband says so 'but then the CIA' more 'endorphins to make you more .. but maybe you have that you are advancing. .. ". And down 'ghignatine. There. In short, a courtship to Proust, then.

abandoned to their fate the two sgarzoline we take the other two abandoned children (those with carbon wheels) and begin the climb to lazy. It 's a beautiful rose in the shade and sinuous. After the narrow streets of the village of Lura paves the road and down a bit 'before rising gradually to 900 m to lazy.

The Lario south from the lazy Lazy

begins most 'hard climb of the day: there are about 400 vertical meters to the mountain lodge at 1300 m Alpe Colonno. Climb through the forest and the trees every so often a glimpse of the lake. The road and 'unfortunately very spoiled and do not make it easy climb with slopes around forever 9-10%. Salgo concentrated, a ride after another, with the only goal of the hut.

Suddenly the forest opens and after a right bend in the road levels among meadows and patches of trees. After a short slight slope along a ridge appears refuge. I turn around there but Stefano '. I do a couple of photos waiting for came out on the road, but then realized with horror that in my back pocket there 'his new inner tube. And if he's so street clothes with a 'broken-as it does?. I went off on descent. After a pious km finally see him emerge from a bend. He had laundry! Miraculously after Pigra has the classic PAFFFFFF! When she realized that the tube had I started the new calling me "Francoooooooooooooooo." No way, I was behind a bend and I did not hear. Fortunately, a man comes from one of the last homes of lazy and says: "I am Franco, who 's that?" Stephen had the pieces and has rearranged the tube but the cycling of the pump and Lazy Franc 'was the lifeline. It 's true that there' s always a Franco when you need it. As I recounted his misadventure with a happy ending we got back to Rifugio Alpe Colonno. Here, too, break water and then off to the last part of the climb.

Lazy refuge from Colonno

From the shelter down in the midst of larch trees to the valley of the refuge Boffalora. From Here the road forks, and of course we have to take the one that goes after a tiny church. We are in an alpine landscape: pastures, woods and herds. These woods are full of howitzer positions, trenches, observation posts. Located on the Cadorna Line: "u na defensive military line built between 1911 in 1916 and Pre to protect the Italian territory by a hypothetical German attack through neutral Switzerland that a possible invasion of Swiss Lombardy and Piedmont . Its name is due to the fact that it was the general Luigi Cadorna, Chief of Staff of the Italian army, the need to support and monitor the implementation. "(Thanks Wikipedia!).

But while pedaling there 'a long time to dig up the notions of history. It's hard: the road climbs with a constant slope and the length of the climb now beginning to be felt. At the bottom are now more 'in which we cycle 25 km on the rise.

The climb to Venini and the church.

The trees are sparse, and even now if the air at this altitude and 'cool the sun beats down hard. It seems impossible, but only two weeks ago it snowed here. In the last 2 km along the road climbs the steep hillsides of grass and rock to the Mount Galbiga. After a turning point appears, the saddle and refuge up there 'more than 1570 m of altitude. The latest rides are really exciting: there is' a hawk flies up and see that the goal is approached gradually puts new energy into the legs.

The last rides before the retreat.

deserved award of the day you arrive

up here 'we deserve a prize: pass Piattoni smoking rabbit with polenta and mushrooms, and bowls of red wine. But we have even more 'than 40 kilometers to go. Better to opt for something more 'light. Sandwich and coke are still a premium Gourmand after a climb like that. We are at 1576 meters, even if the air is not 'clear the heat, the views are spectacular from the refuge.

The road up to Venini

ready to go with the cannon in the background

The Pond at the refuge

Boffalora

After a well-deserved prize distributed. Unfortunately the road and damaged the steeper slopes require a lot of attention: it drops to 20 km / h with his hands on the brakes. The short salitina after the shelter Boffalora and 'just what it takes to remind us that it is not' over yet: the machine and 'still years away. There syrup also ramps down into the woods to Pigra, where, fortunately, the road improves. But with a final ascent to the paw Venini strikes back: soon after the home of the legendary "francoooooooooo" .. PAFFFFFFFFFF!. Stefano blew again.

This time we are changing fast in the rubber and we throw in a few minutes to San Fedele Intelvi. The miles of descent from lazy Argegno are a pleasure. There is no 'more' traffic, the street and 'nice and down brushing the trajectories with a lake view. From Como to Argegno the last kilometers of the day are fast, but the air hot and the fatigue accumulated in us back up to more than 'myths advice. The pace gradually descends and we are back to the car after 90 miles and altitude of 2060M. In return, we made out: two sandwiches, 4 bars, 5 coche, 7 bottles of water and salts, 3 inner tubes and a tire. And then it says that the bike does not consume anything ....

Photos are HERE while the file and GoogleEarth ' HERE