It has been quite a while since I have used this blog. I have become relatively successful as a cycling guide here, and decided it was not worth the effort to continue posting. Now, April, 2020, with the lockdown in place, I decided to do a project to publish a group of cycling routes with descriptions, pictures, and a Strava route to access a map, profile, and a downloadable GPX for the route. I still enjoy guiding, and plan on continuing, but wanted to do this to give back to the cycling community as a whole. I will do a post on Facebook on my personal page and another on my company page, Riding with Cosimo. My plan will be to do around 50 to 100 of these, as there are really so many options from Florence. I would still suggest hiring a guide. We are not very expensive, and it takes all the stress out of the day. I look at these route posts as a gift to the cycling community and am not looking for any money for the effort. I am retired, and between investments and having my Social Security start a number of months ago, money is no longer a concern. I will keep my guiding rates the same as they are now, as I believe they are quite reasonable. If you do not want to use a guide, I hope these are helpful. If you want a guide, you may use these routes as something to whet your appetite. For guiding services, please check my website - www.ridingwithcosimo.com for rates, links to trip advisor reviews and a video a client did for me a number of years ago.
Since the last post, I have participated in a number of events, races, and still cycle with my team, ASD Veloclub Florence by Bike. During this difficult period of Lockdown, with no cycling permitted, we are doing virtual rides connecting online and spending an hour or so together while we ride a stationary bike of some variety. Not great, but much more fun than solo. I always have a you tube video going of a race from the past. Yesterday, it was the 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia from 2014. Today, I will finish that video and see who won the race. Lots of climbing in this stage which is something I like. If you like the route descriptions, please pass this blog address on to others as my intention is to give these descriptions and routes to the public at large. The cycling here is really quite amazing, and I would like to share it with as many people as possible. So, after publishing this, I will post a couple of routes I have already completed in PDF format. Hope this works and people enjoy the riding and the effort.
Ciao, ciao,
Mark
