Bar To Bar in mountain bike - Tappa 2: Treiso - San Bovo

From Treiso, in the heart of the Barbaresco Langa, the stage takes us to San Bovo di Castino, observing the change in landscape which, from vineyards as far as the eye can see, gives way to woods, hazelnut groves and rocks. These are hills steeped in history, starting from the Romans up to the Partisans during the Civil War, but they also preserve the memory of the fatigue and poverty told by Beppe Fenoglio, fixed forever in the pages of his most famous novels.

We leave the town in the direction of Alba to take, immediately at the first bend on the left, the crossroads for San Rocco Seno d'Elvio and proceed on asphalt until Cascina Alberta. Just beyond the farmhouse, at the first hairpin bend on the right, we take the headland on the left, to then alternate between vineyards and hazelnut groves near the scariest and deepest gorge in the Langhe, the spectacular Rocca dei Sette Fratelli. Legend has it that the seven wicked people blasphemed God during a religious festival, despite the pleas of the pious sister: so the earth opened up, swallowing them all, but leaving the woman safe on the ridge between the two ravines. Legend aside, the place is magnificent both for the breathtaking view and for the possibility of observing the stratigraphy of the hill which in section appears to us precisely like a gigantic Sacher Torte with layers of limestone, clay, marl, sand and sandstone: all uniqueness of the Langhe at a glance. Our dirt road then rejoins the strip of land between the two ravines (the one that saved the sister of the legend), in the locality of Canta, where we cross the provincial road to take, immediately beyond the partisan shrine and the first house, the climb on the right which takes us high up on the watershed, above the provincial road. Here the Langa del Vino gradually gives way to that of the Nocciola and the hills become more rugged and wild. The path continues along the ridge for a couple of kilometers and then descends onto the provincial road and, after passing the few houses on asphalt, continue until the nearby crossroads of Bossania, from where the dirt road along the ridge resumes immediately on the right. The view is superb and really allows you to identify with the visionary descriptions of Fenoglio and his partisans. Finally, you go back down to the small hamlet of Cappelletto where, after passing the crossroads for Trezzo Tinella, you take the first road and, immediately afterwards, on the right, the slight dirt climb which makes a wide curve to reach the municipal road at the height of a house with a votive pillar next to it and, on the other side of the asphalt, a wooden house. From here, on the right, the path immediately starts again, which now descends gently among the hazelnut groves and, making a wide arc first downhill and then uphill (D2 S2), finally reaches the ancient Borgo del Riondino, an excellent example of a fortified farmhouse , today a beautiful charming relais. Here we are now in the heart of Fenoglio's Langa, where some of his best novels are set and where everything still speaks to us of a recent past (just 50-70 years ago), made of misery and fratricidal war. From Riondino, turn right, still on a dirt road, to go up (D2) into the woods (very well signposted on the trees) and reach the summit where the numerous hives tell us how good the Langhe honey is. Here you keep right on a comfortable descent (D1) until you reach the asphalt and follow it to the right for about 1 km, then left again on a dirt road, uphill (S1-2), until you reach the legendary Cascina della Langa , the very one where the Partisan Johnny (the hero of Fenoglio's novel of the same name on the civil war) spent the terrible winter of '44 in the company of only the dog "La Lupa" . The path descends briefly into the hazelnut grove (to give the right privacy to the farmhouse, which has now become another charming relais) to go up, immediately beyond the house, to the car park in front and then continue on the crest of the forest towards Boscasso and Pavaglione. At the next crossroads both paths lead to the village of Pavaglione, but our route passes through the one on the right and then descends from above, among donkeys and goats, onto the village which is the scene of Agostino's “La Malora” , the poor servant who will search in vain to help his family marked by an ineluctable destiny and infinitely stronger than his arms. At Pavaglione, Agostino and Tobia's farmhouse is today a cultural center where exhibitions and conferences are held, as well as literary readings and Fenoglia days. Beyond the village, on the left, the path resumes the ridge to run among the trees up to the small cemetery of San Bovo and, then, descending onto the asphalt and turning left, you reach this extreme and romantic hamlet of Castino, immersed in the woods . San Bovo is the favorite walk of the people of Alba, who know that at the end they will also find a friendly house with a tavern, rooms and bars, as well as a horse-tourism company for gallops in Valle Belbo. Its steep woods hide secrets of mushrooms and truffles that seekers jealously guard in secret and encrypted notebooks as perhaps was only the "Book of Command" of the legendary Masche (the mischievous spirits of the Langhe woods).