Wonderful Sunday afternoon ride, perfect weather, the heat has broken.

No pictures today, but I promise a video tomorrow.  I have the footage, but at this point downloading and editing is a time consuming process.  I was planning on a team ride to the Passo della Consuma this morning, but at my wake up time of 5:45 for the ride, it was storming very hard here with lightning, thunder, wind, and a fair amount of rain.  By 8:30 the storm was pretty much over, but the skies were still a little threatening.  I enjoyed an excursion into the Centro with Emily and had a wonderful cafe normale (espresso) at Rivoire.  I don't often sit on the terrace at Rivoire, as it costs about 3 times what it does if you stand at the bar, but it is really a super nice spot, and I think the best for people watching in Florence.  I enjoyed the time with Emily.

I suited up after returning home, and checked out a ride I had done with the team a couple of months ago.  I wanted to do the same route, but had only done it once downhill with the team on a raduno, and one other time with the team going up from Signa like today.  I studied the map and route, made some notes and was off.  It was totally smooth.  I did not really need the notes, and remembered the route quite well.  I rode out through the Cascine park then out the back way to Signa.  I easily found the turn off in Signa, and started up to Carmignano going through Comeana and La Serra.  It was a nice route and easily found.  I knew the route from La Serra to Carmignano, and the climb to Pinone is nice but pretty tiring.  Beautiful views on the way up and the way down through Vitolini.  I found the water fountain in Limite, then rode through Montelupo and used the new purification and refrigeration station water source in St Vincenzo a Torre.

I rode up the valley to Cerbia, then up the regular climb to Chiesa Nuova, then down and a slight up to the switchback descent into Galluzzo.  I enjoyed the descent, then hooked up with the back way around Galluzzo, then got on the Cinque Vie road, then hooked back up with the Viale to home.  Really nice ride on a beautiful day.  The hard rain and wind last night left the skies crystal clear and the views were spectacular.  Ride Summary:  56.3 miles in 3:35 rolling time for an average speed of 15.7 mph with 2615 vertical feet climbed at an average temperature of 86.

Carmignano on a Sunday afternoon. by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details