Nice Chianti tour for FBB with some extras added on.

I had a nice Florence by Bike Chianti tour yesterday, with a very nice couple from just outside Montreal.  They were fit, and with only the two clients, I was able to change the normal route a little. The hills still challenged them, but they liked all the extras the day provided.  We went out through Piazzale Michaelangelo, then over to Galluzzo for a cafe and pastry.  From Galluzzo, we went over to Cinque Vie and climb to San Gersole through Vacciano.  This is different than the normal route, as there are 3 sections of this climb that exceed 10%.  The road is much quieter and I think prettier, so it is worth it.  We took a few breaks on the way, then hooked up with the main road to Impruneta.

We finished the climb in Monteoriolo, but continued to Impruneta, as neither villa was available for lunch, and we had a set price menu set up at a restaurant in Impruneta.  The lunch was quite good and nice, and we all enjoyed.  During lunch, Emily called to see if we were ok, and explained that there had been a really wild storm in Florence with trees down and 3" deep hail in places.  I told her we had not seen a drop of rain, although we did see dark clouds in the Florence area.  As we returned we saw the storm damage, and I guess we were simply lucky.

After lunch, we continued to Strada, then descended and climbed to San Polo.  From San Polo, we climbed to the little pass then enjoyed the descent, with a number of photo stops (they both had cameras and were into taking photos), then into Grassina.  In Grassina, we saw the first hints of the storm, but after we headed out from Cinque Vie to Piazza Ferrucci, it was like a line had been drawn and there was debris everywhere.  It must have been quite a storm and we were lucky to have missed it.  I will take weather luck any day.  Here is the garmin link for the ride:

FBB Chianti tour plus San Polo - fit clients by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Marie and Ben on a short break on the climb to Vacciano.

A hillside of sunflowers blooming in the middle of September.

Interesting.  I have also been seeing some bulbs blooming lately.