Great ride into the Mugello and back on a nice day with the rain over.

Another day, another ride in my current retired state.  Of course, when I am working now, it is taking people riding, and while I enjoy it, it is different on my own.  At this point I am very much looking forward to the season starting back up, and it appears I will be busy starting in April.  I am a person who likes to be busy and to feel like I am contributing so I do like it when I am busy with work.  I have a day next week when I will greet students coming for the semester and help them into their apartments.  I have one person talking about a couple of days in March, but this person has been talking about it for over a year, so we shall see.  Enough of that, it was great to be out riding, with wonderful weather, and the countryside scoured clean by the recent rains.  The streams were running pretty high in the Mugello area, so it must have rained harder there than in the city.

I started going through Le Cure and hooking up to Via Faentina to climb to Olmo.  Above Olmo, I turned off and continued climbing to Bivigliano then traversed to the really fun, steep, and relatively challenging descent into Vaglia.  From Vaglia, a power crank to Scarperia where I turn off on the beautiful little road that goes through Sant Agata to Galliano.  I love the countryside here, green, rolling hills with mountains to the North and South.  After Galliano, you hook up with a main road to the turn off for Bosco ai Frati, then ride a tiny road over to San Piero a Sieve.  Over to Borgo San Lorenzo, then a cut off to the Via Faentina climb to the Croce alle Vetta.  At this point I was pretty tired, but I found the energy to enjoy pushing the downhill to Fiesole, then let it run on the steeper hill from Fiesole back to Piazza Le Cure, then a short up and over the tracks to the apartment.  Another great day of riding here in Tuscany.  52.3 miles in 3:42 rolling time for an average speed of 14.2 mph with 4134 vertical feet climbed at an average (sun effect included) of 58.  Wow!

Faentina, Olmo, Vaglia, Sant Agata, Borgo, Croce alle Vetta, Fiesole, Fi by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

The start of the steep descent into Vaglia from Bivigliano.

I counted 10 switchbacks which pretty much are one after

another on this super fun steep descent.

Rolling into Vaglia on new pavement.

I love the view to the south on the road between 

Sant Agata and Galliano.

The renovation is finally complete at Bosco ai Frati, a monastery

to the northwest of San Piero a Sieve.