Twelve Tires in Tuscany: February 21 :: Castelfiorentino, Italy

February 21 :: Castelfiorentino, Italy :: 42km / 42km total

A beautiful, warm day greeted us as we ate breakfast and moved our bikes + gear down from our hotel 3 stories to ground level. A bit of nervousness, I think, among the group, since the task and distances ahead were unknown and unquantifiable to at least 3 of them. After assembling ourselves we moved slowly and carefully out into the rushing Italian traffic and headed South. Although fast and frantic and driving on narrow roads, the Italian drivers are excellent with respect to cyclists, and it was no problem at all riding through busy downtown Florence, even for me with my wide 100-pound bicycle trailer in tow.

After 7km we left Florence and moved onto smaller roads. A punishing switchbacking climb woke up all of our legs and was a good reality check that we would have to earn the miles here in Italy. The pace dropped, but everyone soldiered on patiently and cheerfully. From there on in to Castelfiorentino the road rolled, sometimes dramatically, but offered many tremendous views over the Tuscan countryside. The Old World buildings that we rolled by added to the ambiance, yes, I'm not sure you can beat Tuscany for cycling. Food and drinks were plentifully available, now at quite reasonable prices, as opposed to downtown Florence (now similar prices to Canada, including the exchange rate). The temperature climbed and at 1pm was close to 20C... perfect cycling weather.

We rolled into Castelfiorentino a tired but happy group, ready for tomorrow's hilly ride to Volterra. I'm quite happy and impressed with how well everyone did today, particularly how positive everyone stayed when the hills got bad (i.e. a bit of walking for some). I get the feeling that everyone felt a sense of accomplishment with today's ride and they now know that the distances are do-able, not just numbers pulled out of my hat when I planned the trip out!