Mellow afternoon cruise with Leif.

My friend and fellow cycling guide Leif had called to set up a ride today at 10.  This morning it was still quite cloudy, so he called to see if we could postpone until 2.  Good call, Leif.  The weather was on and off cloudy this morning but by 2 it was pretty spectacular.  After a few cloudy days, the clearing is pretty fun to experience.  As a Colorado boy, I am used to sunshine and miss it if it is gone for a few days.  Leif has been quite busy doing some food and wine tours, which involve a week with a group on a bus.  Certainly he is enjoying good food and wine, but some of the cycling fitness is sacrificed.  Leif set the course today, and it was a nice warm up ride for him to get back in the saddle.

For here, today's ride was about as flat as you can get.  We rode out the Cascine, hooked up with the back roads to Signa, then the river road to Montelupo.  From Montelupo, up the valley to Cerbia, then the only real climb of the day up to Chiesa Nuova.  We rode out to San Casciano, as he wanted to have a cafe at a certain bar and show it to me.  It is a great place, I met the owner, and I will certainly keep it in mind for client stops in the future.  Leif is great at sharing things like this, which really helps me give my clients the best possible experience.  From San Casciano, we rode down to Falciani, then home through Tavernuzze, Galluzzo, Cinque Vie, to Firenze.  Great afternoon ride.  50.7 miles in 3:12 rolling time for an average speed of 15.8 mph with 1490 vertical feet climbed at an average temperature of 75.

Montelupo afternoon ride with Leif by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Here is Leif just ahead of me on the way to Cerbia from Montelupo.  

We worked together quite well the whole ride.  

And, I thought I would just throw this one in.  Emily made this incredible cake

for my birthday on Monday when we celebrated with the grandchildren.

The cake is very good, but the artistry was mostly for the kids.