108 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
108 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
#[1]RSS Feed
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[2]Two Nerds | A lifestyle blog
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* [3]Blog
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* [4]About
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[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
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still hilly, and twice as difficult as any ride I'd done before this
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trip. It was well worth it to end the day in Siena, a town that's
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incredibly easy to fall in love with (once you forgive the ancient
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Etruscans for building their cities on freakin' mountains!).
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We started our day with an early breakfast on our terrace (bruschetta
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with tomatoes, olives and pieces of fried egg, prepared by our B&B
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proprietor Romanita), then set off for the open road. After about an
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hour of pedaling (55 minutes of steady uphill climbing, followed by 5
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minutes of an exhilarating 35mph downhill plunge) we rolled into Gaolie
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in Chianti, home of L'Eroica, a retro 200km bike ride held in Tuscany
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every October.
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We made an unplanned stop at the [8]bike rental shop in town for a
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quick tune-up, tire pressure check, and to have Felipe (the mechanic)
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look at a few nagging rattling noises on the bikes -- undoubtedly a
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result of putting them together ourselves. 45 minutes and just 5 Euro
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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
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by the time we reached the turn for [9]Castello di Brolio at about
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12:45pm, we were in desperate need of fuel. We stopped at a small café
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for overpriced cheese sandwiches and unnamed beer. Totally worth it.
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Then, we pushed our bikes up a steep cliff (zero shame in that) and
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explored the grounds of the 12th century castle!
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Our route map had us getting back on the main road to snake through a
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few more hill towns before our final ascent to Siena. We called an
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audible and followed the white gravel L'Eroica route (which seemed to
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be shorter, but about which we knew absolutely nothing) instead. We
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were not disappointed! The road circled around behind the castle, then
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through the beautiful countryside on roads that were virtually
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car-less.
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Thanks to our shortcut, we arrived in Siena before 4pm and checked into
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the Hotel Bernini (which was absolutely perfect – basic, clean rooms,
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friendly staff, and a terrace with a killer view). We spent the rest of
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the afternoon exploring the city streets and enjoying drinks and snacks
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on Il Campo, the main city square that doubles as a race track one day
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a year with horses representing each of Siena's 17 contrade
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(districts).
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As the Palio di Siena draws closer, the districts are known to march
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into the square. (I equate this to a horse race pep rally, sans
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horses.) We happened to catch the Oca (goose) district marching on
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Sunday afternoon. It was crazy awesome!
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We had a few too many snacks during aperitivo (the Italian equivalent
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of Happy Hour), so weren't hungry for dinner until late – or, put
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another way, we're finally on the Italian dinner schedule. After
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scouring menus for the osterias around town, we googled 'best pizza in
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Siena', and ended up at il Pomodorino around 10pm. It was the best
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pizza either of us had ever had, and made for a fantastic end to a
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great day.
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We had two route options for Monday, Day 3: a Level 2/4 Difficulty and
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a Level 3/4 Difficulty. After Saturday's killer ride (a 2/4), we felt
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much more comfortable taking on the former – although it would take
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about half the time as our original planned route. We decided to
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sleep-in Monday morning (until 9am), go out for coffee in Siena, then
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sit in Il Campo and map out our bike route for the day. It was so nice
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to take our time and enjoy the town (our favorite so far) before all
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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
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gain. [10]https://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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References
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1. https://twonerds.net/blog?format=rss
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2. file:///
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3. file:///
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4. file:///about
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5. file:///blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena
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6. file:///blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena
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7. file:///?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. file:///blog/radda-in-chianti-to-siena
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12. file:///?author=590f29c99f745610d38765af
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13. file:///blog/siena-to-san-gimignano
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14. file:///blog/firenze-to-radda-in-chianti-our-first-day-in-the-saddle
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