Day 2 with Tina and Nate - into the southern edge of the Mugello

Today was day 2 riding with Nate and Tina.  After a late night last night with some others, it was a little hard to get up early, but I managed it, and after my Yoga practice, was feeling good and ready for the day.  I decided to take them the opposite direction today, and we started by going my regular back route to San Domenico, then up to the turn off to descend through Maiano to the start of the Vincigliata climb.  They are strong athletes and good climbers, so they really enjoyed the Vincigliata road.  Tina had some trouble with switchbacks yesterday, so I stopped on one and we rode up, then down the switchback a few times, and she was basically set.  It seems she was just intimidated by the steep switchbacks yesterday, so not being confident, she got off the bike and walked them.  So, after a little instruction and some encouragement, she had it down.  Good Job. We continued up past Vincigliata to the Road toward Fiesole, then up toward Olmo, turning off to finish the climb to the little pass to descend toward the Santa Brigida road.  We had a nice break at the top, then stopped again for the excellent water in Santa Brigida.  We continued on the road over to the windmill, and it is always a client favorite.  Just a beautiful ride with very little traffic, what's not to like?  From the Windmill, we descended to Rufina for a cafe and pastry.  My normal spot is closed on Wednesdays, which I should remember, but did not.  They did not want to extend the day by riding to Diacetto, so we found another good cafe for cafe and panini in Rufina.  We went back over to the tiny road on the west side of the river, and enjoyed the ride to Pontasieve.  In Pontasieve, we regrouped and I started back to Florence at a very mellow pace so we could all stay together.  A couple of times I forgot the mellow pace, but when I checked behind me, they were right there.  So, after about 1/3 of the way, I set what is a pretty strong pace for me, particularly into a head wind home, and they stayed right there.  Another really nice day riding with these two young people from Wisconsin.  Enjoyed riding with you both today.   Check out Vincigliata, Santa Brigida, Rufina, Pontasieve, Firenze with Tina and Nate on Strava.com! It's a 67.5 km ride I did on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. I took some time to show Tina how to descend a switchback, as she had some trouble yesterday.  Here she is, on the bike, the master of this switchback.  Good Job! Just below Vincigliata, ready for more climbing. Climbing on the Vincigliata road. On our way back, here are Nate and Tina on the "Popes road" on the way to Pontasieve.