Last day with Lee and Diane, Firenze / Radda

Today was my last day with Diane and Lee.  They have been fun clients and it was certainly interesting to learn a little about how a tandem handles versus a regular bike from a guiding point of view.  Diane was a little reticent to go too fast downhill, so I would wait, but when they saw the bottom of a hill with a climb coming, they let it go and the tandem really develops some momentum. So, I had to start back up a little sooner and harder than normal.  After the climb starts, though, they were at their weakest point while climbing, for instance, it just doesn't work to stand up, so I need to take all that into account to stay just ahead of them, which is what I like to do as a guide.

Bottom line, fun three days.  Pretty perfect weather.  Great riding.  Fun clients.  What more could I ask for.  126.7 kilometers in 6:13 with 1771 meters of climbing.

Climbing a hill on a beautiful morning starting the tour 

to Radda - Great job, Diane and Lee.

On the way to Impruneta.

On the way toward Greve with a view back toward the Arno

valley and the Alpi Apennuane in the background.

At the top of the climb above Chiocchio.  I think this is my

best tandem shot.  As per usual, my last photo shows I have

learned something about shooting a tandem.  Ready for my 

next tandem clients, should another couple ever show up.

Into the Mugello with Lee.

Lee and I had a great tour this morning and early afternoon into the Mugello.  Yesterday, Diane told him if he wanted he could get a bike and do a solo day with me, allowing us to go farther and faster.  One of my bikes worked for him, which he really liked, and we had an excellent tour into the Mugello.  A very circuitous route, as I knew he was very strong and liked to climb on tiny roads.  Just what I like as well.  So, a back way up to San Domenico, then down to the climb through Vincigliata. Over to Bivigliano, then the super fun descent to Vaglia.  Up to San Agata for a nice cafe and pastry, then over to Galliano, and back through Bosco ai Frati, Faltona, Polcanto, Pian de Mugnone, and home.  I think, just about perfect weather for a ride with a high temp around 75, almost no breeze, clear skies, and spring just happening all around us.

Lee is an excellent athlete, strong, and determined.  When we started, I told him he may be stronger than I and he could go ahead where it worked.  It did not turn out that he wanted to go ahead, and I even tired him out by the last climb, where I dropped him while not paying perfect attention to where he was.  Just an excellent day out and a very fun ride for both of us.  Thanks, Lee.  90.3 kilometers in 4:04 with 1541 meters of climbing.  Sweeeeeeet!

Just getting started.  Lee about midway up our second climb of the day with the 

Castello Vincigliata in the background.  Che bella!

Lee at the recently renovated church and monastery at Bosco ai Frati.  

First day of guiding Lee and Diane on a tandem - fun day!

I met Lee and Diane at the shop this morning and we were off on a nice tour in the countryside.  They had to be back by 2, and Diane did not want too long a tour, so I suggested going out through the Cascine then taking my normal tour through Signa, Grilliao, Cerbia, Chiesanuova, then Galluzzo, Cinque Vie and back to their hotel.  They were good cyclists and quite fit.   Lee was one of the first guys to do Ironman competitions in Hawaii when a group of Navy seals thought it up as a group challenge.  He was quite strong.  Diane and Lee worked very well on the tandem and it is a little different beast to guide than normal bikes.  It takes a little more to get it going, but once it is moving, it develops great momentum, and is very fast on the flats.  They were a little slower on the hills, in particular when compared with how fast they rode the flats.  Lastly, it is simply not as nimble as a racing bike, but no surprise there.

My learning curve was to go ahead and apply extra effort on the flats when the notion hit my brain, but to definitely back off when climbing.  Also, do whatever I can to minimize stops and starts, although that is pretty much up to traffic.  I was faster downhill, mostly because Diane was not that comfortable with going super fast on descents, but I needed to get started when they were in sight of catching up to where I was waiting, as they really steamed by when they came.  Fun to learn new things about guiding with a different kind of bike.

Lee is going to go solo with me tomorrow, as Diane said she could tell he really wanted to go harder, and by watching me and talking they could tell I was a good enough cyclist to give Lee a good day.  He really is quite fit, and put in a little over 10,000 miles last year which is less, but close to my 20,000 kilometers for last year, but he had a full time job.  Wow!  Fun couple and we have three days together.  Todays ride was 58.7 kilometers in 2:56 riding time with 487 meters of climbing.  Ciao a tutti!

At the top of Grilliao - I need more angle when taking a picture

of people on a tandem.  I will learn the next few days.

Climbing up to Chiesanuova.

On the way to Chiesanuova - finally got the angle right for a 

tandem bike shot.

FBB Chianti tour - new route to Villa Corti

Back on the bike today for a Florence by Bike Chianti tour.  We did a new route today that I had scouted for them ending at Villa Corti with a wine tasting, a tour of the facility, and an excellent lunch.   The route has a much more difficult climb, up some switchbacks from Galluzzo.  It is short, however, and today two of the people walked most of this part, but the fastest people in the group only waited around 10 minutes.  It did, however, wear most of them out a little, so there was less energy for much of the remainder of the tour.

The tour, tasting, and lunch were great, and the people at Villa Corti, a Corsini villa and winery, could not have been nicer.  It seemed they wanted more business like this.  Speaking with the person at FBB who organizes the tours at the end of the day, I was not sure if I should recommend it or not.  It seemed the group today was pretty fit, and pushing them a little, we did not return until around 5:15.  If the clients were not as fit, I could easily see an extra hour, which would make for perhaps a little too long a day.

For today, a beautiful route, very happy clients, excellent weather, a great tour.  61.6 kilometers in 3:55 riding time with 667 meters of climbing.

Happy clients after finishing the hardest climb of the day.

Iris' in bloom above Galluzzo on a driveway to another beautiful villa.

Granfondo Settemuri - beautiful, fun, but very hard.

Granfondo Settemuri (seven walls) today, and it was really fun, but truly kicked my butt around.  This is the first time I have done this event, and it was super well organized.  Excellent signs, people pointing the way at any possible confusion, good ristoros. and a beautiful, but hard course.  We had a small group of 5 from the team, but Lorenzo had wisdom teeth out a couple of days ago and decided to return home.  Of the remaining 4, two of us were doing the long course, and we  all did not stay together long.  I saw a few more from the team, who must have started earlier and were doing the short course.

Just a super beautiful, challenging course.  The seven walls were all difficult climbs on tiny roads in very out of the way places.  3 of the climbs maxed out at 17%, 1 at 19%, 1 at 21%, 1 at 22% (the hardest climb by far as the 25% was when one was relatively fresh), and 1 at 25%.  So one can easily get the picture why it was hard.  I had ridden 5 of the 7 climbs before, and knew the 6th wall, which maxed at 22% was super hard.  It was also when I was tired, but I made it up fine and even passed 5 or 6 on the way up.  Great pasta party at the finish, but I was not too social, and basically wolfed the food down and then hit the road home.  I had a cheeseburger and a large beer after getting home.

Including getting to the start in Sieci and returning back from Sieci to Florence, the totals for the day are:  138.5 kilometers in 6:24 with 2413 meters of climbing.  Ciao.

People on their way to the start gate.

The scene at the sign up close to the start early this morning.

Hooray, the finish line.  I really enjoyed this granfondo, but it

did beat me up a little.  Many steep climbs.

Two days of rides with clients, what I call work.

A couple of work rides the last two days.  Yesterday, I did a Florence by Bike Chianti tour for a young English couple, Liam and Lucy.  When I started the day, I had forgotten to charge my phone, so I did not take any pictures.  They were pretty strong, and we had a very nice tour, with a few extensions.  As always, Leonora at Villa Monteoriolo was an excellent hostess and cook for our very nice lunch.  The weather cooperated and we all had a good day.

Today, I took 2 Irishmen out on a meet and greet to Impruneta.  We met at the shop and took some time to get the bikes set up and get moving.  Once we were moving though, they were quite fast and we made our way to Impruneta in a little over an hour, which is pretty fast for taking clients there.  They were supposed to be 4, but the missing person hurt himself doing some final training for the ride.  They are off on a self guided three day tour, where I get them set up and guide them to Impruneta, then we relax, review maps and itineraries, and turn them loose.  All three are in their early forties, with families at home, so it was kind of a bachelor long weekend with cycling as the main activity.  They are friends from University, and it kind of reminded me of my group from CC.

After leaving them, I enjoyed a nice solo tour and return to Firenze.  I descended toward Falciani, then climbed through Luiano to the road to San Casciano, then home through Chiesanuova and Scandicci.  Other than picking up a paco de gara, tomorrow is an off day, with what should be an interesting granfondo on Sunday, the "Seven Walls".  Today's ride 52.8 k in 2:32 with 723 meters of climbing, yesterday, 53.6 k in 3:15 with 614 meters of climbing.

Another beautiful day in Chianti.  How lucky I am.

Looking back toward Impruneta on the way to Falciani.

The vines are just getting that spring green glow.  Che Bella!

Vineyard above Luiano.

3 rides, one post, bye Don and Kay, hello Passo della Consuma.

It's been a while, but I have been riding.  Monday, I had a van supported tour, then wine tasting with some very nice folks from Texas, for Dominick's company.  The tasting at Podere la Capella and lunch is really special - excellent wine and fantastic food.  It needs to be van supported, as after a big meal (really big) and a few glasses of wine, I don't want to be taking anyone on a tour.  Safety first.  We lucked out with the weather, as the forecast was really bad, but we only encountered sprinkles.  It did start raining hard upon our return to Firenze.  

Yesterday, Don and Kay took their last ride with me for this visit, a short ride into what Don is calling, "Cosimo's playground".  Basically one of my normal short close rides.  Sprinkled on us most of the time, but never hard enough to be problematic.  I think 10 rides this year together, which was fun.  See you next year, Don and Kay.

Today, I got a call to do a tour tomorrow for Florence by Bike, and I have a tour for Dominick on Friday, then another granfondo on Sunday.  I wanted to get a little training in for the Sunday granfondo, so I picked a pass relatively close to Firenze, Passo della Consuma.  The team is having a fun competition to get members to climb 5 passes in the area.  With today's ride, I have 4 of 5 completed, and only one person has done all 5 so far.  Perhaps I will be the second to complete the "Brevetto".  No points or anything for doing it 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, etc., but it would be fun to be the second one to get it done.  Jean Lu, who was the first to complete it, was here on vacation for around 3 weeks and made it his mission to get it done.  I really enjoyed my solo tour, and did a different return route to Florence from the pass, turning off at Borselli and enjoying the super pretty road down toward Rufina.  A well deserved cafe and pastry in Rufina, then just a crank back home on a main road.  84.1 kilometers in 3:51 with 1221 meters climbed.  

It's pretty to me - the bike, the sign for Passo della Consuma, 

and the beautiful scenery in the Casentino area.  

Recording Consuma for a team challenge we are doing - 

Brevetto Scalatore - for 5 passes reasonably close to Florence

After today, only one left.  

Bike, fence, and sign for Passo della Consuma.

The private chapel at Podere la Capella.  Beautiful, simple structure.