Nice fun, short ride with encouragement from Emily.

Today, I had not planned on being able to ride.  I babysat Vittorio this morning from around 9:45 to 12:30, and we had people coming over for tea at 4, so I was planning on helping.  Today the weather was nice, and it is predicted to not be so nice for the next week.  So, after I returned home, stopping on the way at Essalunga (a supermarket), Emily encouraged me to go for a ride.  I took her suggestion after a little prompting.  I did not get out until 2, and realistically only had an hour and one half at the most, so I did a favorite little ride close to home.

I climbed up Via Bolognese to San Bartolo, which is the most user friendly part of the climb, with a maximum grade of around 7%.  Just after where I turn off, it ramps up to around 10 to 12% for 600 vertical, which is not easy for me.  Anyway, I turned off before the steep climbing, and descended / traversed / then climbed through Cercina to the Church above the town.  I took the far right descent option (there are 4 options) which has become my favorite.  Great descent down into Florence, then 5 or so kilometers through the city to return home.  It felt great after the difficult weather yesterday.  Check the link for all the information, but the summary is:  13.5 miles in 1:05 rolling time for an average speed of 12.4 mph with 1320 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 58.  Sweet!

Pian de San Bartolo, Cercina - nice quick ride by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Here are a few shots of some of my favorite parts of the road between Cercina

and the Church above the town, which marks the top of the climb.