Giro de Mugello con squadra - bella giro!

I had a fun ride this morning with the team, although we only had 4 to start and 3 at the finish.  I kind of expected this, as we had so many people out yesterday.  Don and Kay return late this afternoon, and the forecast for tomorrow is for rain, so I wanted to get out with the group today.  Michelle, Leif's wife, joined us and did a great job staying with the group.  We did moderate the pace, but still, she worked it pretty well and hung right in there.  We stopped at Leif and Michelle's favorite place in Rufina for cafe and pastry, and it is a great spot.  After being shown the bar by Leif last year, I often stop there when I ride by.  Great cafe and pastries.  I thought Michelle was turning around at this point, but she decided, with a little help, to go to Dicomano, another 10 kilometers or so.  In Dicomano, she turned around to return to Firenze, leaving Davide, Leif, and I to finish the normal giro de Mugello. We really put the pedal to the metal, and kept a very high pace most of the way back.  We rode the small road on the South side of the Sieve river, and enjoyed this beautiful road, averaging between 35 and 40 kph on a slight climb.  As we hit the climb to Croce alle Vetta, I was thinking of taking it easy, but we were rolling fast, it felt good, and I set personal records for parts of the climb.  Around 1/2 way up Davide and I dropped Leif, and we stayed together until around a kilometer from the top when Davide pulled away from me.  A little tired from many days in a row, I just did not have the motivation to stay with him.  He made it to the top around 100 meters ahead of me, as I kept him in visual sight all the way.  We waited for Leif at the top, then all descended down Via Faentina to Firenze.  Much of this descent is really fast now, as in the last year it has been re-paved.  Nothing like smooth, new pavement to get you rolling fast.  Another great day riding here in Tuscany.  Still loving it after a little over 2 years.  Ciao! Check out Giro de Mugello con Davide, Leif, and Michelle (1/2 the way) on Strava.com! It's a 81.5 km ride I did on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Leif, Michelle, and Davide coming into Scopeti. Same people coming into Contea.