San Giovanni d’Asso

September 18, 2019

Distance 36.5 km Elevation 535m Moving Time 1:38

Coffee ride to San Giovanni d’Asso before a long Tuscan lunch

New location, same weather, as yet another sunny morning greeted us with a superb Alfresco breakfast.  Our cook did not speak a word of English but could not have been more attentive to our needs as she cooked up eggs any way we wanted. 

The bruschetta was a real hit.  Homemade bread, lightly grilled with a dash of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.  The perfect accompaniment for our eggs.

It was a coffee ride day because we had a planned lunch in the afternoon.  The ride started with a climb back up the 10km hill we descended the day before.  Everyone joined in and set off at their own pace.  Our one and only stop was for coffee in the hilltop town of San Giovanni d’Asso a great place to sip a doppio espresso and admire the spectacular countryside views.

After coffee, it was straight back down the hill with a fast non-stop descent back into Buonconvento.  We averaged over 40km/h for the 10km downhill compared with the 19km/h for the uphill ride on the same hill.

The afternoon was our first off riding for 4 days as we headed up to the town of Montalcino for a long Tuscan lunch.  Great food, great wine, and great company made for a very enjoyable afternoon chatting about how much we have enjoyed the trip so far.

That evening was down-time for the A’qto crew, so we (all the guests) were bused into the walled town of Buonconvento for a light dinner.  The historic town of Buonconvento is a mixture of high-end shops, cafes, bars, and plenty of family-style restaurants.  After a nice local beer at an outdoor bar, we headed to one of the pasta restaurants which had good reviews.  We were not disappointed with the food or wine very much to our liking.

A quick phone call back to the A’qto crew and they came back with the tour busses to drive us back to our accommodation for another good sleep before hitting the road again tomorrow.