3 days aLone with my bike

The challenge, usually means a race, a match, a fight between 2 athletes or team, but a challenge can be also against yourself, against your frightened, that's what signify for me this 3 days alone with my bike.

Maybe you could say, but your nick is Lonebiker!!! You are right, but all my tours alone, before finding a wonderful groups of friends, were 1 day tours, even till late in the night, but always 1 day, so my desire was to realize a 3 or more days alone and sleep with my sleeping bag in bivvies.

My plan is starting at the end of August, because i have a monday free from work and I want to start my tour from Thiene, in the lowland at the feet of the Asiago plateau, descend in Valsugana (t he valley) and then a little tour of a part of the Lagorai group and return at home.

In the early morning of the last saturday of August i start my tour, weather is cloudy, as correctly the forecast said. The first 1000 meters of elevation gain pass really fast, also because i know this dirt street very well and so I'm in the plateau of Asiago.
In a parking I recognize the cars of other friends, that told me they would be there for a tour

I continue my trip until i meet them at an Alm 1600 meters high, we make few km together until our streets divide, from now on i will be alone except for the friends that live in the nature.

 

It's almost 12 o'clock and I feel the necessity of eating something, so I decided to stop in another Alm for a good plate of pasta and then i start again my tour for few km again in uphill. Where I find the path i was looking for and that i never tried before, it is a good singletrack with rocks and roots to much wet this day so i proceed with care also because my bike and I we have additional load for this tour.
 

This part is all new for me and my plan is to stop in a bivvy (really are 2 bivvies) for the night, so at the half of this trail I take on the right on a dirt street in uphill always inside the wood.
The uphill is not hard, but are 6 hours of biking till now and I begin to be a little tired, finally after few meters of a little downhill section, I find an open space with the 2 bivvies, I arrived, 2600 meters of elevation gain and it is 3 p.m.

I check all the place, inside fireplace,  firewood, place to sleep under the roof on the floor, water, a latrine ok it is a 5 stars accomodation

But something puzzles me, don't worry I said, I'm really happy the place is wonderful, silence, out from the world and alone.

Now I can change my clothes, cut a few firewood more,  light the fire and admire where I was just few hour ago. I open the maps just for a checking of the path for the day after and i go to check by feet where starts a trail that i programmed to follow, good it starts really good.

In the bivvy I find also a crossword book, quite new so I can spend the last moments of light. I take out from my back pack 2 sandwiches and 2 beers and with this simple thing in this wonderful place it seems to me to be the happiest man on the earth.

When the dark arrives I enter in the bivvy and in front of the fire i can spend few moment of reflection, yes I'm a lucky man to do this, that is my thought.
I go sleeping quite early (9 p.m.) but I'm tired, during the night i wake up 2 times and i clearly heard that someone is outside maybe a deer because i heard steps of clogs, amusing

The day after i wake up and I clean the bivvy, the weather is a little bit cloudy (less then yesterday) but the day looks to be going really better, I take the trail i checked the day before, really a good one, with different sections but also the roots sections are really good. 

At the half of the downhill towards the valley Valsugana I arrived in the sella plateau where I can stop for a little breakfast and watch where I should be this night, at the Bivvy Argentino 2150 meters high.

I proceed downhill and when I arrived in the valley it begins a long uphill from 300 to 2160 meters high. When i planned this tour I thought to make a stop for lunch in a famous restaurant of the zone that i never visited before because I know it is very difficult to find open places where eating. During the uphill I remind that it's Sunday and I think, will i find free place??
Before the restaurant along the street i find this inviting waterfall, where i can wash myself, I arrive before 12 o'clock at the only place is outside, ok no problem so I can control my bike. Waiting to be served i must answer to hundreds of questions about my Fat bike, I know it is the ticket i've to pay with this kind of bike without snow.

After a good lunch, I ate also for the evening, I continue my uphill, immediately the first thought is "never eat too much if you know that you have a strong uphill very soon :-) ". From now on i perfectly know the street, because i did it several time in different tours with my friends. The uphill is quite long and I know that i will have also some sections of "portage" before arriving at the bivvy "Argentino", but i'm well, alone, and with the hope to finally see this bivvy over the Valsugana with a beautiful sun. But, as usual, a cloudy weather gives me welcome, :-( , i also see that i won't be alone for the night, there are 3 backpacks inside. 

After 1 hour, come back 3 young guys, they told me, they have spent 3 days at the bivvy and this is the last one. The Bivvy has enough bed (6 very comfortable), we talk for a long period of time and i can eat my last sandwich before going to sleep and as usual it is not necessary to go inside the sleeping bag, because the heat produced by the fire maintains a hot temperature for a long period of time.
The morning after, exiting from the bivvy i can finally see the sight that i tried to see at least 3 times before, awesome!!!. 

I salute the guys and carry, once again, the bike on my shoulders for a little section of portage, today i will have most downhill than uphill. 

At the top, the landscape is astonishing and finally i can see, not so close as i want but enough, the Friar (a big monolith made of granite, 30 meters high that I tried to see in a previous different tour.  

Before the real downhill, i have to cross a good part of the wonderful and green Rava valley, no one is there, fantastic, astonishing i stop for a while admiring this wonderful valley.



 

Last little section of portage and then a fantastic singletrack into the wood for 1500 meters of downhill, when i arrive at the end of the trail i have a smile like a baby in a candy shop.
Now I must return home by the cycling way of Brenta 60 km but i'm really happy thinking what i've just done.

I think that a solitary tour should be done at least once in the life, it let you see the things of life from a different perspective, all done in a way very very slow and free from time pressure.