UL SENTEE DEI SAANT

Ul Sentee' dei Sant

In my opinion, this route combines the joy of riding on two wheels. We will travel through the history of this valley, admire its beauty, and last but not least, have fun on a single track descent through the woods, and let's not forget a good meal... this, for me, is cycling. It is recommended to use a mountain bike, and even better if pedal-assist, as a good level of fitness is needed given the length and elevation gain of the route.

OK, LET'S GO

After a hearty breakfast, we set off from the now famous Bar and B&B Bersaglio in Morbegno, take the railway underpass, and head towards Piazza San Giovanni. A customary photo and on we go, passing over the bridge on the Bitto where, under the statue of Saint John Nepomucene, who was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729, patron saint of Bohemia, confessors, and all people in danger of drowning. Now heading west we pass under the Orobie mountains until the municipality of Cosio Valtellino, where for a short stretch we follow the Valtellina trail. Arriving at the "Cech" ridge, we climb directly to the village of Cino where from its church, SAN GIORGIO, we admire a beautiful slice of the panorama over the Lower Valley and Lake Como. The gradient from here on is gentle until reaching the municipality of Cercino, where a challenging mule track awaits us to take us to the church of San Giovanni. A brief downhill/uphill section on dirt begins where we will encounter a gisöl in memory of the apparition of the Madonna of Tirano. We are in Mello, another church; I don't happen to pass through so many churches, but you should know that "Cech" means blind. Blind because paganism resisted for a long time among the local populations who converted very late to Christianity. So: blind to Christianity. We are now close to the end of today's climb, but first a look at the panorama that opens beneath us from the chapel of San BERNARDO; here there is only to remain in... religious silence, admiring what the eyes can see. To our left, the Val Tartano, the Pisello summit above Talamona, the writer's hometown, the Pizzo Berro, the Val Gerola, the Alpe Tagliate and, with its imposing bulk, Monte Legnone stand as sentinels on our passage. From here you won't want to leave anymore, I guarantee it, a sense of peace will seep inside you. After the meditative stop but also a small snack is welcome, we will follow a dirt road with little gradient where then we will reach the descent. First on asphalt then a fun single track through the woods with chestnut trees providing shade. We now pass through vineyards admiring these terraces built with sweat and effort, we emerge at Santa Croce below us the town of Morbegno; we are now at the end of this loop but not before a nice meal in company, where the hospitality OF THIS LAND awaits us.

FEATURES

BC - For mountain bikers with good technical ability - route on rough and uneven dirt roads or on mule tracks and trails with quite uneven but fairly smooth or compact but irregular surfaces, with some natural obstacles (e.g., rock steps or roots); dirt roads only passable by off-road vehicles, with rough and irregular surfaces, ruts and small steps; mule tracks and trails with unstable debris and occasional modest elementary obstacles (roots, low steps, depressions); mule tracks and trails with quite compact surfaces but with significant elementary obstacles such as roots or low steps; generally, besides good bike handling and precision on obligatory passages, decent balance is also required.