Laghi di Cancano

Bruce Thompson, one of my team-mates from the 2018 Tour de France fundraiser, is a man of impeccable tastes.  He'd spent a bit of time riding in Italy after our tour, and one of the rides he'd done was up to Laghi di Cancano, above Bormio.  The Giro d'Italia finished up there in 2020, and it has remained in my "go riding" file.  

We were much more organised this morning, and by the time the lights went out (second and last day of work requiring a power cut), we'd liberated the bikes from the garage.  It was overcast, but dry, and we started climbing virtually from our doorstep.

One of the more unusual road-signs, presumably warning of potential queues

We crossed a cute stone bridge just below the start of the official climb, and after a wrong turn, got properly underway.  Once again, the switchbacks were numbered (down from 22 this time), and there were regular reminders that we were riding in a national park which straddled two countries (and thus two languages).

The views from the lower slopes would have been stunning on a clear day, and we passed a camper who'd set up in a glorious spot.  

As we reached the last few corners, the cloud cover started to clear, revealing a couple of old watch towers.  A few early birds passed us on their way down the hill, suitably clothed for what we anticipated would be a chilly descent.

The road looked amazing from below, and we'd been able to make out a pair of tunnels cut into the rock.  Our sense of anticipation grew as we approached, and as a bonus, we rounded corner one, signaling the end of the climb as well.

Up close, the tunnels were very cool.  Neither was lined, and both had very pleasing curvature.  The second had a nice view point cut into it.

Before continuing to check out the lakes, we took the opportunity to get warmer clothing on, and also discovered that one of the towers was accessible.  Inside were a range of displays giving a bit of history of the valley we were about to dip in to.  And the views back over the road were fantastic.

A few minutes' ride into the valley we came across the first, small lake, and beyond it we found ourselves overlooking a spectacular dam.

Lago Scale

Sarah had earlier remarked that she was surprised that she hadn't complained at all yesterday, and I admitted my own surprise (and pleasure).  She was again in good form, and seemed quite happy to descend a gravel road to the dam, which was quite the structure.  Below it was a sweet looking trail which included a few small tunnels cut through the rock.  I did momentarily pine for my Yeti!  

Up the lake, we could see another dam.  It wasn't far away, and the gravel quality had been good so far, so I asked about inclination to do a short lap.  We were both comfortable to forgo it, preferring instead to get home early and go for an afternoon drive.

Back over the dam, we made short order of the climb back up to the sealed road, admiring for the final time the dam, the low lake level and epically twisted rock disappearing into the lake.

We popped into a restaurant for a cuppa, and then headed back to the tunnels, before beginning the descent.

We passed a gravel turn-off, which featured "promiscuous sections" according to an adjacent map.  A handful of switchbacks later we came to another sealed road, which we took, happy to mix things up a bit.  That took us a little further up the valley, before a switchback and then a long fairly straight run back to Bormio, during which we discovered that the cycling fraternity had well and truly woken up, and were getting amongst it.  

It was an absolute treat to find Mama sunning herself in the piazza adjacent to our digs.  Showers and lunch ensued, followed by blogging and now a drive.  Looking forward to the Stelvio tomorrow!  Ciao!

Stats:  a short but stunning 33km ridden, 2 tunnels, 2 lakes, and surprisingly, 800m ascended.  Not bad for a recovery day!

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Postscript:  the drive to Livigno was very nice, and we got some lovely views up to the towers from the roadside.  

The two towers at the entrance to the valley are visible in the saddle