Montelupo, Sammontana, Montespertoli, Chiesa Nuova, home.

I was planning on a longer ride, but we needed to do some grocery shopping, and some other things, and I have a client tomorrow and hopefully on Friday (not yet confirmed), so I did not set out until around 1:00.  I went out through the Cascine and took the nice back route to Lastra a Signa.  Unlike last week when I did this, it appeared as if I was riding away from the rain, not toward it.  This, however would change with time.  There was a pretty strong head wind all the way out, well past Montelupo, until I turned toward Ortimino.  Anyway, from Lastra a Signa, I got on the main road and powered out to Montelupo, a pretty ride next to the Arno river.  At Montelupo, I navigated through town and over to the road that goes through Sammontana to Pozzole, where I turned on a more main road that climbs a river valley.

You stay on this road and eventually climb to Ortimino, then continue climbing along a spectacular ridge to Montespertoli.  I had hoped to start this ridge another valley over, climbing from Castelfiorentino, but it would have added around an hour, and I did not want to push the timing, as Emily and I are having dinner at Kate's and playing with the kids before dinner.  I was pretty happy with my pace and was feeling pretty strong on the ridge climb.  At Montespertoli, there is a fun descent to Bacciano, then another climb to Montagnana, then another descent to Cerbia.

I got more water in Cerbia, then climbed to Chiesa Nuova.  It started to sprinkle on me on this climb, but the sun also came out, and the sprinkling stopped before Galluzzo.  So, from Chiesa Nuova I went over the ridge then descended into Galluzzo.  I took the main road here up the Viale Michaelangelo, then went left down the wonderful curvy descent to Porta Romana, then through the city, teeming with tourists, then home.  Another fun ride.  The summary is 50.7 miles in 3:18 for an average speed of 15.3 with 2370 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 69.

Sort of flat - Montelupo, Sammontana, Montespertoli. by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Looking up through vineyards in the valley around Sammontana.

A villa and vineyards from the ridge - opposite direction from the one below.

A villa and vineyards off the ridge below Montespertoli.