Here we reflect on our most recent nine days spent enjoying the Autumn splendour of our Tuscany Cycling Tour.
We started with a few days in and around the spectacular region of Chianti, rolling through olive groves and vineyards in the Italian sun.
The mid-ride lunch of pizza from the wood fired oven was just what was needed to get up the last remaining hills on day 2, before a sensational descent to our villa.
Stone villas, the colours of Autumn and roads that go up, over and through the magnificent Chianti hills made for challenging and rewarding days on the bike.
As we arrived into the beautiful hilltop town of Montalcino after a hot morning on the bike, a bowl of the local pici con ragu di cinghiale was in order for lunch.
Often when cycling in Tuscany, there are times when you don’t know which way to look. The quintessential Tuscan landscape is breathtaking. Rick said it all with ‘I’ve said wow so much, I don’t know what to say any more’.
Post ride refuelling and refreshments were always in order, particularly after the challenging ‘pinches” to get us home.
Dinner at the villa saw us cook a traditional Tuscan grigliata of homemade salsicce,
costolette di maiale and the classic bistecca alla Fiorentina over charcoal and smoked with fresh rosemary branches
Lightly battered and fried vegetables straight from our villa garden were the perfect accompaniment to our grigliata, with everyone’s favourite the zucchini flowers, closely followed by the sage.
Our final day’s ride saw us roll out from the Val d’Orcia in complete quiet and shrouded in mist on our way to San Gimignano. Pictures really don’t do the scene justice.
If you’d like to experience the magic of Tuscany for yourself, see the full details of our Tour of Tuscany in 2019.
