Go Solo: Chapter One
Sometimes you need your space, you need to be alone. You want to be free from every kind of thinking. Especially after a whole day dealing with a work problem. Your body and particularly your soul needs to regenerate itself. Creating a new balance to start another time.
I can find this energy from nature. Staying in the middle of nowhere, listening to the sound of nature, smelling the woods. For me that’s life. When I feel the need, it’s time to go solo!
Usually, after work I take my bike for a short singletrack near my little village. One hour to recharge my battery for the day after. Waiting for the weekend. And I’m lucky because my weekend is “long”: 2 days and a half. My new job allows me to be free on Fridays from 1pm. Usually in that afternoon I go to the grocery, I clean my house, I do everything that I have not done during the week.
But not this Friday. No, this Friday is different. I need to recharge myself. This Friday I want to dedicate this time to myself. So I put all duties behind me, I take my bike, my camera and go. Adventure, I’m arriving!
I have lunch as fast as I can. I want to go out from the city, I want to go out from the society. So I put all my stuff in the car and without realizing I’m driving along the MeBo. The freeway from Bolzano to Merano, Italy. It’s almost a highway but it’s free. This road has been opened in the 1997 to connect South Bolzano and Forst, a little village outside the town of Merano. Thanks to this road you don’t have to drive through the streets of different towns. It’s the second main road in South Tyrol and runs near the Adige river. My state of mind is already different; I don’t know, it might be the thought about my day of ride or the view: vineyards and mountains all around me.
After one hour I reach the center of Laces, another small village in the province of Bolzano. Here, almost all inhabitants speak German despite they live in Italy, but that is the South Tyrol. I park my car near the San Martin Gondola and I take it. I don’t have a lot of time to climb up more of 1.000 mt.
My trail starts at the upstream station of San Martino (1.740 mt.). I’m in the Venosta Valley for the first time in particular at Mount Sun. Pedaling on the road for about 2/3 km, I arrive at the beginning of the Panorama Trail. And yes, it’s really a panoramic trail. It’s a quite a lot exposed. And it’s really difficult too. Very technical. You need really good skills and it’s not my case. But I don’t give up and I follow the trail. What a view!! Amazing!! My feeling is different. I think I’m another person when I’m outside to explore new places with my stuff. I take some pictures but not so much. I don’t matter, this time I want to ride!
I’m at the end of this amazing and tough trail which brings me near the Patsch’s farm, where starts the last trail of the day: the Propain trail. Now it’s time to have fun. So much fun! It’s a flow trail that has been built in 2015 by the bikeschool vinschgauBIKE. 4,5 km and almost 1.000 mt. of downhill. The first part of it is shared with the hikers. Then this trail is just for the bikers and it winds towards the valley through steep terrain and different kind of curves.
You can ride this trail almost all year long and usually expect very dry conditions.
I reach the end of the trail near Silandro. From here to my car is only cycle lane. But I’m happy. I’m brand new. And every time I’m ready for the next ride.
Behind camera & words: me
