San Quirico to Montefollonico - 39kms on a bike!!!!!

“On the road again, can't wait to get back on the road again” another old song springs to mind, but I change the words to “on the bike again” I had a rather restless sleep last night, not sure why, but probably a little anxious about how I am going to get on riding this Level 2 route, up and down these hills. I woke at 6am and looked out but it was all a bit watery looking and I couldn't see the hills in the distance, so I snuggled back under the covers until just before my alarm went off at 7.30am. I then got up, showered and went upstairs for breakfast, and then paid the bill (wine and water and coffee over the last two days) and set off. The HF group invited me to join them for breakfast this morning and a number of them were gathering outside to set off on the walking and all came over and wished me well and checked that I was okay and happy. Which, I must add, is more than the guide from the Headwater guided walking group did. He did not come and talk to me at all, and last night when Helen introduced me as another Headwater guest he just said, “Oh yes” and walked away. I must say I wasn't particularly impressed, especially when Helen told him that I was cycling all alone. But both of the HF (which I found out stands for Holiday Fellowship) tour leaders came over to wish me well, and said they were sorry that I was moving on to another hotel, and that they wouldn't be seeing me again this trip, but hoped that I might consider an HF trip next time.
Anyway, just a minute or two after 9am I set off and my instructions say “Today you cycle through classic Tuscan countryside, across clay-baked hills crowned with the occasional cypress tree. And I can visit the fortified hermitage of Sant' Anna in Camprena, where scenes of “The English Patient” were filmed. However, as per usual, this place is open from 10.00 to 12.00 and arrive at the top of this hill at about 12.15 so I decide not to make the detour and ride on instead to Pienza. Oh yes and I remember now Alan telling me as he drove me to San Quirico that several scenes from The Gladiator were filmed along that road. No sign of Russell Crowe today though – what a shame.

Now why was it that the 3km downhill seemed so much shorter than 1.4km climb back up the other side, and how come 200m steady climb seemed like 2kms. The instructions said “after a further 200m climb, the road levels off and undulates gently for the next 10 km. There are tremendous views to both sides and during the last 1.5 km of this section the strada bianca (gravel road) climbs steadily to a T-junction with a road.”

Well the bit about the road leveling off to undulate gently - the authors definition of undulating gently and my definition definitely did not come out of the same dictionary. It was 10 km of reasonably hard work and at times I got off and walked – not because I couldn't cycle it, but because I needed to give my legs a break from the peddling and needed to use some of my other muscles for a while. I must admit that the first 1.4 km climb took me up to about 500m above sea level, which is about the level of the Kaimais, so I was pretty ecstatic when I made it up there, and I rode it, albeit completely and utterly out of breath at the top. And then I made it up the next lot of hills (also described as a gentle ascent) to reach Pienza, well and truly ready for some lunch.
As I said, this ride today pretty well stretched me in terms of stamina and fitness level, and this particular trip is graded 2 cycles, where as the Veneto trip was a 1 cycle trip. However, there are a number of comments in the Headwater books at the hotels suggesting that this should be a 3 cycle grading, and I must admit that I tend to agree with them. Luckily today was much cooler, I don't think I would have achieved it if the temperature had been up in the 30's like it was when I was in the Veneto. And on the downhill stretches, I actually felt quite cold, so looked forward (sometimes) to having to work a bit harder going uphill so that I would warm up again.
And 10 kms is a long way to ride along the strada bianca, totally isolated, didn't see a soul, but the comments about the views being tremendous – well they were and I have lots of photos taken along the way - Yep I was stopping to take photos really, I wasn't just needing another rest!!!!!
Pienza is another really old town – built in 1459 and was conceived by Pope Pius II as the first ideal city of the Renaissance, a model town with the very finest architecture resembling the Vatican City. Fortunately, however, the Pope's empire-building ambitions were never quite realised and today Pienza remains a charming town in miniature. Well that is what the guide notes say.
And charming it is – again perched high on a hill, like all the Tuscan towns, and made up of little lanes and alley ways, with amazing views out over the valleys in all directions. I visited the shoe factory outlet shop which I had heard about in Florence, but was disappointed in the range of sizes available and there was definitely nothing there to to fit me. Italian women must have tiny feet by the look of it. But there are also wine shops, cheese shops (phew the smell of all those cheeses is very strong - none of it refrigerated all just sitting out on shelves – salami shops and other little shops selling packets of mixed herbs and brightly coloured pasta, as well as ceramics and toys. Pinocchio type toys are popular here – did Pinocchio come from around here maybe. Remind me to check on the net and see.
And so, after a lunch of the most delicious roast pork roll carved from a whole pig which looked like it had been cooked on spit, and a limone gelato at the shop where I parked my bike, and a loo stop at one of the awful squatty affairs, I was back on my bike, and because there were several rather large and ominous looking black clouds hovering overhead, I opted for the 2km shorter and supposedly more gentle ride to Montefollonico.

This meant going back down the hill that I had just struggled up, and then another 8 kms along another strada bianca in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Through woodlands with signs on the roadside saying tatufi reserve and a bitt further along funghi reserve so I assume this is where the truffles come from.
I stopped and listened and all I could hear was the occasional plane flying high overhead, and the odd bird or insect noise, but nothing else. Not an animal, not a person, not a tractor or a car or a truck. For kilometre after kilometre. It seemed like I was the only person in the world. It was so peaceful. I don't know where everybody is who tend these crops, they just are not visible, sometimes you pass a sign pointing to a villa or agriturismo and then you look and see a building up on a hill nearby, but never anybody working in the fields.

And then finally the instructions say : “Continue for a further 4km. At the T-junction turn left onto a tarmac road and climb gently (yeah right) for 800 m before turning right at the signpost for Montefollonico. You descend for 600m before a very gentle ascent for a further 1.5km to the village of Montefollonico. Cycle through the village and then turn right into Via della Modannina. Follow this road all the way down the hill (Shucks, I only just made it up the bloody hill and now you want me to go down again you sadistic buggar) . As you reach a sharp left bend in the road, fork right and in 20m you will see the entrance to La Chiusa on your left.”
Made it, this is where I am staying for the next two nights. And what a welcome sight it was. I must have looked a bit of a sight. It was now well after 4pm and I had been pretty much cycling all day, apart from the hour or so at Pienza. But Luigi came out to meet me, introduced himself, shook my hand, took my panniers from me and escorted me into his office to book in. He gave me a map of the area, and explained that the restaurant is closed on a Tuesday, and explained where I might get some dinner (but aha, I was wise, when I saw I had to ride down the hill, I bought some fresh fruit at the market for my dinner tonight so I don't need to walk up to the village if I don't feel like it later on )
He then took me round to my room – what a fantastic room it is. Luxury with a capital L. The hugest bath I have ever seen, and a bathroom that's twice the size of mine at home. The room is beautiful, the view is awesome and I have an olive tree (well I think it is an olive tree) right outside my door and there are planters full of the most spectacular hydrangeas I have ever seen in the little courtyard outside my room. If I look through the branches of the olive tree I can see Montepulciano in the distance, and if I walk a little further down the yard, I can see Lake Trasimeno in the distance in the other direction.

Before leaving me at my room, Luigi apologises and says he is very sorry he didn't offer me tea or coffe and would I like some, and I said that coffee would be wonderful. He offered to bring it round to my room (all the rooms open to the outside (more like motel rooms at home rather than being a hotel and entering the rooms from an internal corridor) or I could come round and have it in the courtyard by the office. I said that I would do that, and then he showed me a little old room that is a storage area where I can stow my bike.
So after freshening up I went for my coffee and he also brought me the a couple of slices of the most delicious lemon cake to have with my coffee.
Hey I like this place. This would have to be the most welcoming place I have stayed at yet. No other establishment offered tea or coffee on arrival, even though they knew that you had just cycled 30 or 40 kms to get there. Just a small gesture, but it means such a lot.
And so, it is now 7.40pm. I have had a nice long soak in a nice hot bubble bath, balanced my spending money, checked out the suggestions of things to do tomorrow, typed this up and now I might just chill out for the rest of the evening. I think my peaches and cherries will be enough for me to eat for tea tonight - need to have at least a couple of calorie neutral days, where I cycle off more calories than I eat.
Luigi did mention that the chef here at the hotel is a very well known chef who has written a number of books , and that she is doing a cooking class for a couple of other guests tomorrow and I asked if there is any room for one more. He said he would check, but I would imagine if you are paying E110 for a meal, then a cooking class may well be out of my price range. I have decided though that I will probably eat here tomorrow night – I really want to taste her cooking, and what the hell, I am only going to be here the once, and I will never get the chance again, so “Just Do It”
I have been sitting on the bed typing this up, and I started to get quite cold. There is a fan in the ceiling which was cooling the room quite considerably and I could not for the life of me work out how to turn it off, and now, just this minute I have discovered a remote control beside the bed. There is another one on top of the telly, so I pointed this remote at the fan, pushed the O and yipee, the fan turned off. I had just gotten up and got the lovely soft mohair blanket out of the wardrobe to cover my feet, and now I probably won't need it. But I feel like a real old nana, sitting here with my rug over my legs. All I need is a glass of wine, but the wine in the mini-bar is E25 a bottle and the coke is E4 for a 300ml bottle. I think they might just stay where they are. That's over $50 for the bottle of wine – wow, it must be some pretty good stuff for that price.
Anyway, that's my day today. Now that it is over, I feel pretty stoked that I made it. In parts it was quite a challenge, and when all I could see ahead of me was more uphill on strada bianca I started to doubt that I would make it. But I did, and that was 39 kms. Day 6 is 36kms and then
Day 8 can be 25km, or 40km or 51kms.

It would seem that the routes have been changed somewhat to those in the brochure, because I don't ever remember seeing a ride of 51km or did I perhaps only ever look at the shortest options when I was planning the trip.
So now I will load my photos on the computer and label them all (much easier if you do it each day while they are all still fresh in your mind, and I see that this hotel has wi-fi so I will see if I can load some photos onto the blog page tomorrow.

So I will say Ciao for now and catch you all again after breakfast.