Upland Ride - June 19, 2022

Having resumed organizing events after the 2-year stop leads us to want to discover new and fantastic roads again. To do this we obviously have to move to those regions of Italy that we still know little about.

For the month of June we have therefore decided to move towards the north-east, more precisely to Veneto, a region where, apart from some roads traveled in the Dolomites, we have never been there as Special Stages.

We therefore wanted to plan a tour that would start from the Vicenza area, precisely from Schio, and pass through the Asiago plateau and other passes in the area to end by returning to the starting point.

THE TOUR

The meeting, as per tradition, is around 9.30 on Sunday morning. The location is in Schio (VI) at Podere La Torre, a truly stupendous and high-level structure which is also open to the public for the swimming pools it has in the beautiful setting of the park in front of the main building.
Among other things, some participants stayed overnight at the same facility, confirming that it was an excellent choice.

Under the portico, in an area reserved for us, the tables were set up for breakfast for all the participants in the event and after the registrations of all the participants with breakfast done, we returned to the cars ready to leave.

We start immediately with a transfer section, crossing the town of Schio eastwards in the direction of Asiago along the SP350.

We knew that being a Sunday in mid-June, with perfect weather and being in a very touristic area we would encounter a lot of traffic, especially in this first part which leads us to walk the famous ascent of the Cost of Asiago, almost "terrified" by the psychological pressure what they have done to us regarding the carpet checks by the police on this stretch of road.

It must be said that even if you wanted to, the traffic did not allow you to keep fast, also due to the presence of 2 speed cameras with a speed limit of 90 km/h that you meet along the slope ... but patrols check, luckily we did not encounter any .

Surely, in the absence of traffic, the ascent of the Cost of Asiago would be really fast and exciting thanks to the perfect asphalt and the great grip, but as we will unexpectedly discover, for this aspect we will not be able to complain for the rest of the day.

With traffic that is not even particularly excessive, we continue along the SP 349 up to Asiago where, always remaining on the same road, we follow the signs for Passo Vezzena.
Here the road surface is no longer exactly perfect, but far from being ruined, and runs towards the pass, passing from Veneto to Trentino, in a mix of curves and straights that allow you to easily overtake the traffic that gradually becomes less present. A few kilometers before the pass then the plants of the woods along the road give way to the great expanses and panoramas of this fantastic plateau.

Once we reach the pass we stop for the first stop where we wait for all the participants to regroup before setting off again, pleasantly surprised by the traffic which has already decreased a lot.

After the break, the first stretch of road leads us to cross some inhabited centers that do not allow a very fast pace, also due to some traffic, until we arrive at Passo Sommo.

We leave the main road turning left onto the SP142, a road that is sometimes very winding and sometimes faster and which we find practically free of traffic.

You drive for the entire stretch among the trees, with no particular view of the panoramas that surround us, but it doesn't matter because here we can finally dedicate ourselves to driving on this stretch that runs along the side of the mountain without particular climbs or descents until we cross the border again and then returning to Veneto.

This whole sector is characterized by fairly fast continuous riding with one corner that rushes into the next with very few short straights.
Only in the last part does the road visibly begin to climb up to the junction for the SP92.

The SP92 has an incredible panorama particularly in the first stretch thanks to the absence of tall trees. The road, a bit narrow, overlooks the valley and climbs up the hill through the Valico Valbona pass.

Thus we begin to descend, returning once again to Trentino, until we reach Lake Coe, an artificial reservoir created from the restoration of the area where the Bravo and Charlie launch sections of Base Tuono once stood, a former missile base from the Cold War period , of which today only the Alpha section remains, which is a tourist destination that can be visited.

Here we make a slightly longer stop to allow all the participants to relax after this last intense stretch of road and, for those who want, to have a snack at the Bar Hangar. Unfortunately, everyone is struck by the scarcity of the very green water present in the lake which has more than halved its size due to the little snow that fell in the last winter.

It's time to leave.

The caravan continues westward along the SP143, climbing towards the nearby Passo Coe and descending to Folgaria. Traffic continues to be light, which we would not have expected on this day given the more than perfect weather.
From Folgaria we go up along the SP2 up to Serrada and then begin the descent towards Rovereto. The road is a bit narrow at this point, and it becomes difficult to overtake as the short straights prevent us from making the maneuver safely, but luckily the traffic isn't excessive here either.

Just before arriving in Rovereto, near the municipality of Noriglio, we leave the SP2 and take the SS46, the Pasubio state road, the last and fantastic climb of the day.

The roadway here is mostly wide, almost totally devoid of traffic and with perfect asphalt, the kind that guarantee good grip. A very tortuous but fast stretch which in the first part does not pass inside any inhabited center up to the municipality of Anghebeni. After the inhabited center there are instead some hamlets and villages as you climb up to Passo Pian delle Fugazze.

Very beautiful road, exciting and highly recommended, even if the locals warn you to pay close attention to the very strict controls, especially on modifications to the cars ... but today it went more than well for us.

Once at the pass we make a small detour along the SP99, a short stretch of 2km at a very calm pace given the presence of numerous tourists on foot, which takes us to the Pasubio Ossuary, the last stop along the route of this Tour which proved perhaps more beautiful than expected, precisely because of the low traffic encountered.

The Pasubio Ossuary, also known as the Pasubio Military Shrine, is a monument in memory of the fallen of the First World War that stands on a promontory overlooking Val Leogra from where the view reaches the Venetian plain.
In these areas close to the border with Eastern Europe, which were a particular theater of the great war, there are numerous monuments and military references, but as we have seen at Lake Coe, they are not only related to the world wars.

We are almost alone in the parking lot, which allows us to park all the cars in an orderly manner. A break of about half an hour allows us to visit the Ossuary and enjoy the fantastic panorama that can be seen from this point, as well as being able to cool off at the bar given the intense heat of this day.
The coolness we encountered at the stop at Lake Coe is now a distant memory.

It's time to face the last stretch that separates us from the finish. Let's go back to Pian delle Fugazze and go down on the Veneto side along the SP46. A very tortuous route in the first part which makes overtaking difficult, characterized by a very rough and somewhat ruined asphalt, which becomes faster and faster going down towards the valley, but also with more traffic.

By now we have almost reached the end of the Tour and we reach Schio again to return to Podere La Torre.
Finally a bit of relaxation to enjoy the abundant aperitif at the end of the event in the beautiful setting of this truly prestigious structure, which we promise to keep in consideration for future events.

The day went well, characterized by an itinerary that, as we expected, was fantastic both from the point of view of the landscapes and from the driving point of view, but with the addition of not particularly excessive traffic, and indeed, in many sections practically absent.
If we add to all this one of the most beautiful structures we have ever been in, we can only be super happy with the success of this event!

We thank all the participants, many at their first experience with Special Stages, many who have complimented us on the type of our events.

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