20090519 – Buonconvento to San Quirico

Hot weather has officially arrived in Tuscany! We had another wonderful day of cycling, but by the end of the day it was getting pretty hot especially on the last climbs.

There were several highlights to the ride today. Because it’s getting a little late, I’ll concentrate on them. The first was the Bosco della Pagnaia (gardens). An American artist decided to give a gift to the Italian people in the form of a huge, elaborate garden. He does a lot of the work in the garden himself. Some of our group got to talk to him when they were there. All of us stopped there and strolled through part of the property. My impression was that it was very peaceful, natural and not over done.

The second highlight occurred shortly after the gardens. In a field alongside the road we spotted an archeological dig. There were several college students from the University of Siena working the ruins just like you see in movies or read about in books. Some of our group got a tour by an older American who was supervising the project. They have found many gravesites including one of a young child.

The third highlight was the climb up to and the visit of Montalcino. This was also my lunch stop. I had to stop on the uphill to eat some energy food, so reaching the town was a relief. I ate on a terrace outside of a trotteria and had taglioleti with fresh vegetables in a tomato-based sauce.

The fourth highlight was dinner at our hotel restaurant. We started out with carpaccio of smoked tuna and swordfish (excellent), cream of carrot soup (good but a little bland) and tagliolini pasta with a lemon sauce. This was followed by our main course of mixed salad and either prawns (kind of mushy) or beef. Dessert was ice cream with a red sauce (not tomato).

There is no wireless internet here, so the next few blogs will be posted a few days late.

It’s now 10:00 and I’m going to get ready for bed.

Daily Statistics

Miles	Max	Average	Riding Time	Elevation Gain	Weather
44	38.3	10	4:23	4290	Sunny, 60’s to 90’s