This month we leave the high mountains for a series of hilly tours, we go to the high Piedmont, on the slopes of Mottarone, the gateway to the Alps. We will enter its southern woods, a vast area, which starts from Cusio and Lake Orta to reach Stresa and Lake Maggiore, where we can take the cable car, get to the top and start all over again. This time we will focus on Vergante, where different realities have decided to share their passion and give life to a resort that has more than 50 km of trails, marked and cleaned all year round.
There are many trails that have already entered the common imagination of numerous bikers from the cities of the north west, the Rana, the CG, the Scaletta and then the Bogianchini or Mottarone marathon, a secret spot that leads from the summit to an unspecified point of nothing, but it does it with style and adrenaline, so much so that it has now entered the lines preferred by foreigners and is present in numerous European sites.
We met the Wolves of Cornaggia, the foxes of Invorio and the Cips, to let us tell their story and the reason that prompted them to embrace brushcutters, blowers and sickles to recover old mule tracks and forgotten paths, giving them a new life made of clawed wheels, rustling of leaves and clinking of free wheels. We will tell you about them at the end of this first episode of the saga dedicated to Mottarone, at the Vergante and to the hidden gems of this territory.
THE FIRST PART
As said initially in this issue we will deal with a first part of the paths. We will start from Armeno and head towards Ameno (which we already told you about a few years ago) and from there towards Mount Barro, to try out some of the most famous descents of this arena dedicated to MTB.
The departure is bucolic, fields, cows grazing even in this strange beginning of winter, a riding stable an adventure park and then up. Here the quiet of the small villages reigns supreme, silence is a constant companion, you can only hear the breath of those who pedal and the sound of the leaves that do not want to leave their trees. Old recovered residences alternate with farmhouses for the storage of tools, as you go up the panorama opens up and the Rosa, with her majesty, rises above every other mountain, as if she wanted to demonstrate her grandeur. The frenzy is a distant memory here. A few minutes from civilization it is possible to carve out a moment of introspection and serenity.
I play at home on these hills, I have been my playground ever since, as a kid, I decided to embark on the journey on two wheels that still continues today, without a precise destination but with the awareness that the constant movement of the pedals does not occur. will never stop. One of the peculiarities of this area is its accessibility, in short you find yourself immersed in a forest that takes away the frenzy of the modern world. There is no need to venture up steep mountains or hidden places to find tranquility, here it is within the reach of many, you just need to want to move and discover new places.
Having said this, however, it seems a boring place, one of those for frikkettoni all yoga and meditation, where the sound of Tibetan bells is the only one audible, but it is not so. As initially anticipated thanks to the work of various groups, this area has found a new lifeblood in MTB, carving out its own space among the favorite destinations of bikers from nearby Milan and beyond.
Streamlined trails, within the reach of many, where those accustomed to speed will find something to have fun with, but also the weekend warriors we talked about in an editorial some time ago, will find something to have fun. Routes that are never violent, fluid and fun, ideal for those who approach MTB for pure pleasure, perhaps without a top physical preparation and with a technical background yet to be built. Turning on these terrains is a trip, here there are no van lifts, long and exhausted asphalted roads, here is everything true off road, gippabili that take you for a walk in the woods and trails cared for, clean and playful.
We have shot on Lozio, the CG the frog, original names, often enigmatic or surreal, but which fully embody the light-hearted and amused spirit of its creators. Who does not know The uncle he will hardly understand the irony of the trail named after him, but this will not prevent him from appreciating the beauty that emanates from every curve, stone, root and counter-slope ... ok, he will hardly understand this last sentence too. But beyond the student spirit that is also present in the posts on social networks used to communicate rallies, closures for maintenance or other useful information for the biker, the paths of the wolves remain the top for those who interpret MTB as a moment of leisure among friends, distributor of adrenaline, dopamine and any other molecule that ends with the suffix INA and that is produced by our body in a natural way during physical activity.
But who are the Wolves of Cornaggia and the foxes he sent? Wolves are a historical group, born together with MTB. They have always had the goal of bringing people closer to the practice of this sport. I remember mythical races on the Vergante trails and even then it was clear that this area had potential. Now they continue the work started years ago, collaborating with local administrations to carry out a project to relaunch the territory through the bicycle, all however remaining in the wake of the rules and in collaboration with the bodies responsible for the protection and governance of the municipalities concerned, the is the only possible way to build a plan that can be sustainable in the long term. The numbers prove them right, thanks to the cross-checking of Strava's data, from the interactions with Facebook and to the verification in the field, they have managed to make a precise estimate of the visitors of their paths, both from the point of view of the registry and the places of origin and of the bikes used. A set of mini 'big data' important both for the development of their project and that of other realities that want to follow their path.
Le volpi they were born a few years ago to recover old abandoned roadways, among their projects there are awareness courses held in schools to bring children closer to nature and the woods. An interesting and worthy of attention project. They organize events dedicated to the outdoors in general, from rallies for MTBs to trails for runners, all to diversify the offer. These are the realities that have contributed to the realization of this part of the vergante bike arena that is taking shape in recent months, in the next issue we will continue the story by going to discover the most xc frendly area of the resort together with the CIPS.
Info:
mtb traveler: Tagliaferri-mtbtraveler.com
Wolves of Cornaggia: https://isentierideilupidelcornaggia.wordpress.com/
Volpi d'vò: www.volpidiinvorio.com
