Climbing! - My first training ride for this seasons races / events

Today was my first official training ride for the many granfondos and events I am scheduled to ride in this spring and summer.  Yesterday, I felt good pushing the pace for the first time in a while, and I thought today would be a good day to do some climbing.  All the events have quite a bit of climbing, on the low side of around 2000 meters to the high side of over 4000 meters of climbing.  So, my ability to climb will be key in how much I enjoy and how well I do in the events.  I had the route in mind from my training last year for the granfondo Firenze, and actually really enjoyed the ride today. It is partly cloudy today after 4 days of perfect sunshine, but it cleared a little as I summited Montesenario.  5 climbs and 5 descents with some climbing as steep as 25% made for an excellent work out.  A cafe at Bar Zocchi in Pratolino after the last climb of the day topped off a pretty perfect training ride.

The highest objective for today's ride, Montesenario.

View to the East on the climb to Montesenario.

One of the many 360 degree views from Montesenario.