A short ride today (yippee), the original plan was to leave early in the morn before the heat and arrive in Siena shortly after lunch to view the sights.
I left at 1.45pm, not surprising after the very enjoyable evening the night before, but leaving in the heat of the day still feeling slightly fragile was not the best idea. Still it had to be done. I also took a slightly wrong oad out of Firenze and was heading for San Casciano when I cut through the narrow lanes to Greve in Chianti on the R222 where I wanted to be. It was along these lanes that I met a couple of pretty, black, young ladies dressed in tight white tops and pink shorts, and I'm sure they both tried to chat me up with "Ciao Bello". They should be careful, if they say that to everyone they could get picked up by some right weird blokes!
I stopped in Greve in Chianti for a late lunch suffering from heat (the temp on my computer was at 42C), tiredness and a hangover. Some coca cola food and sports energy drink seemed to help, and after lunch I cycled along some lovely rolling Tuscany countryside arriving in Siena at 7.30.
Just to give an idea of what I have been drinkig during a ride. On the full day to Firenze I drank 6 water bottles (4.2 litres), 1 litre of coke, 1 litre of gatorade (sports drink) and 1/2 litre of Iced tea. That's 6.7 litres during the ride and I normlly drink 1 litre of water both before and after a ride totalling 8.7 litres - which is nearly as much as a Rugby international day! Also since Richard left I have only had 1 beer in an evening apart from Firenze, therefore it is obviously everyone else's fault when I drink more than one beer.
I have just had a brief wander around town, and it is lovely, really relaxed great old buildings and Piazas with everyone just sitting out and chilling in the heat.
Thanks again for all your comments, please keep them coming. It's only 2 more days to go. Life without cycling is going to be weird but I really am looking forward to a couple of days in Rome with Paula, and then returning to them kidies.
Todays Stats
Distance 79.77k
Climb 1073m
Riding time 4:02:19
Average speed 19.7kph
Total time 6:03
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2 days to go - well done. Looking forward to the pics on your return, especially the roller blader and white lycra girl !!.
ReplyDeletePaula have a great time in Rome, make sure the house is tidy and lawn mowed as our intrepid explorer should take it easy for a few weeks to recover from his tour.
Lawn mowed! Surely Brendan can do that on his return, remember he won't want to sit on those boils so what better way than to walk around the garden with the mower!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing feat! It's been most enjoyable following your progress and we're very impressed with your efforts! I thank you greatly for even bringing back some happy memories for me of long gone holidays, as I realised I'd actually been on part of the route you took when in Luxemburg and had stayed in one or two of the same youth hostels!
ReplyDeleteHave a great time in Rome with Paula and we look forward to seeing you on your return!