Riding with Cosimo, custom cycling tours in Tuscany: Fun client ride on the seaside and in the Bolgheri hills.

A long, but good day yesterday. The van driver, Roberto, picked me up at 7, then we drove to Livorno to pick up the clients at a "small" cruise ship. We were early, as Robbie expected traffic, and we did not get almost any. They emerged from the ship right on time, and we drove to the spot I had picked out for our start. The first 10 kilometers or so is a beautiful seaside ride with spectacular views. Overall, mostly flat, but with many ups and downs. Here, I found out the ability of the clients to get up the hills, which I can never tell in advance. I am learning that pretty fit people who do not normally ride hills still have trouble riding hills. The group was fine, but it would not be a particularly fast day. We continued by the seaside, then through a few resort towns, then over to Vada, where I insisted we load the bikes on the van and drive the 8 kilometers or so to the start of the riding in the Bolgheri hills.

We started in Bolgheri after a break with fruit, water, nuts, etc., and enjoyed the riding. As we encountered more and more hills, people started getting rides in the van. By the time we were approaching Bolgheri, it was down to two clients riding out of 6, but everyone had a great time. This is the beauty of van support. We had a very nice lunch in Bolgheri, which extended enough that I had to call the winery we were going to next for a tour and tasting to let them know we would be late. No problem. The riding was over for the day, and we next drove to the Argenteria winery, and had a super tour and tasting. Again, time stretched out and we had to push a little to get the clients back to the ship before it's departure. Thanks to my daughter Kate, who helped set up the tasting, as she knows the owners well. After dropping the clients, Robbie and I returned to Firenze, but did not get back until around 7:30, too late to return the bikes. This morning Robbie finished yesterday returning the rental bikes. As I said at the beginning, a long, but fun day. 24.2 miles in 2:12 rolling time for an average of 11 mph with 1060 vertical feet of climbing at an average sun affected temperature of 100. Yes, it is getting hot.

Van supported seaside / Bolgheri tour with clients by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

A group picture with vineyards in the background.