To the beach and back with lots of exploration - day 7 in Lucca.

Today was my 7th day riding from San Quirico di Moriano, and it was still easy to find new roads and routes.  I decided that with a stormy weather forecast for the late afternoon, which actually came to pass, I would ride to the beach and back and sort of minimize the climbing for the day.  However, I started from the house with the hill to Arsina, which I tried the other day and is a good way to connect to the road to Cammiore, but it does add 150 vertical meters, so I guess I did want to climb.  I took the main road to Cammiore, which is really quite a nice ride, with a little pass before Cammiore, which was fun.  I also saw a road to a Passo Luchesse, which I checked on the map, and will do another day.  From Cammiore, it was straight main roads to the beach road at Lido di Cammiore.  Still fine riding, but with a destination in mind.  On the road parallel to the beach, there was an incredible amount of traffic, and at lights or any stop, there were 50 to 100 cars backed up.  Luckily on a bike you can get around almost all of this.  I kept with it to the Bagno Giovanni, where we spent so much time in July with Kate and the kids.  I wanted to take a picture of the bike at the gate for the kids, and made this the turn around point on my ride.

I rode up to Pietra Santa, then found the road that goes through Massarosa back to Lucca.  However, I had scouted a turn off before Massarosa that took me up into the hills between the two roads, and enjoyed the ride up, then down a sweet road to the Cammiore road.  I had checked the map many times, and there were a few roads that took me back toward the Massarosa road, and I turned off on the first one, again enjoying a climb and a really nice descent on a road with multiple, linked switchbacks, which was fun.  Before I was back to the road, I turned off to go toward Pieve San Stefano, where I had ridden a few days ago.  I enjoyed the climb, then turned off before the top and ended up on a road that took me almost to the bridge to Lucca.  From there, it was back to my beer stop on familiar roads, a nice relaxing beer, then home.  I am loving all the riding available here.  I think tomorrow back to Abetone on a different road.  We shall see.

Cammaiore, Forte dei Marmi, Pietra Santa, return with exploration by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Although the picture didn't really capture it, there was an amazing

amount of traffic on the road from Lido di Cammiore to Forte dei Marmi.

Very different than when we were spending 3 days a week there in

July, when I already thought it was getting crowded.

The gate at Bagno Giovanni, where Kate, Nicco, and Kids spend their

beach time in July, and Emily and I join a few days a week was my

destination point on the ride today.  Time to get away from the 

coast road and the accompanying traffic.

Back climbing in the hills on tiny roads, just what I like.  I did 

a couple of detours that basically took me over and back, then over again 

a particular hills that separates two main roads that were my basic 

route today.  Fun exploration.