Posts tagged “tuscany”  

Douglas Whitehead is riding his bike from England to India and in his latest post, he's getting used to the rhythm of the miles and enjoying the silence.

The weather was glorious and the rural French landscape was idyllic as I cycled along the banks of the River Meuse. The light had a sort of special haze to it that seemed to intensify and magnify distances, but what really stood out was the all-encompassing silence

Photo: Douglas Whitehead

When we toured Alaska, for hours on end all we heard was our breathing, the bike, and Nature. Tuscany, Spain all beautiful but not as remote or quiet.

Day Two

Riding past so many Medieval castles I wondered if it was keeping up with the Joneses back then Medieval style — “yeah, yeah you got that hill; well we got this one PLUS a lookout tower!” It’s really remarkable that the buildings lasted this long, but of course only to serve the tourism industry.

On our second day, we rode North around the Volterra area, starting at Casole d’ Esla. I was fascinated by the dirt. Growing up in Eastern Washington, I’ve seen my share of farms and dirt, but nothing ever so big and clumpy. Click through the photo to see clumps as big as boulders.

Tuscany Tour: Day One

The La Strada del Vino climbs steadily up the into the Tuscan hills through various medievel villages, winneries, then back down endless curves and towards the coast. Both of us said, “wow; well that was cool; whoa — best ride ever,” as we carved the turns like we were in a pro race. We dove into the apex, no brakes, and out the other side with a few hard pedal strokes. Later at dinner, I described the descent as “riding a dragon’s back.” The Tuscan dragon has 108 curves in an 8 kilometer descent.

After our day in Amsterdam, we’re riding Rome and then Tuscany.

We’ve got great ride tips from Viva Travels on Tuscany where we’ll tour the coast, inland, and the Sienna. Rome I’ll ride urban.

Readers,

Anyone ridden in Rome? Maybe I’ll see tall bikes like this.

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