OK, so where were we? Where am I? Who am I? These were the questions I was asking myself as I awoke at daybreak on Day 3 of the Tuscany Trail. Better get up early to beat the crowd at the bathroom at the Base Camp in Buonconvento. After my ablutions I went to the corner bar for a cappuccino and some pastries and to allow some time for my tent to dry out.
After packing up my gear I hit the road. Today was going to be the shortest day, about 70 km and 1000 meters of climbing, ending at an agricultural area, where I was going to meet my wife and daughter. My goal was to get there by check-in time at 3 PM so I could wash some clothes and enjoy the swimming pool.
The day’s ride started on the Via Frencigena pilgrimage route to Ponte d’Arbia before making a detour into the hills. It often seemed that the route creators were torturing us with these detours into the hills, when it would be easy to stay on flatter valley roads, but usually there was a payoff in terms of the view, a point of interest, or a nice descent as was the case here.
The route returned to the valley for several kilometers before turning up the hill again at Monteroni d’Arbia. The climb was steep with loose gravel, which forced me to get off my bike, but not before I passed others who were walking. As always, I didn’t want to be the first to dismount. At the top we passed an abandoned farm house before starting a series of rollers on top of the ridge for the next 5 kilometers. This is what I came for.
Off the ridge we rolled into the town of Arbia, where I filled up water. I could have used some coffee and a pastry, but it was Sunday so a lot of places in the smaller towns were closed. I would just have to wait. The route out of town meandered through apartment parking lots, into a field and then over a narrow footbridge and onto the long climb up to Siena.
Siena doesn’t allow people to ride bikes in town center, so the official route made a detour around the center leaving me to navigate my way through the city gates toward Piazza di Campo before getting off and walking the last few blocks. I grabbed some food and a Coke and refilled my bottles. Having lost my lock on the bouncy road the previous day, I didn’t want to leave the bike, so I pushed my way through the crowds with my bike. The piazza is surprisingly sloped. Apparently it was built between three hilltops and there wasn’t enough cheap labor to level it out.
The road out of town was busy, not just with tourist buses, but also with cars, scooters and other bikes. It appears that people actually live in Siena. Who knew? Finally out of town the road turned onto a steep rocky descent along Via Francegina. At the bottom of the hill a family set up a table to sell pasta to cyclists and pilgrims, but I took a pass. I was dying for a steak, a sign that I was probably not getting enough protein. Cyclist does not live by bread and pasta alone.
After a little bit of pavement we approached the walled city of Monterigioni, established in the 13th century by Siena as a fortress against Florence. As I climbed up the hill I spotted some influenzas taking photos at the gate. I slowed my roll to let them finish, but they just kept taking pictures, so I plowed on through. Maybe my Lycra covered butt will be Instagram famous. Seriously people, get your picture and move along.
I parked my bike in the main square, before grabbing some gelato and relaxing in the shade in a small park. It was already getting pretty hot and it was only going to get warmer, so I decided to keep moving. Back out on the road a tour bus was blocking traffic creating Italian chaos. It might appear that those narrow Italian roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass, but I can attest that they are wide enough for a bus, a bike and a car at the same time, with room to spare for a Vespa, maybe.
The trail rejoined the Via Francegina for a short time before rejoining the asphalt leading to the small nondescript town of Scarna. There was a short but very steep climb into town, but luckily there was a water fountain in the shade at the top. I guzzled a couple bottles and texted my wife to let her know I was only about 10 km from the hotel. “Ride slow. We just got to San Gimignano.” was the reply.
Disregarding her advice I hit the road. I was hoping I could check in at the hotel early, do some laundry, cool off in the air conditioned room, watch the Giro d’Italia on TV, and maybe hang out by the pool. I left the main route at San Marziale to make my way to the hotel. I had mapped out a route to the hotel that avoided the main road, but the path had a gate across it and a sign that I think said it was closed. Plan B was to go back to the main road. Fortunately there wasn’t much traffic, but the detour meant that I had to deal with a steep climb to my destination. On the bright side it was in the shade. I guess that would make it on the shady side.
I arrived at the hotel at 1:30, but check-in wasn’t until 3. I tried to locate reception, which was supposed to be by the church, but somehow I missed it despite the big sign that said “Reception”, so I laid down on a bench in the shade for a nap. Before long I heard a woman’s voice say, “Can I help you?” It was the reception lady, who was probably wondering how she could get rid of this scruffy, smelly guy befouling her property. Luckily she let me check in early and after storing my bike in the laundry room, I headed upstairs to clean up. I was so eager to hop into the shower with my bike clothes on to wash them, I forgot that my phone and bike computer were still in my pockets. Thankfully I discovered my error quickly enough before any damage was done.
After setting my clothes out to dry, our balcony looked like a Naples clothesline. I then took the opportunity to remove from my bags items that I didn’t need for the remaining ride: rain jacket, second t-shirt, second underwear, leg warmers, extra sunscreen, and a bell which I was legally required to have in Italy, but which I never attached to my bike.
Eventually my wife and daughter arrived. After relaxing by the pool we had dinner at the hotel restaurant as the afternoon sun lit up the rolling fields. I went full Italian with my dinner with a primi, secundi and a dessert. I had a lot of calories to make up for, and I finally got my steak.
Wandering the grounds of the hotel after dinner I was reminded of something my dad used to say when we were on his hunting and fishing adventures, “I wonder what the poor people are doing today.”
“That’s kind of obnoxious,” my daughter replied.
“You’re right. I don’t really care what they are doing.”
In the next episode I leave the hotel to go back to living like a hobo and sleeping in a tent down by the river, er, on a soccer field. Stay tuned.
I wonder what the poor people are doing today.
a Carnival cruise?
Finally, something relatable.
😛
Hey, I gave you a couple of steaks this morning. 😉
I thought only Pie needed a steak in the morning?
Are we still doing phrasing?
Hmm…seems unlikely.
They are like an infection and seem to be contagious.
Wear a mask.
Those totally work against respiratory diseases.
Excellent. Give yourself a point.
It’s funny how often expensive high-class recreation involves living temporarily like a filthy poor. *eyeballs hammock, quilts, and backpack*
It often seemed that the route creators were torturing us with these detours into the hills, when it would be easy to stay on flatter valley roads, but usually there was a payoff in terms of the view, a point of interest, or a nice descent as was the case here.
Not so many trucks, maybe?
Looking forward to the next post.
Beautiful.
“I wonder what the poor people are doing today.”
“That’s kind of obnoxious,” my daughter replied.
“You’re right. I don’t really care what they are doing.”
Bravo!
Philanthropy
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday announced a $24 million effort to help revive American shipbuilding, his latest move under the bank’s $1.5 trillion security project aimed at bolstering industries critical to U.S. economic and national security.
The figure includes $18 million in loans and $6 million in grants to finance a new submarine manufacturing facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard being built by Rhoads Industries, expand lending to maritime-related small businesses and strengthen regional suppliers, JPMorgan said.
——-
The announcement comes as rising geopolitical tensions, including wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, spur governments to rearm and reinvest in domestic industrial capacity.
Last year, JPMorgan launched a $1.5 trillion initiative to finance sectors it considers critical to U.S. economic and national security, including shipbuilding. The firm announced an expansion of the program into Europe this year.
Out of the goodness of his heart.
I don’t care if it is out of the goodness of his heart, or a cold hard cash grab. Expanding our ship building infrastructure is a net good.
My son is going to be a welder so…yeah
I know they don’t pair well, but did you try the local Vernaccia white wine and the wild boar sausages in San Gimmy? Damn, I need to get back to Tuscany one last time.
Wild boar was a popular item on the menus.
I still think about the wild boar ragu I had at https://www.cinghialebianco.net/en-gb
Rescued
The Department for Business and Trade announced the move on Thursday, saying it would save thousands of jobs and protect the U.K.’s national interest by ensuring a supply of domestically produced steel for major construction projects and the defense industry.
“British Steel now belongs to the British people, and our focus is on the future: stabilizing the business, backing the communities that rely on it and building a sustainable, competitive and decarbonized steel sector for the years ahead,” Business Secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement.
An independent evaluation will be carried out to determine whether any compensation will be paid to the firm’s former owner, China’s Jingye Group.
The important part is the greenification of steel production.
And the formerly Great Britain ticks another box on the third-world banana republic checklist…
I hate carbon in my steel. Yuck.
I was about to snark at you, but my sarcasm detector went off just in time.
I had to do a quick lookup TBH
The carbon makes it difficult to iron it out.
It gives him an alloy-gic reaction
I’m sure we can nickle and dime it to make that stain less.
And even so, the manufacture of steel is inherently a process of carbon sequestration. ~2billion tons of steel are produced annually, and about 1% of that is elemental carbon that will never make it into the atmosphere…
Bite your tungsten.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLymNFxwBo3tjsy_HQdenCQ1K4a5hrHv9t&si=A8bqJwX_H6_JPxIU
🤘🤘
Peeing in the tent is one way to beat the lines I guess, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
So, better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in?
I read it the same way.
*shrug*
A cappa and a grappa would be my start, but you do you.
Ahh. Cafe corretto.
We live in a world where a man can’t even get shit faced and berate his wife anymore. Free country my ass.
rhywun: from previous thread. I wasn’t arguing property taxes aren’t passed through to tenants. I was referring to low-income apartment complexes which almost always have property tax abatements so a disproportional cost for schools to single-family homeowners/renters in complexes paying full-freight.
Ah, OK. Yeah, the rental market is grotesquely distorted by regulations like that. I wasn’t considering “affordable” nonsense.
As a not-poor, I have to subsidize both their kids and their rent. It sickens me but what can I do about it.
I’ve had a few arguments of late with leftists that touched on taxes. Obviously it usually centers around this or that person (Elon in particular) paying some unspecified “fair share.”
They get awfully quiet when you suggest not using the tax code for social engineering. Conservatives/Republicans have long since gotten in on that action, but the powers and philosophical underpinnings of using them were developed by the progressives.
Some commie, without a hint of shame, will unironically say that the wealthy need to be taxed for “social hygiene.” Couldn’t care less about revenue it could generate.
That looks like the back roads between Galt and Paso.
Great write-up, Jamie – makes me really want to go back to Tuscany.
“You’re right. I don’t really care what they are doing.”
Now there’s a Glib who knows where his monocle is.
My son is going to be a welder so…yeah
Two birds, one brick
Electric Boat has been advertising like crazy around here.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-nissan-altima-once-inescapable-is-finally-dead
Now how are we going to identify bad drivers?
lol
Can they hold out until the next Dem administration comes to the rescue with billions of dollars in subsidies?
There’s one successful EV manufacturer in the US, and the left is acting like a jilted lover and looking to destroy it when they reclaim power.
If anything demonstrates the vapidity and fraudulent claim to morality of the left, it’s their attacks on Elon’s business ventures to include TESLA. Global warming is an existential threat, but he was mean to government bureaucrats and supported orange Hitler because they basically ostracized him for not vehemently agreeing with them enough!
Can’t emphasize that aspect enough. It took years for Musk to go from standard bearer of the progressive future to fascist. He himself clearly walked the line and tried to avoid siding with the political right before going all in when it was clear that even the mildest disagreements or differences with the other side meant he was effectively already their enemy.
Electric Boat has been advertising like crazy around here.
I’d say this is pretty well aimed
Konstantin Kisin
@KonstantinKisin
·
4h
BREAKING NEWS: I just had a call with Candace Owens in which she confirmed that she killed Lindsay Graham. If she denies this, it proves that I am telling the truth.
Remember: if you’re retarded, make sure to subscribe for more explosive updates like this.
—
Still not tired of these.