Great ride in the Mugello with Joe and a couple of piano recital pictures.

Great private tour today for Florence by Bike.  All I knew ahead of time is it was to be one person who wanted to ride relatively far and fast.  I met Joe at the shop, and just looking at him, I knew he was quite fit and a good athlete.  I discussed route possibilities with him and he said he was fine with whatever I wanted.  We turned out to be very compatible riders, although I think he could have dropped me if he wanted.  I gave him a number of opportunities to ride ahead if he wanted, describing where to wait for me, etc.  He was quite happy riding my pace, which was pretty much the pace I ride on my own, perhaps a little faster.

We did one of my favorite tours with a little add on.  We started out the back way to San Domenico, then over through Maiano to the Vincigliata climb.  We rode quickly up this climb, which is really the hardest of the day.  No stops for pictures, as he said he really just wanted to ride.  We continued up to Vetta la Croce, then over to Bivigliano where we did stop for a water break.  We hit the super fun descent to Vaglia and stopped at a bar there for cafe espresso and pastries.  I had stopped here one previous time and it was quite good.  From there we rode to Scarperia, then San Agata and Galliano.  I was planning on Bosco ai Frati, but we would have been back too early, so we decided to extend the ride by going around lago de Bilancino.  From there over to the climb up via Faentina to Vetta la Croce, then the descent back to town.

We were still a little early for the bike return, so we stopped at a new favorite spot in Piazza Liberta for a cheeseburger and a beer.  Really nice guy, strong athlete, and a great day.  104.0 kilometers in 4:23 with 1565 meters of climbing.  Thanks for Riding with Cosimo, Joe!

Here is Joe at the water / view stop in Bivigliano.

Joe and I in the shop after the ride.

I know the blog is about cycling, but here are a couple of personal

photos at my granddaughter's piano recital yesterday.  She was so 

happy and composed that it was one of those special experiences

that I will treasure for years.  She even dedicated her first song

to Nini and Nonno Pidge.  So happy to have the opportunity

to experience the grandchildren growing up.