Montalcino loop

Distance 69.1 km   Elevation 1,270m   Moving Time, 3:14

Double puncture day plus hot springs

Another bright sunny morning, another big breakfast.  I can’t get over how much we are eating on this trip, yet we always are ready for the next meal.

A nice steady start along a relatively busy road for the first 10km before turning off onto local backroads and rolling hills.

I got my first puncture around the 14km mark.  Mauro our driver in the sweeper van is also the mechanic and it was his job to change the tube.  Good thing too as it took him about 10min to prise the tyre off the wheel and then another 5min to get it back on.  Matteo, our sweeper rider, who had been riding at the back helping the slower riders, was given the role of riding me back to the group (who had kept on riding while we delt with the puncture).  He seemed to relish the opportunity to ride hard and it took a big effort from me to hold his wheel.  I was pretty gassed by the time we met up with the group at our planned coffee stop 5km up the road, and mostly 5km up a hill, in San Quirico d’Orcia.  Fortunately, the coffee stop gave me a chance to catch my breath.

After coffee we had two category 3 and one category 4 climbs and another 30km before we stopped for a pasta lunch in Montalcino.  This was the first meal I couldn’t finish.  Perhaps some fatigue was setting in as everyone else finished with clean bowls.

It was only a 16km mostly downhill ride back to the accommodation, but I only managed 6km before getting another puncture.  Once again Mauro did the repair job and once again, I had to ride hard to hold onto Matteo’s wheel for the final 10km back to the accommodation.  Lucky there was a cold beer and a refreshing pool waiting for me.

The riding was excellent, but the surprise of the day was the afternoon massage and soak at the ancient thermal bath complex at Bagno Vignoni terme (hot springs).  Just what the doctor ordered after 6 days and 360 odd km’s.

Another refreshing beer after the massage and we were off to the hilltop town of Chiusure for another superb local produce dinner.  Tomorrow we will be riding along sections of Strade Bianche.  Something to both look forward to and dread at the same time.