Fun Chianti client ride with Chris from CB

Chris and I met at the apartment and we set him up on one of my bikes.  We took off through the city, and he was totally comfortable with city riding, which made things easier for me.  Thanks, Chris.  We headed out to Bagno a Ripoli, then up the hill through Osteria Nuova to San Donato in Collina.  We stopped for our first water fill up and either let water run on our heads or poured bottles over ourselves. It was already getting hot.  From San Donato, we did the fun descent through Troghi, Cellai, then stopped in Valli for a great espresso.  We enjoyed this in the shade, then continued with our descent with the two climbs that interrupt it to Incisa, then rode over on the industrial road to Figline.

We turned off at Figline and started the climb to Passo de Sugame.  We refilled, dunked our heads, etc., with water at a great spot on the way, then turned off to go to La Panca.  We did the very short descent, then climbed to La Panca.  Chris expressed a desire to stop for some lunch, but one restaurant in La Panca looked closed, and the other looked pretty sit down and not what we were looking for.  Around 1/3 the way down this super fun descent, we stopped at a nice restaurant that had a great outdoor sitting area.  They did not serve Pizza at lunch, but set us up with a great plate of meats, cheeses, bread, tomatoes, and salad to make paninis.  We enjoyed this along with a couple bottles of water, and got our bottles refilled before we left.

We finished the descent, then at Strada, took the turn to go down to Ferrone.  There we started down the main road toward Tavernuzze, but turned off to climb through Luiano, then returned through San Casciano to Chiesa Nuova.  A stop here for gelato, more water, then back to the city by way of Scandicci.  When we rolled into Florence the heat really hit, but we were back at the apartment before we knew it.  Great ride Chris, and thanks for "Riding with Cosimo".

Great but hot client ride in Chianti with Chris from CB by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Action shots on the road between Osteria Nuova and San Donato in Collina.

Chris just after our lunch stop.

A beautiful garden with Florence in the background, 

close to our lunch stop.

A shot of Chris between San Casciano and Spedellato.

I am getting better at the pictures behind me over my head.