Chianti sensa squadra

I was set to ride with the club / team this morning, but I took a slightly different route out of town which I thought would be faster, but was around 10 minutes slower, so I was around 6 to 7 minutes late at the meeting location, and no one was there.  It had rained last night and rain was predicted for today, so I was not too surprised to be on my own.  The weather started out cloudy and relatively dark with misty clouds on the hill of Chianti, with very comfortable temperatures in the middle to upper 60's.  The sun gradually came out and it warmed up to the mid 70's by my return 4 plus hours later.

I rode out to Tavernuzze, realized I had missed the team, and started my own tour.  I rode out the main route (Via Cassia) to Ferrone, then took the very civilized climb up to Strada in Chianti.  This is a rare hill that I can ride 2/3 of in my big chain ring.  From Strada, I took the back way through La Panca to the junction with the Passo de Sugame road, where I completed the climb.  It is another beautiful climb, and although I do not do it in the big ring, it stays mostly around 5% ramping up to 7 or 8% occasionally.  A very nice, beautiful climb.  I descended down into Greve and took a short break and refilled my water.  From Greve, I rode back through Passo de Peccori, then climbed up past Castello Gabbiano to Quattro Strade, where I turned left and rode through Mercatale to San Casciano.  From San Casciano, I rode over on the beautiful ridge with great views both directions through Speddaletto and Chiesa Nuova to the descent into Galluzzo.  It is a great descent with many switchbacks.  The roads had dried up by then, so I let it go a little on the switchbacks.  From Galluzzo, I climbed up Poggio Imperiale, and went over / down to the Viale then down the big viale descent returning home.  Around 57 miles in around 4 hours with 3700 vertical.  Click the link for the maps and stats for the ride.

Chianti sensa squadra by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Misty clouds on the Chianti hills on the way from Tavernuzze to Ferrone.

The sky was clearing by the time I was headed up the hill past Castello Gabbiano.

With a little haze remaining, this tree stood out to me among the vineyards.

Clear sunshine and fall colors in the vineyards.