Toscana- Made for the Bicycle

Today I rode a quintessential Tuscan ride. Through the hills of Chianti, covered in grape vines, olive trees and cypress trees as far as the eye could see, I ended up in Siena, a little less than 100km from Firenze. The landscape is as though it was made for the bicycle, or perhaps the bicycle was made for it. The climbing started within a few miles of leaving the city and in the first 10 miles, I had climbed over 1500ft. For the first 35 miles, I climbed 85% of the time. The final 20 miles I descended 75% of the time. Once I got to Piazza del Campo in Siena, my journey was over and the train would be my means back to Firenze.
It was a slightly chilly day a times. You would get really warm while climbing, but once you hit the descent, the sweat would wisk away, you'd have to zip up and try your best to stay warm. It was the first primarily overcast day since I've been here (of course the sun would come out as I was on the train back, heating up the train car quite a bit more than I'd like). The ride itself was amazing. Most of the back roads in Toscana, in Chianti in particular, are Strade Bianche, as in white gravel roads, that although well kept, are best tackled on a bike with clearance for slightly wider tires. There is a beautiful ride coming up next week called L'Eroica, "the heroic" which features endless kilometers of these Strade Bianche riden on bikes pre-1985. But I stayed away from them. The last thing I wanted was to increase my chance of flatting and being stuck out in the middle of nowhere. But I did get to cover a few of the paved roads on the course and if they are any indication of what L'Eroica is like, I'm sure it's a beautiful and hilly ride. The thing is, the main roads, Strade Provinciale and even some Strada Statale are quiet, scenic beyond belief, and immaculately paved. It's like someone went through and repaved all the roads because they knew a lot of cyclists would be in the area for the Worlds. Actually, I think there are always a lot of cyclists here because as I mentioned before, it's gotta be one of the best places in the world to ride a bicycle.

The race will be coming through here on its way to Firenze.

After climbing gradually for what seemed like forever, it was so nice to descent for a long time as well. The only problem is when the road goes back up, it's like a slap in the face after you've gotten used to gravity being on your side for a while. At one point I did see a sign that said 15% incline. This is after I crested the Cat 2 climb (according to Strava), which was just short of being the longest climb I've ever done by less than 100ft. I'm not sure the accuracy of road signs in Italy, but luckily that 15% was not nearly as steep as I'd expect 15% to be. Also, they have signs everywhere in Italy that point in a certain direction and give the distance to said destination. At one point I saw a sign that said Siena 37 (km, not mi) and not a kilometer down the road I saw another one that said Siena 32. I think someone in the road department here is just pulling numbers out of a hat. So, with a grain of salt, I took the sign that finally said Siena 2. I knew that once I got to Siena proper, I'd still have to climb up to my tourist destination Piazza del Campo at the center of town. But after all the climbing I did, that was an easy effort.

Finally, I arrived, unwrapped the sandwich that I made and carried all the way from Firenze and plopped myself down amongst some other tourists at the fountain across from the city hall (left). I then made my way to a gelateria. If chocolate milk is a good recovery drink then why not chocolate gelato (and straciatella and nocciola-hazelnut) in a cone. Despite the fact that I seem to be eating like a pig here, I'm eating such quality food and proper servings that I think I'm actually getting a bit leaner. I also wonder if not eating soy (aside from a Clif Bar here or there while riding) and getting my protein from nuts and cheese and gelato is actually helping me??? I bought a cycling kit the other day and I bought the jersey in the smallest size they had. If they had it smaller, I'd have bought it smaller. Maybe that's why I keep passing strong looking riders on the climbs (flew by a couple of racer types on the cat 2 climb today).

Aside from that, I was greatly enterained by another accordion player who was set up outside the Duomo in Siena. This guy was really good. Definitely a truely introverted musician. He played a Bach Organ piece that I recognized but can't recall the name of. It was outstanding. I stayed, sitting on my bike, propped against the Duomo like a track racer on the boards in a Madison, and listened to the whole performance. I was able to scratch together two Euro to contribute to his bucket. I have a feeling he made quite a bit of money today, since Europe is all about the coin. They have coins for 1cent, 2cents, 5cents, 10cents, 20cents, 50cents, 1Euro and 2Euro. I don't know why, but I actually kind of like the 1 and 2 Euro coins, but if I get one of those damn Sacagewea dollars at home, I want to punch someone in the face. Must just be my state of mind over here.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to do the Pisa ride rather than big climbs out toward Quarrata. I will have plenty of time up in Lombardia to do really big climbs (45miles with 11,000ft of climbing). I'd rather go see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and check it off the list. But two weeks in Toscana is definitely not enough. You could spend a lifetime here exploring these roads. If there is one thing that I know for sure, I have to start figuring out a way that I can live here at some point soon. America just isn't my cup of tea. I belong in Italy.

Saw this Europcar team car parked along Via Nationale on my way home from dinner.