Starting from the square in front of the Equi Terme public swimming pools, follow the signs crossing the Lucido river in the direction of the cemetery. After a short ascent on tarmac road, take the CAI path 39 in the direction of Aiola (technically and physically demanding uphill stretch) until you reach the aforementioned village.
Leaving the large fountain on the left, cross the village until you come across meadows, woodland and cultivated fields. Here you will start the first single track:
Aiola Trail – (Degree of difficulty: Blue on IMBA scale; Dist +839m / Dslv -105m)
This first trail ends when it crosses the Trekking Lunigiana which again runs alongside the Lucido river and after having passed an ancient stone bridge. From here head up towards the village of Vinca, and shortly after the “Acqua Nera”, up towards Monzone Alto. As soon as you reach the village parking lot, take the CAI path 40 (wide, extremely steep and demanding dirt road) uphill to reach Arpa di Monzone.
At the crossroads with the CAI 171 path, the most epic trail of the ring begins:
Odyssey Lower Part– (Degree of difficulty: Black on IMBA scale; Dist +4500m / Dslv -740m).
Once back in the summit part of Monzone Alto, descend on the dirt road to the cemetery of
Monzone. Crossing the town you can then start the tarmac ascent to Mezzana. Once arrived,
enter the village and from there it’s a nice cycle uphill through olive groves and woodland.
In the village of Fazzano you can find the homonymous single track, the third of the ring:
Fazzano Trail – (Degree of difficulty: Blue on IMBA scale; Dist + 1100 m / Dslv -220 m).
At the end of the trail, near the “Paradiso” fountain, leave the Pago trail behind and continue up a dirt road towards the village of Codiponte, and from there the tarmac road towards Casciana. Once you end up cycling in the hamlet of Bancola, turn left until you reach the village of Cascia. After the latter, proceed for about 2km up to the starting point of the next trail:
Vertical Strap– (Degree of difficulty: Red on IMBA scale; Dist + 989 m / Dslv -249 m).
At the end of the track turn right to then cycle up a physically challenging ascent, following the
track of an ancient bridleway. After about 2 km you will find yourself back on the paved road between Mezzana and Casciana, towards which you will have to continue pedalling. After having left the village behind for approximately 1km, in conjunction with a clearing on the right, you will find the last trail of the ring:
Gagliata – (Degree of difficulty: Red on IMBA scale; Dist + 1000m / Dslv -233m).The trail ends when you find yourself in front of the Equi Terme railway and after having bypassed it on the local road, you end back to the starting point of the ring.
THE TRAILS CAN BE “RAIDED” EVEN WITHOUT TRAVELLING THE RINGS