Fun ride with rain on and off.

I really was planning on a walk today, as yesterday in the real rain, it was quite wet and wasn't begging for repetition.  This morning we actually saw the sun, the roads dried up partially, and I decided, go for it.  Well, as soon as I started more moisture came in, but it wasn't much more than isolated sprinkles.  At times it was steady light rain, but that was not the majority of time.  It seems that if it is not steady it is fine to be out there.  I really enjoyed today's ride.  Super green, birds singing, no real sun, but no hard rain either.  

I rode out through Piazza della Cure, then up Via Faentina to Pian de Mugnone.  I climbed to Fiesole from Pian de Mugnone, then continued up to the turn off toward Compiobbi.  I continued past the Vincigliata road to the descent toward Settignano.  I cut off to the right 2/3 the way down, which brings you right to the start of the Vincigliata climb.  This is a really cool descent, the road becomes smaller as you go, but I saw no traffic today, so it was like a bike path just for me and a few pedestrians.  I climbed up through Vincigliata to the road back over to Fiesole, then headed down through Fiesole, taking one of the options off the main road in San Domenico.  There are a number of possibilities even after you start this descent, and I tried a new one today.  It was a pretty rough road surface, at times steep, and ended up on a steeply descending piece of old cobbles, wet and looking slippery.  Probably not the route I will use in the future.  There are probably 6 different ways down from San Domenico though, which allows some exploration.  

I loved getting out and was not discouraged by the weather.  A Raduno tomorrow with the team.  We will see how many people show up, in particular if the weather is marginal.  I will probably go anyway, as today's ride got me stoked regardless of the weather.  Click the link for all the information, but the summary is:  19 miles in 1:38 rolling time for an average of 11.6 mph with 2400 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 56.  Sweet to be out.  Ciao. 

Up, down, up, down - Pian de Mugnone, Fiesole, Settignano, Vincigliata, etc by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

A couple of pictures just below Fiesole on the climb from Pian de Mugnone.  

First, the large block masonry caught my eye.  These masons were not 

beginners.  Then, the road going into a switchback looked cool.

Riding in the rain! March 6 and 8 rides by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Sorry, no pictures today from either ride.  The March 6 (Wednesday) ride is a mistake to be on here.  I rode to a villa above Bagno a Ripoli to do a couple of hours of handyman work, then returned.  I had the garmin on, so it kept track (after I turned on the timer) of the ride there and back.  I thought by turning it off in between rides, it would keep separate track of today's ride, but I should had heeded the read-out suggesting I hold the reset button in for a certain amount of time.  Next time.

Today, after a couple of days of rain, not hard, but pretty steady, I decided I would ride regardless.  I have some pretty good clothing for riding in the rain, and put it all on.  I climbed up Via Bolognese, to Pratolino, where I turned off to go up toward Bivigliano.  I cut to the east there, and joined the road down to Fiesole.  The climb was actually pretty good in the steady precipitation, but descending you get pretty wet, and I keep it relatively slow as not to do any sliding on the super curvy roads.  I certainly did not see anyone else out riding, and got a number of looks that I translate to say, what are you thinking.  Well, I thought that a few times on the descent.  I had thought I might add another hill and descent, but by the time I was at the decision point, I was not thinking of anything but my return.

I am still happy to have ridden, although peeling off the outer layers and trying not to make a mess in the newly cleaned (by Emily) apartment was a challenge.  I have a towel under where I store the bike, and wiped it down pretty good outside the apartment.  There is a raduno, which is a group ride with all the area teams invited, this Sunday, which I am planning on riding in.  If it is raining this hard, however, I don't know what I will do.  We will see on Sunday.  The forecast is for more of the same, so I will just have to get better at riding in the rain or go for some walks.

The link is below, but the summary is 29 miles in 2:21 rolling time for an average of 12.3 mph with 2750 vertical feet gained at an average temperature of 53.  Ciao!

Riding in the rain! March 6 and 8 rides by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Fun, but rainy ride today through Montagana

On Tuesdays, Emily normally babysits all day, and I pick up Viola from school and spend the remainder of the day with them until we return home.  I usually try to clean the apartment, grocery shop, and fit in a short ride, as it is the least I could do with Emily doing the heavy lifting on the babysitting.  The forecast for today was cloudy, but warm with a very slight chance of rain.   The next few days were forecast to be colder and rainy.  So, I decided to blow off the cleaning after returning from the grocery shopping.  I headed out, and it was cloudy, but not too cold, but not warm either.  After an hour or so, it started cooling off, then in another 1/2 hour the light rain started.  

At this point I had ridden from the apartment through the Cascine, then through the back roads to Lastra  and Lastra a Signa.  I had climbed up the small pass then was starting to drop down to Ginestra Fiorentina.  Looking around, I was thinking it was simply a passing shower, and continued with my plan and from Ginestra rode toward Cerbia, turning off for the climb up the ridge on the tiny back road to Montagana.  Well, the light rain just kept on coming and got a little stronger with time.  By the time I was descending from Montagana to Cerbia, the roads were soaked and it was a steady light but consistent rain with a temperature around 50.  Not the best conditions, but actually fine.  I headed home through Cerbia, Chiesa Nuova, dropped down the switchbacks to Galluzzo, then climbed to Poggio Imperiale and hit the Viales home.  

Actually, I was cold and a little wet, but it was a good ride and it is always great to get out.  The summary is:  37 miles in 2:44 rolling time for an average speed of 13.4 mph with 2050 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 52.  Check the link for more information.  Ciao!

Lastra, Ginestra, Montagnana, Chiesa Nuova - last half in the rain! by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

These are three views from the same spot, on the ridge to

the west of Montagana.  The valley is the torrente Pesa, and the 

ridge beyond is to the south of Scandicci.  A little cold and rainy, 

but still beautiful.

The weather today lived up to it's prediction.  I only wore a short sleeved base layer t-shirt with a long sleeved riding jersey.  I went by the shop on the way out, as they have a 50% off sale, and I bought a new helmet and some very light weight booties.  I wore my light tights for the first time in 3 months, and the light weight booties were great.  I bought the helmet because I have a few people who want to use / rent my old bikes while on a tour, and I need to have helmets.  The sale was on soft goods only, but they gave me a 50% on the helmet as well - thanks.  I left from the shop and rode the Viale out to Piazza Ferrucci then proceeded to Bagno a Ripoli.

I then climbed up through Osteria Nuova to San Donato in Collina, then descended down to the turn off for the back road on the west side of the Arno river.  On the way, I stopped for a cafe machiatto at a place I have ridden past many times and it is almost always busy.  It was great - this is a fun, new habit and it makes me explore more bars in the countryside.  I crossed the river and went toward Lecchio, then climbed up toward Regello, turning off for Pietrapiana then over to Donnini where I took the road to Tosi.  This is a great, fun climb, and today with such perfect weather, it was great.  The descent from Tosi is wonderful.  You cruise quickly through a few towns with a couple of short climbs before coming to Pelago where there is a slightly longer climb.  You descend / climb from Pelago to the main road to Pontesieve which is a longer descent.  From Pontesieve, it is basically downhill in the Arno river valley pedalling pretty hard (the flats and speed seem to be my weakest point) back to town, but averaging around 30 kph.  

Just a wonderful ride today - peaceful, enjoying the emergence of spring, birds singing, flowers just starting to come out, perfect.  The summary is 47.5 miles in 3:23 rolling time for an average speed of 14.0 mph with 3650 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 65, which includes the effects of the sun.  Sweet.  Check the link below for more information if you wish.  Ciao.

Spring is here - great ride, great weather! by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Almost a "Colorado" blue sky - in an olive grove just 

outside of San Donato in Collina.

The beautiful road between Osteria Nuova and San Donato.

The first wild Irises I have seen this spring.

I took this picture mostly for my friends Don and Kay who love 

the spring Irises here, but are skipping this spring for a trip here next fall.

On the way to Pietrapiana these old buildings framed the snow capped 

mountains (hills) perfectly.

Short, easy ride to flush the lactic from yesterday. by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

The weather is nothing short of spectacular today.  It is sunny, calm, and around 60.  After yesterday's effort, I took a short ride and tried to keep it flat, although I still climbed 580 vertical.  I simply wanted to release the lactic acid in the legs from yesterday's effort.  I went out the Viale to the Cascine, and did a short loop through the park, as it was totally crowded with people just wanting to be out and about.  From the Cascine, I re-joined the Viales and from Porta Romana took the curvy route up to the Tavernuzze junction, then climbed to Poggio Imperiale, descending to Galluzzo, then out and around on the Cinque Vie road back to the Viale at Piazza Ferruci.  From there, back home.  I kept the gearing easy, and hopefully it worked as I feel quite good now.  15.4 miles in 1:10 rolling time for an average of 12.9 mph with 580 vertical feet climbed at an average temperature of 60.  Sweet!

Short, easy ride to flush the lactic from yesterday. by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Finally, the gran fondo - Great, but tiring.

Yesterday was the gran fondo.  I signed up for it as a group tour, but over the last few months it became obvious to me that the team was taking it more seriously, as a race.  I rode somewhere in the middle, but realistically, I would have had a hard time doing the long course any faster than I did.  I could have omitted my one stop for a caffe machiato, but I don't even know if that would have made me any faster.  The whole team met at the shop, where they had some crostata for us.  It was a fun scene, with everyone ready for the day.  The day started a little chilly, and it was relatively cold standing in the starting area for 45 minutes.  The starting area was probably around 1/3 of a mile long, and filled with riders.  We were in group A, the first group of 1000 or so, and it was packed.  Looking around, there were many teams from different parts of Italy, and most everyone appeared to be taking this relatively seriously.

We finally got started almost exactly on time, and I had enough warning to remove the light rain / wind shell I had on to stay warmer.  The weather was better than forecast, and it was mostly clear and clearing.  The forecast wind was certainly evident though.  We started with a very fast run through the center of town - everything blocked off, spectators two to three deep and cheering.  Yes, it can be your tour fantasy.  After around 10 minutes, we were out of town and on our way up to pass Piazzale Michaelangelo.  The riders were spread out a little more by now, which was good.  There continued to be a fairly large group all together all the way to the San Casciano climb.  Everyone I was around (the team split up quickly, as different people had different speeds they were comfortable with) was pretty experienced and it felt fine to be in such a large group.  We were really going quite fast, around 55 k on the slight uphill from Tavernuzze to the San Casciano climb.

At San Casciano, I would guess around 3/4 of the people turned off to do the short course, and I kept straight to do the great descent down that hill.  From the base of the descent you have around 5 to 10 k of gradual climbing in a valley.  There were a number of groups, and if I could push to stay with the right one, we rolled pretty fast, and it helped with the wind which really started blowing at this point.  You then climb up to San Donato, which is mostly in the trees, so the wind was not much of a factor.  By now, I was recognizing the people I was more of less riding with.  I tend to climb and descend faster than most of this group, but they are definitely stronger at pushing it on the relative flats.  The climbing gets a little steeper after San Donato, and it is a pretty good haul up to Casellina in Chianti.  A good descent from Casellina, then mostly up to Radda in Chianti.  With very good signage and a group, there was no possibility of missing the turn this time.

I descended quickly to the valley that goes to Lucarelli.  As we hit the slightly descending valley, I let the group go, as I did not want to blow it out too much.  Here, Leif, a friend and member of the team caught me.  I had been expecting this for a while, as he is definitely stronger than I, but was in the second group at the start.  We rode together all they way back to Firenze, which was really a help.  He pulled more than I, but I did most of my share.  We also accumulated a group after Panzano of around 8 that mostly took turns at the front.  We did stop in Panzano for a caffe machiato, which was full of good energy.  After Greve, you continue descending then turn off for another climb to Strada, then kind of ride a ridge / climb / descend to a real descent into Grassina.  In Grassina, we met another team mate who had blown out too much energy on the way to Casellina, and was struggling a little.  We three then rode together until the climb to Fiesole.  Leif stayed with Dominick, but I was tired and needed to stay with my own pace and dropped them on the climb.  

I do this climb all the time, but rarely when I am that tired.  It was fine, then I descended to Pian de Mugnone, where we hit Via Faentina until the short but steep Via Salviati stretch.  I was back with a couple of the guys we had ridden from Panzano with, and one knew that a steep piece was coming up, but did not know where.  I did my best to communicate it in my fractured Italian, but when we hit it, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed something in Italian I did not understand.  It is only around 1/4 mile, but there is a piece that climbs 3 to 400 vertical at 20%.  After this, it was mostly a cruise to the finish.  At the finish, my legs immediately cramped as I got off the bike, but I was able to stretch them out, and had no problems afterward.  I drank and ate lots, then met with other team mates and we enjoyed the "pasta party".  

Overall, quite a fun but challenging day.  I love being here and riding in the ciclisti cultura.  The summary is:  79.4 miles in 4:48 rolling time for an average speed of 16.5 mph with 5875 vertical climbed at a great average temperature (which includes the effect of the sun) of 58.  The garmin link is below.  A prossimo!

Gran Fondo - I exceeded my expectations! by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

The team meeting at the shop before riding to the start area.

A few shots of the start area - members of the team, and

one of the mass in front of us, and we were in group A.

Sign in - day one of Bicifi; Shake out ride.

I spent most of the day picking up my packet for the gran fondo tomorrow and exploring the exhibitions at the first annual Bicifi - Bike festival of Florence.  It was fun checking everything out.  I had many occasions to use my mediocre at best Italian asking multiple questions of many different people to try to understand exactly how and where the race tomorrow will start and wind through town.  Overall, it was very fun.  Lots of cool bikes, some great exhibitions of past champions, vintage bike clothing, and many other things.  I picked up a new long sleeved jersey with the logo and theme of bicifi.  It is a light weight jersey for long sleeves and will hopefully come in handy soon without other clothing added.  

I returned home, and wore the new jersey on a short ride to make sure everything - the bike, my body, and my mind were ready for the long race / tour tomorrow.  I picked up a chip and am registered, so it is kind of a race.  I am not in the "race category" as that requires a blood test when you do your annual physical.  Hopefully, no one in this event will be so serious that any enhancement will be going on.  I am about 2/3 of the way through Tyler Hamilton's book, The Secret Race, and actually, I imagine there are some people participating that will be enhanced.  That is kind of scary, but apparently the way life is these days.  I rode up Via Bolognese to the turn off for Cercina in San Bartolo, cut across / climbed past Cercina to the church above the town, then did the descent option #4, which is really nice.  I feel great and ready for tomorrow.  Let's hope I feel the same way after the ride tomorrow.  The summary for today is:  13.7 miles in 1:07 rolling time for an average of 12.2 mph with 1520 vertical feet of climbing at an average temperature of 52.  The garmin link is below.  Ciao.

Quick flush of the system before the gran fondo tomorrow. by ridingwithcosimo at Garmin Connect - Details

Old townies at one of the exhibition halls.

Fiorenzo Magni's bike from the 1959 Giro and Tour.

Fashionistas in bike kits with at least 6" heels - you gotta love Italy.

A gardening sculpture outside one of the exhibition halls.

More old townies - cool.