Conca Verde Calling

"You can eventually hear the shoot ...but won't feel any pain!"
(About riding MTB in the hunting season)


Conca Verde is an area 400 m above Savona, where there was just one trail descending to town. It was good for a lunch-time ride; cool enough to fix a rainy Sunday morning, "...but not a real ride!"

Savona is definitely not New York, but when it comes to mountainbike we have quite interesting tastes, as we live 20 minutes from Finale Ligure. The community of riders is quite large: different attitudes, different strength, speed, age... but the majority is focused on All Mountain rides and is not scared of steep slopes and climbs, specially now that e-bikes extend the average life of riders.

A couple of years ago a group of enthusiasts started taking care of Conca Verde trail cleaning some turn, using some fallen tree to cross the creeks, shaping some small drop.
When they presented their project we were 5 people. In a while it went viral!
Riders were happy like children and suddenly the area started to grow. Also the trail builders grew in number and it didn't take long for the Conca trail to be clean and smooth, becoming a classic ride for the local bikers.

The wild bunch, driven by mystic fury, started looking for new trails to resurrect, despite girlfriends and family crisis. Tracks completely lost in the bush, visible just on some old map, were called back to life. Conca Verde became a "urban scale MTB tamagotchi". There is also a group of riders that in the summer go to work the trails at night after work, to enjoy fresh air - they say - with their headlights on. If you meet them, consider that they could try to convince you to join the night shift!

I think that these guys are doing a great job: their work have an historical value, and nobody can complaint that they draw new lines in the forrest.

At the moment there are 6 trails descending on 2 valleys. Every trail have a very different soul: one is nice and polite, another is rough and not prepared (they call it Il Bandito) another is rocky and steep... Gustin is really cool: it's all in the shadow of the trees, it is long, never too steep, never too broken, sometimes nicely exposed, and in general very clean and safe. After a log, that became a natural drop, we ride some turn to get back on the street.
Climb to top is steep but never exhausting. It is rarely higher than 350 meters.

The trail I liked most is "Passione d'Agosto". It starts on the top of the mountain descending nice and cool between dirt and roots, and turning around big trees. When descent starts you can choose for the hard core line or for the flow one.
Matteo is one of the builders and suggests the second option: great advice!
"Passion in August" is the perfect name for this line: life is easy riding a lot of turns on the perfect slope, but ... don't take it for granted, you have to DRIVE. The 2 lines meet later on Crestino, a super panoramic ridge, facing the sea.

But every passion has harsh moments, and it arrives a short steep rocky section that brings my feet back on the ground ...and my tires back on the road.

After a stunning Sunday morning we went for a small beer to decide to continue this sweet up&down for the rest of the day, or to go home for lunch... Life can be hard, sometimes!


Suggested Soundtrack: 
UP:   Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

DOWN: Presidents of United States of America

After riding: just a few meters off track: Vino e Farinata in Via Pia or Focaccette e Panizza, super tipical in the city center!