Great, long, challenging ride on a different route to Radda and back home.

The weather cooperated today, and Emily offered to take care of the kids' activities today alone, which allowed me to do a long ride I planned.  I am thinking that when the weather allows, to get to my goal, I need to do long rides when it works.  I really enjoyed todays ride.  Beautiful, challenging, tiny roads, almost no traffic at times, good place in Panzano for a cafe and pastry, what's not to like?  I had ridden from Radda to Lucolena a few times, but never the opposite direction, which I did today. Fun ride and challenging.  112.7 kilometers (69.6 miles) in 5:06 for an average speed of 21.9 kph (13.6 mph) with 1830 meters (6004 feet) climbed.  18,684 kilometers for the year with only 1,316 km left for my goal of 20k.

Today's taste treat has to be the great pastry in Panzano.  I will definitely use this bar again.  I was starting to really run out of fuel, as I should have brought more with me, but stopped in Panzano and there was this awesome, flaky pastry with a sweet apple filling.  Just what I needed, along with a cafe machiato, I was ready to finish the ride.  Fantastic!

A very pretty road starting up toward Passo de Sugame.  I turned 

off the road toward Lucolena just before Dudda for my adventure today.

This church reminded me of the look of villages and churches in the 

Garfagnana, where I rode last August.  It is also a mountainous 

area.  This is probably the most mountain like part of the 

Chianti ridge.

A church in one of the small villages on the road between

Lucolena and Radda.

Pretty sky and road on the way from Lucolena to Radda.

Finally a picture I really like with the new smartphone camera.  

It will work, I think.  I admit that I figured out that I needed to 

wipe the lens off before taking a picture.  My old camera had

a cover that opened and closed automatically.