125 lines
4.8 KiB
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125 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
[1] Two Nerds | A lifestyle blog
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• [2]Blog
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• [3]About
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[4][Blog ]
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[5]Radda in Chianti to Siena
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[6]May 15, 2017 [7]by Claire
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As expected, our second day of riding was easier than the first -- but still
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hilly, and twice as difficult as any ride I'd done before this trip. It was
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well worth it to end the day in Siena, a town that's incredibly easy to fall in
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love with (once you forgive the ancient Etruscans for building their cities on
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freakin' mountains!).
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We started our day with an early breakfast on our terrace (bruschetta with
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tomatoes, olives and pieces of fried egg, prepared by our B&B proprietor
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Romanita), then set off for the open road. After about an hour of pedaling (55
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minutes of steady uphill climbing, followed by 5 minutes of an exhilarating
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35mph downhill plunge) we rolled into Gaolie in Chianti, home of L'Eroica, a
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retro 200km bike ride held in Tuscany every October.
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We made an unplanned stop at the [8]bike rental shop in town for a quick
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tune-up, tire pressure check, and to have Felipe (the mechanic) look at a few
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nagging rattling noises on the bikes -- undoubtedly a result of putting them
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together ourselves. 45 minutes and just 5 Euro later, we were back on the road!
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We were treated to our second tough climb of the day out of Gaoile, and by the
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time we reached the turn for [9]Castello di Brolio at about 12:45pm, we were in
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desperate need of fuel. We stopped at a small café for overpriced cheese
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sandwiches and unnamed beer. Totally worth it. Then, we pushed our bikes up a
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steep cliff (zero shame in that) and explored the grounds of the 12th century
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castle!
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Our route map had us getting back on the main road to snake through a few more
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hill towns before our final ascent to Siena. We called an audible and followed
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the white gravel L'Eroica route (which seemed to be shorter, but about which we
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knew absolutely nothing) instead. We were not disappointed! The road circled
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around behind the castle, then through the beautiful countryside on roads that
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were virtually car-less.
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Thanks to our shortcut, we arrived in Siena before 4pm and checked into the
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Hotel Bernini (which was absolutely perfect – basic, clean rooms, friendly
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staff, and a terrace with a killer view). We spent the rest of the afternoon
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exploring the city streets and enjoying drinks and snacks on Il Campo, the main
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city square that doubles as a race track one day a year with horses
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representing each of Siena's 17 contrade (districts).
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As the Palio di Siena draws closer, the districts are known to march into the
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square. (I equate this to a horse race pep rally, sans horses.) We happened to
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catch the Oca (goose) district marching on Sunday afternoon. It was crazy
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awesome!
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We had a few too many snacks during aperitivo (the Italian equivalent of Happy
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Hour), so weren't hungry for dinner until late – or, put another way, we're
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finally on the Italian dinner schedule. After scouring menus for the osterias
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around town, we googled 'best pizza in Siena', and ended up at il Pomodorino
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around 10pm. It was the best pizza either of us had ever had, and made for a
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fantastic end to a great day.
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We had two route options for Monday, Day 3: a Level 2/4 Difficulty and a Level
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3/4 Difficulty. After Saturday's killer ride (a 2/4), we felt much more
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comfortable taking on the former – although it would take about half the time
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as our original planned route. We decided to sleep-in Monday morning (until
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9am), go out for coffee in Siena, then sit in Il Campo and map out our bike
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route for the day. It was so nice to take our time and enjoy the town (our
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favorite so far) before all the tour groups showed up!
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Stay tuned for Monday's ride to San Gimignano!
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Bike Route: 29.4 miles // 2,711 ft of elevation gain. [10]https://
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www.strava.com/activities/986032513
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[11]May 15, 2017 /[12]Claire
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• [13]Newer
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• [14]Older
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2017 © Two Nerds Dot Net. All Rights Reserved. No content from this site may be
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used without written permission.
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References:
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[1] https://twonerds.net/
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[2] https://twonerds.net/
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[3] https://twonerds.net/about
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[5] https://twonerds.net/blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena
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[6] https://twonerds.net/blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena
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[7] https://twonerds.net/?author=590f29c99f745610d38765af
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[8] http://www.tuscanybicycle.com/en/
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[9] http://www.baronericasoli.com/
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[10] https://www.strava.com/activities/986032513
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[11] https://twonerds.net/blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena
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[12] https://twonerds.net/?author=590f29c99f745610d38765af
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[13] https://twonerds.net/blog/siena-to-san-gimignano
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[14] https://twonerds.net/blog/firenze-to-radda-in-chianti-our-first-day-in-the-saddle
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