LA SALITA CHE NON AVETE MAI VISTO - LA DIRETTISSIMA DEL GAZZIROLA

Today, you’re only going to see three climbs. Three. Just three. The first one was supposed to be an easy 4x4 trail, around ten kilometres long, with just a little loose rock. It was so easy that it took us almost two hours just to reach the halfway point, leaving casualties, wounded riders and a broken clutch lever behind us. At that point, almost the entire group decided to turn back. Only Simo and I continued all the way to the top, partly because we had a lunch reservation at Rifugio Gazzirola and we were building up a catastrophic delay. But that was only the first climb. To reach Gazzirola, we decided to attempt a route that you have probably never seen on Italian YouTube: the direct climb. Almost everyone rides up using the normal road. It is scenic, beautiful and not particularly difficult, although it does have a few spicier sections, including drainage channels and fast passages where, if you hit them with too much enthusiasm, you could literally take off. We, however, chose the left side of the mountain. A line that climbs almost completely straight upwards. More than a road, it is genuine vertical freeriding: steep, loose and completely beyond what should be attempted on maxi enduro bikes. There were nine of us. Only Marco, Simo and Luca managed to make it to the top. Everyone else, myself included, turned back with our tails between our legs at the first available junction and reached the refuge using the third climb: the “normal” route. But once we arrived at Rifugio Gazzirola, one final nightmare was still waiting for us. A mule track that starts from the refuge and climbs all the way to the cross at the very top of the mountain. I had already attempted it two years ago, and this time I was convinced I would finally be able to complete it. Spoiler: I crashed several times and, once again, failed to reach my goal. However, this day is special for another reason too. Today is the birthday of MEA – Maxienduro Adventures, the group founded by my friend Davide, which is taking an even more important step today by officially becoming a motorcycle club. Happy birthday to the entire MEA family, and congratulations to Davide for transforming a group of enthusiasts into an increasingly large, organised and established community. But this, and much more, is part of this fantastic sport called adventuring: riding enduro on maxi enduro bikes and often taking them to places where common sense would strongly suggest you should not go. I hope you enjoy the video. Let me know in the comments whether you have ever attempted the direct climb up Gazzirola and, most importantly, whether you managed to reach the top. Subscribe to the channel and stay tuned, because next week the final episode of the series dedicated to JINX’s Mega Service is coming. In this video: • An “easy” 4x4 trail that destroyed the group • Ten kilometres of rocks, exhaustion and mechanical problems • The direct Gazzirola climb • Nine bikes at the start, only three at the top • The final mule track towards the cross • Several crashes and face-plants • The birthday of MEA – Maxienduro Adventures • The official launch of the MEA motorcycle club • KTM 890 Adventure R and maxi enduro bikes pushed beyond common sense #KTM890AdventureR #MaxiEnduro #OffRoad #Gazzirola #AdventureBike #Enduro #Adventuring #MaxienduroAdventures #MEA #ReadyToFail 00:00 INTRO 01:42 LET’S GO 02:30 ZERO FEELING WITH THE BIKE 03:50 I START STOPPING 05:40 DON’T CRY 07:40 HERE’S DAVIDE! 08:20 I CONTINUE ALONE 09:00 I LET HIM THROUGH 10:00 AT THE TOP 11:00 LIKE DOING A MURPH 12:00 CRASHED ON TARMAC 13:06 CLIMBING TO GAZZIROLA 14:30 THE SECRET CLIMB 15:30 IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB 16:15 DAVIDE GETS STUCK TOO 17:30 FEDE GETS STUCK TOO 19:25 INCREDIBLE VIEW 20:13 EASTER EGG 20:40 LUNCH TIME 21:10 DISASTROUS ATTEMPTS 22:20 ON THE GROUND AGAIN 22:59 LUCA GOES FULL SEND 24:00 GOOD INTENTIONS 24:20 BYE EVERYONE!