Fun, foggy ride / Viola's concert

Last night, I was recuited to babysit at 12:30, so I had to get going this morning to get a ride in.  It was predicted to be sunny today, but we awoke to fog.  Not so thick you could not see, but probably around 50 to 75 meters of visibility.  I got going and decided to go up and down around Fiesole and Vincigliata.  I started out on Via Faentina and turned off at Pian de Mugnone to take the steep climb to Fiesole.  I quite often descend this road, but this is probably around the 5th time I have climbed it.  It is steep in places - around 15 to 20%, and the world championship loop in Florence next September does this climb.  As I climbed, the theme for the day asserted itself - in and out of the fog.  At Fiesole, I climbed up to the road toward Montebeni, and at the beginning of this road I really got out of the fog for the only time during the ride - sunshine - sweet.

I kept going past the turn to Vincigliata and turned at Montebeni to descend through the outskirts of Settignano.  Last time I did this, I took the same route at the start of the descent, which is really quite steep in places.  Today, the road had some debris on it, with the recent heavy rains washing stuff from the hillsides onto the road.  The roads were wet, and I took it quite easy and relatively slow.  Around 1/2 way down, I turned off to the right and took a different road the remainder of the way down.  It was really sweet. Super thin - I think a small car would need to be careful not to scrape the sides - full of curves, and not too steep, just really fun.  It hooks up to the base of the climb through Vincigliata, which was my next climb.  In and out of lighter and thicker fog, the light was really nice making the riding a little spooky.  From Vincigliata, I climbed to the road over to Fiesole, then descended on the main road to San Domenico, then took the back way home.  Truly sweet ride for a quick morning jaunt.  Click the link for details and the profile, but the summary is:  18 miles in 1:42 rolling time for an average of 10.6 mph with 2260 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 42F.

Fun, foggy ride / Viola's concert by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

After returning home, I was over to Kate's to babysit for a couple of hours before Kate and I went to Viola's Christmas concert.  I don't think I started with a heart 2 sizes too small, like the grinch, but seeing the concert made me feel like my heart expanded 10 times it's normal size.  It was just so fun to see 30 - 4 year olds singing Christmas songs, in both Italian and English.  The had stickers on there noses for Rudolf, and most were clapping, dancing, and singing together.  Wow - this is the real reason we are here, and today it was perfect.  In particular with the funk I have been in since the events in Connecticut, it was wonderful to see the incredible exuberance of life from 4 year olds.  Could not have been more fun.

I am not sure why, but for the first time the blog is rejecting the server for my photos.  So, sorry, no photos of the ride, etc.  today.  I will post on facebook as an album if you want to see the photos.  I will find out why and photos will return soon.  Ciao.