Combining a long tour with a short meet and greet guiding job. Great day!

I had a pretty long day on the bike today after a couple of busy days off the bike Monday and Tuesday.  Today, I did a meet and greet for Dominick, and met a very nice Mother and Son at Florence by bike and guided them out to Impruneta.  We reviewed maps in Impruneta, and after showing them the water source there, I took off, as I planned a long tour after leaving them.  The weather prediction was for cloudy with light showers in the morning clearing as the day went on.  With a look at the weather, I decided to go for the long tour.  I had not done this tour in a while, and it was great today.

From Impruneta, I went around Strada, the up to Chiocchio, then down to Greve.  No stop there today, but kept it going up the climb to Panzano, where I did stop for water.  An excellent descent from Panzano to Lucarelli, then the perfect road and climb to Radda.  I kept it going to climb the ridge over to Castellina, where I again stopped for water.  A little steep climb from Castellina gets you to the ridge which you climb, then descend for quite a while to San Donato in Poggio.  Great views both directions from this high ridge but the speed you can carry keeps you on your toes.  From San Donato, the descent continues to Sambuca, then you continue down the valley, mostly flat, to a short climb to San Casciano.  I enjoyed a nice stop in San Casciano for a gelato, then headed back home via Chiesa Nuova and Scandicci.  A really great tour on a nice day, and an interesting mix of guiding for 3 hours, averaging a speed of around 12 kph, then riding for an additional 4 plus hours at an average speed closer to 26 kph.  I enjoyed it all and felt good after a few days of rest.  Ciao.  Here is the garmin link for the ride.

Meet and greet plus the classic Chianti tour by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Karen and Tim - Mother and Son - starting a 3 day self-guided

tour.  I do what is called a meet and greet, and help them get their

bikes, and guide them out of town to Impruneta, where we have 

cafe and review maps for the remainder of their journey.  Here 

they are at Piazzale Michaelangelo.

After I left Karen and Tim in Impruneta, I decided to do what I

call the classic Chianti tour, to Radda, Castellina, and back to

Florence.  This picture is on the climb to Radda from Lucarelli.

The views after climbing above Castellina are wonderful.

The weather just got better and better as the day went on.