Nice morning ride with the team in Chianti.

Up early, but definitely worth it.  Sometimes I let a 5:30 wake up time keep me from doing rides, but I need to get over it.  It is fun to ride with the team, and this morning exceeded my expectations.  We met at Tavernuzze, around 10 k from the apartment at 7:30.  It is middle / late August, so we had a group of 4, as many, perhaps most Florentines are out of town now.  We rode out the regular road to Greve, but worked quite well together and had a lot of fun.  Davide was turning around here, as he is still coming back from 8 months on the sidelines due to injury.  He has been back a little over 2 weeks now, and is getting stronger all the time.  Yesterday, he rode the whole 90 kilometer route with the team.  Atta Boy.  We stopped in Greve and all had a cafe, then Chris, Moreno, and I rode up Passo de Sugame.

What a nice, fun climb.  Scenic, with a gentle grade, little to no traffic, and we all rode together up the pass at a very nice pace.  A great, but short descent to the turn off to La Panca, then a little more descending before a pretty short climb to La Panca.  The descent from La Panca to Strada is one of my favorites and did not disappoint today.  Chris and Moreno gaped me a little, but I totally enjoyed the descent.  There is a little climb to get past Strada, then a very gradual ridge descent to a steeper portion into Grassina.  Moreno led the way, and we really cooked on this portion of the ride.  At Grassina, Moreno headed home, and Chris and I decided to add a climb and a little more distance to the ride.  We rode to Vacciano then San Gersole on one of my favorite climbs.  I never see other riders here, and was surprised to have Chris mention that it was one of his favorites and that he rides it often.

We got some water in San Gersole, then continued up to Monteoriolo, then down to the turn off through Baruffi to the main road to Galluzzo.  I really enjoy this descent, and was showing it to Chris for the first time.  It was a little bumpy for Chris descending as he really likes to go fast.  We then caught the Cinque Vie road then hooked up to the Viales.  Chris went home and I continued Northwest on the Viale home.  Really fun morning ride.  Summary:  56 miles in 3:29 for an average speed of 16.1 mph with 3400 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 75.  I love it here.

Greve, Passo de Sugame, La Panca con squadra. by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Moreno and Chris on the climb to La Panca.  What a beautiful morning!