This was an “Eye Candy” ride. I started from the hotel around 8:45 riding solo. I finally got smart and decided to ride the “normal” ride instead of putting on extra mileage. I’m glad that I did because I was able to see fantastic scenery at a more comfortable pace. I could even stop and take photos without worrying that I would be late getting to the hotel.
The weather was perfect. The sun was out and the temperatures ranged from the high 60’s to the high 80’s. The terrain was rollers, some of them long and some of them moderately steep. The fields were bright green except where the wildflowers were sprouting. We saw lots of vineyards, some olive groves, sheep, cows, newly plowed fields, planted fields and much more. When we reached various ridges, we could see incredible vistas.
I rode solo for less than half of the ride. I saw Claudia and Berry pulling out of a bar after having cappuccino and joined them riding into Asciano. We found different places to buy panini. I ate in the shade on a chair on the town’s definitely unbusy main street. They ate in a park where our route turned. While we were finishing, a lot of our group arrived. While they set out to find food, we started the final leg of our route.
After about 10k of moderate uphills, we began descending into Buonconvento. We arrived in this small town around 12:30. We looked around for awhile to get acclimated. I spied Tom at the town’s best restaurant and joined him for a bowl of white bean and pasta soup with a light tomato base. After that, I checked into my room.
I have one of the rooms reserved for disabled persons. It has lots of space and it is very clean. The hotel is modern which is a change from the older buildings that we have been staying in.
After cleaning up, I joined Julie, Tom, Janet, Jerry, James and Betteanne for gelato across the street from the hotel.
Happy Hour was on the terrace at the top of the hotel (3rd floor). We spent a lot of time trying to pre-order the first course of out dinner because there were five choices of pasta with six different sauces. Once Julie got us straightened out, we had to remember what we ordered. Our restaurant was the best one in town – Da Mario. We had our first course (most of us remembered what we ordered) along with the house wine and water. Everyone had a mixed salad. Our main course, served family style, was chicken cooked in a lemon/orange sauce and rabbit cooked in a different sauce. Both were very good. Dinner ended for some of us at 9:00.
It’s now 9:30. I’m tired and ready to go to bed.
Daily Statistics
| Miles | Max | Average | Riding Time | Elevation Gain | Weather |
| 39 | 38.8 | 11.9 | 3:17 | 2670 | Sunny, 60’s to 80’s |
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