twonerds-net-pv4a04.txt (4874B)
1 [1] Two Nerds | A lifestyle blog 2 3 • [2]Blog 4 • [3]About 5 6 [4][Blog ] 7 IMG_0450.JPG 8 9 [5]Radda in Chianti to Siena 10 11 [6]May 15, 2017 [7]by Claire 12 13 As expected, our second day of riding was easier than the first -- but still 14 hilly, and twice as difficult as any ride I'd done before this trip. It was 15 well worth it to end the day in Siena, a town that's incredibly easy to fall in 16 love with (once you forgive the ancient Etruscans for building their cities on 17 freakin' mountains!). 18 19 We started our day with an early breakfast on our terrace (bruschetta with 20 tomatoes, olives and pieces of fried egg, prepared by our B&B proprietor 21 Romanita), then set off for the open road. After about an hour of pedaling (55 22 minutes of steady uphill climbing, followed by 5 minutes of an exhilarating 23 35mph downhill plunge) we rolled into Gaolie in Chianti, home of L'Eroica, a 24 retro 200km bike ride held in Tuscany every October. 25 26 We made an unplanned stop at the [8]bike rental shop in town for a quick 27 tune-up, tire pressure check, and to have Felipe (the mechanic) look at a few 28 nagging rattling noises on the bikes -- undoubtedly a result of putting them 29 together ourselves. 45 minutes and just 5 Euro later, we were back on the road! 30 31 32 FullSizeRender.jpg 33 FullSizeRender.jpg 34 35 We were treated to our second tough climb of the day out of Gaoile, and by the 36 time we reached the turn for [9]Castello di Brolio at about 12:45pm, we were in 37 desperate need of fuel. We stopped at a small café for overpriced cheese 38 sandwiches and unnamed beer. Totally worth it. Then, we pushed our bikes up a 39 steep cliff (zero shame in that) and explored the grounds of the 12th century 40 castle! 41 42 IMG_0459.JPG 43 IMG_0461.JPG 44 IMG_0457.JPG 45 IMG_0460.JPG 46 47 Our route map had us getting back on the main road to snake through a few more 48 hill towns before our final ascent to Siena. We called an audible and followed 49 the white gravel L'Eroica route (which seemed to be shorter, but about which we 50 knew absolutely nothing) instead. We were not disappointed! The road circled 51 around behind the castle, then through the beautiful countryside on roads that 52 were virtually car-less. 53 54 IMG_0456.JPG 55 IMG_0361.JPG 56 IMG_0349.JPG 57 58 Thanks to our shortcut, we arrived in Siena before 4pm and checked into the 59 Hotel Bernini (which was absolutely perfect – basic, clean rooms, friendly 60 staff, and a terrace with a killer view). We spent the rest of the afternoon 61 exploring the city streets and enjoying drinks and snacks on Il Campo, the main 62 city square that doubles as a race track one day a year with horses 63 representing each of Siena's 17 contrade (districts). 64 65 IMG_0411.JPG 66 IMG_0451.JPG 67 IMG_0415.JPG 68 69 As the Palio di Siena draws closer, the districts are known to march into the 70 square. (I equate this to a horse race pep rally, sans horses.) We happened to 71 catch the Oca (goose) district marching on Sunday afternoon. It was crazy 72 awesome! 73 74 IMG_0454.JPG 75 IMG_0453.JPG 76 77 We had a few too many snacks during aperitivo (the Italian equivalent of Happy 78 Hour), so weren't hungry for dinner until late – or, put another way, we're 79 finally on the Italian dinner schedule. After scouring menus for the osterias 80 around town, we googled 'best pizza in Siena', and ended up at il Pomodorino 81 around 10pm. It was the best pizza either of us had ever had, and made for a 82 fantastic end to a great day. 83 84 IMG_0422.JPG 85 86 We had two route options for Monday, Day 3: a Level 2/4 Difficulty and a Level 87 3/4 Difficulty. After Saturday's killer ride (a 2/4), we felt much more 88 comfortable taking on the former – although it would take about half the time 89 as our original planned route. We decided to sleep-in Monday morning (until 90 9am), go out for coffee in Siena, then sit in Il Campo and map out our bike 91 route for the day. It was so nice to take our time and enjoy the town (our 92 favorite so far) before all the tour groups showed up! 93 94 IMG_0429.JPG 95 96 Stay tuned for Monday's ride to San Gimignano! 97 98 Bike Route: 29.4 miles // 2,711 ft of elevation gain. [10]https:// 99 www.strava.com/activities/986032513 100 101 [11]May 15, 2017 /[12]Claire 102 103 • [13]Newer 104 • [14]Older 105 106 2017 © Two Nerds Dot Net. All Rights Reserved. No content from this site may be 107 used without written permission. 108 109 110 References: 111 112 [1] https://twonerds.net/ 113 [2] https://twonerds.net/ 114 [3] https://twonerds.net/about 115 [5] https://twonerds.net/blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena 116 [6] https://twonerds.net/blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena 117 [7] https://twonerds.net/?author=590f29c99f745610d38765af 118 [8] http://www.tuscanybicycle.com/en/ 119 [9] http://www.baronericasoli.com/ 120 [10] https://www.strava.com/activities/986032513 121 [11] https://twonerds.net/blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena 122 [12] https://twonerds.net/?author=590f29c99f745610d38765af 123 [13] https://twonerds.net/blog/siena-to-san-gimignano 124 [14] https://twonerds.net/blog/firenze-to-radda-in-chianti-our-first-day-in-the-saddle