Chianti

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Chianti
Miles Ridden - 42.47 miles
Vertical Feet - 3,480 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Just me



This post is from May 29, 2009.

With my belly full of salami and cheese, I headed off to the Chianti region north of Siena. Nothing fancy with trains or ferries. Just out-the-door riding.

Today is my last day scheduled in Tuscany (more on that later). I realized while reviewing maps last night that I had missed the Chianti region altogether. As it turns out, that would have been a terrible mistake. While riding between hill towns for the past two days has been a good way to see them, today’s ride through the vineyards was even better pure cycling. I would call it 5-star. The description would sound like many other days – great scenery, fields of poppies, interesting old towns, high quality pavement, little traffic, hills and curves. I’m not sure how to differentiate this from some of the other good rides, but put this one on the list if you are going to ride in Tuscany.



Like I said earlier, today is scheduled to be my last in Tuscany. I now enter a very busy week with Brad Frazier coming to visit from Steamboat. I will be taking the train to Rome tomorrow and be there in time to watch the final stage of the Giro on Sunday – a time trial through the downtown artifacts (I hope I get to the right city on the right day this time). Brad arrives later on Sunday and we begin our whirlwind. A couple of days in Rome, then Cinque Terra followed by Venice. Brad flies out of Milan and I continue on my way. Since our week together is going to be so busy, I am going to be off the bike for a full week. If fact, I have made arrangements to leave it here at the hotel in Siena fully assembled so Brad and I can travel light.



After dropping off Brad, I will come back to Siena, grab my bike (and maybe make another trip to the meat and cheese shop), then take a train and ferry to the island of Elba. John Cowell and Callie highly recommended Corsica just north of Elba, but Elba is the closest I am going to get to it. Bruce Hodgkins from Boulder (who I met at the Garda Bike Hotel) told me that the island used to be a regular stop on the Carpenter / Phinney bike camps. In addition to being small enough to circumnavigate in a day and its virtue of being a Mediterranean island, the Carpenter / Phinney endorsement bodes well for its riding quality.

After Elba, the agenda opens up again. Maybe I will head to the Dolomites and attempt some of the great passes of the Alps (Stevio, Gavia and the dreaded Mortirolo).

Since I will be off the bike for the next week, this marks the end of the first month of riding in Italy. It is really only 27 days, but the month boundary will be crossed before my next ride. What a month. Here are some of the key stats. Turns out I’ve gathered a lot of information:

Miles ridden – 1,099.97
Elevation gained – 73,153 feet (from sea level to top of Mount Everest 2.52 times)
Time in the saddle – 77 Hours, 26 Minutes
Heartbeats while riding – 514,642
Average heart rate while riding – 111 bpm
Maximum heart rate while riding – 178 bpm
Average speed – 14.17 mph
Maximum speed – 41.1 mph
Calories expended – 63,642 (software over-estimates this a bit)
Calories ingested - Untold. Lots
Liters of water – (see calories ingested)
Pedal rotations – 371,642 (approximate)
Longest day – 110.96 miles
Shortest day – 6 miles
Riding days – 22
Travel days - 2
Rest / tourist days – 3
Days driving a car - 0
Rain days – 0 (don’t let acknowledging good luck change that luck)
Flat tires – 0 (see rain days)
Mechanical failures – 0 (see rain days)
Broken sunglasses - 1