You may question why there has been no reference lately to B & W – they left us in Florence on day 17.
Pienza, Montepulciano & Monticchiello, gorgeous Tuscan villages all up high on mountain peaks and ridges. All so rustic looking, most buildings homes and shop fronts have had there rendering removed, exposing many differing types of stone work and brickwork, giving a very charming and quaint appearance to the villages.
Today was our first day of our second cycling trip. We are cycling around central Italy (Tuscany).
Today is a first for R & L – we will be using ebikes – electronic or battery powered bikes. The bikes are quite heavy compared to our road bikes. They also have super large tyres. L is very worried about how heavy they are, and potenially running out of battery before the day’s end (and how bad it would be if we had big hills to still climb) and needing to push the damn thing up the hill.
Battery must be charged each night otherwise there might be insufficient charge to last the day.
Also we are warned that battery might not last a whole day – so may need to charge at a coffee stop enroute to ensure the battery will last.
The are four speeds on the the ebike. Eco, Tour, Mtb, Turbo.
Bikes provide additional boost while you are cycling – you can choose when and where to boost power – great for going up hills.
Today we travel 60 kms with a total elevation gain of 910 metres. Elevation gain = vertical rise of uphills.
All was good with the batteries, by the end of the day both L & R still had close to 20% charge left.
The landscapes of the Val d’Orcia region, one of the most beautiful place in Tuscany and UNESCO world heritage site.
We visit Pienza, the “ideal” city of the Renaissance time, also famous for Pecorino cheese.
A quick stop at Montepulciano, with its winding steets and squares.
Monticchiello, a small medieval and charming town.
60 kms travelled today
Town Hall Pienza
View from the tower at Montipulciano
Chiesa in Pienza
examples of the exposed brickwork
Chiesa (church) di San Biagio (Montepulciano)
Italy 2019 