Gaiole to Buonconvento

September 17, 2019

Distance 78 km  Elevation. 1,112m  Moving Time 3:30

Cycling to our next villa

See Previous day here …

An earlier start today as we say our goodbyes to our hosts for the last 3 nights and depart Gaiole.

The start of the ride was the same as the first day’s ride but after 13km we branched off to head towards Siena.

It was a day of rolling hills and changing landscape from the Vineyards of Gaiole through olive groves and finally the Tuscan brown hills of mostly grain and cereal crops as we headed to Buonconvento.

The highlight of the day was entering Siena through the old gates and immediately encountering a short, sharp 20% hill which caught all of us off-guard and in the wrong gear.  Cheered on by the locals lining the road we pushed hard and ground our way to the top.  Those not in the right gear had no hope and ended walking up the last 100 odd metres.  Congratulations and pats on the back all round for those who managed to get up this hill.  The reward was a well-earned coffee break in the spectacular Piazza Del Campo.

From Siena it was 25km to our lunch break at Asciano.  This was a tough 25km as the sun was shining bright and there was precious little shade on the open road.  We were all relieved to reach the shade and shelter of Asciano where we had a simple lunch and rehydrated.

After lunch, we were straight into a short brutal 500m, 15% climb before encountering open plains and rolling hills.  The last 10km into Bounconvento was a wonderful downhill which we would encounter again the next day (but not before riding up it).  After a 2km wander around the outskirts of Bounconvento we headed slightly out of town to our accommodation which entailed a short 14% climb followed by a longer 9% climb before we entered the gates to home for the next 3 nights. 

A typical Tuscan Cypress tree-lined driveway lead us up to a Tuscan homestead on top of a ridge with rolling valleys on either side making for spectacular views, especially at sunrise and sunset.  The large pool was a welcome relief for tired legs and a fridge full of beer ensured we were quickly “rehydrated”.

Relive ‘Tuscany Day 4 – Gaiole in Chianti to Buonconvento’

The evening meal was a delicious BBQ with Bistecca alla Florentina cooked to perfection by Damian.  The local town near where we are staying, Buonconvento, comes from the Latin “bonus conventus” which means “happy, lucky place”.  We all felt happy and lucky that night.