This is where we spent the night. In the morning we woke up early although a number of vehicles had already driven by since it became light. Just before we were ready to move out a pickup truck (which there aren't many of there) drove up from the road that was part of the property and a farmer got out. He then had a long conversation with Alex while the rest of us watched. He wasn't angry. Instead he was amused that we slept in such an uncomfortable place! Through Alex's translation we heard there was a better place to sleep just down the hill, and some of the guys life story. He also mentioned there were good places to eat in another town.
Well we got back on the road again to start climbing the hill towards Montalcino. This is a view from part way up. Gordo went on ahead and I followed but couldn't keep up with him. Eventually I made it to a roundabout at the edge of town and there was no sign of Gordo and no signs for a COOP.
This is a view of the town from near the roundabout. I went on up some more steep hills until I met Gordo at the main junction of town. From there we ventured further into town and came across the COOP. We took turns in the store filling up the cart and then managed to pack it all on our bikes and started riding back down the hill. We met the others just before they reached the roundabout. Unfortunately from looking at the map it turned out we had to go back up to the junction. On the way up we stopped at a pull-out and ate the lunch/breakfast food. Then we climbed the big hill to the junction just to turn off and start back down another side of the hill. We went downhill for quite a while from here although unfortunately Greg got a flat tire. After an hour or two of riding we stopped for a seista in some shade in a field below the road. After everyone had napped for a while we started out again but it was a lot of uphill. We were a little afraid it might start to rain as there were some dark clouds in view.
At this point we decided to split up into two groups for a while. Gordo and I would bike on ahead and we would meet up again at Rocca d'Orcia, an old castle that was also one of the highest elevation points of the day. So Gordo and I biked on ahead and it was pretty tough to keep up with him! We only really stopped for a few minutes once in a small town to get some water from an aquaduct. We had some amazing 360 degree views at a few spots and also saw some lightning in the distance. We made it to Castiglione d'Orcia at around 6pm to discover that the Rocca was a little off our path. There was a COOP there so we bought a snack and some cold drinks and then went back to the intersection between the COOP road and the town's main road to wait for the rest of the gang.
We spent part of our wait sitting in the shade at this gas station. The lady working there started talking to us and I was afraid she wanted us to leave so I was trying to have a conversation with her. To accomplish this it ended up needing me, Gordo, my phrase book, the woman and two Italian guys, both of which didn't know much English. In the end, she didn't have a problem with us waiting there for our friends. The conversation wasn't really about anything except trying to communicate as we thought they might have a problem with us and they thought we had a problem.
Just before the COOP closed at 7:30, Gordo went and bought some groceries for dinner. Everyone else showed up around 8 and after they bought some cold drinks and dessert at a little convenience store we sat down to have a feast on this ledge. Everyone was in a good mood and the place was a very friendly classic Tuscana town. There were lots of old women or men sitting around chatting near the intersection. Before we left Beth told Alex to tell them they had a beautiful town. Just after sundown we were riding down switchbacks and out of the town. We crossed a major road onto a minor road following our route and then turned off onto a tiny road to find a place to sleep. We eventually ended up sleeping in a rather open spot again but this time it was in an unused part of a field a good distance from the vines. It was a less used road than the one before and I slept much better. In the morning we woke up early and as we packed up we said buon giorno to a few passing joggers.
We rode a short distance and then stopped here for breakfast. No not in this structure, just in a field by the road. The town in the distance is where we ate dinner the night before, Castiglione d'Orcia. After some peanut butter, apples and baguettes we were ready to roll out. The ground was so flat along this stretch that we were making really good time. Unfortunately Greg got another flat tire. Greg and Alex told us to go on ahead while they fixed it, so the rest of us kept going.
Eventually we had to go up some hills and so Gordo and I waited for Beth and Jon at a parking lot with some picnic tables and lookout in a tiny place called La Foce. Gordo took this photo of me there. We both wrote in our journals while waiting.
Here's Jon showing up at La Foce.
Luckily there wasn't much more uphill and then there was a lot of downhill. At the bottom Gordo and I found this great spot to spend siesta and although we'd covered a lot of ground it was only 11:30am. We waited there for Jon and Beth and unpacked some of our bags. When they showed up they started their siesta while we biked the 2 km to the nearby city of Chianciano Terme.Once there our mission was to find a COOP and bring some food back to the group. We rode through the place looking for signs for a COOP and we just kept going and going. Eventually though just when it seemed we would leave out the other end, we found a sign. It pointed down a street that immediatedly forked but had a huge sidewalk sale on it so we couldn't really see much in either direction. After walking our bikes to the left, then to the right, then back to the left we found the COOP.
I watched the bikes while Gordo got the food. We drank our milk, and then packed all the food away on our bikes. Back at the siesta spot we showed up just a little while after Alex and Greg because they'd really had a lot of problems with the tire.
I took these closeups during what became our longest siesta of the trip. Beth is not a fan of photos taken of her so that's why it's just the 5 of us. It was quite relaxing and we ate some food and took naps, but Gordo and I calculated we left there 8 hours after we had first arrived as we didn't get away until 7:30pm. Greg and Beth took off before this but we ended up sticking around a bit longer while Alex figured out the budget for the trip. Figuring out who owed what to who was complicated because some of it went back before I joined them.
Back on the road we met up with Greg and Beth and then skirted around Chianciano following our route. At one point we thought we had taken a wrong turn but it turned out we just hadn't reached the junction yet. Then we were on the busier road and biking into the dark while looking for a campground. I was being careful because my back brakes had stopped working. Luckily it wasn't that hilly. We got a bit spread out and there was some frustration because the campground on our map didn't actually exist. Also Greg almost got hit by a car as the driver went right through a stop sign without slowing down. So, eventually we had to go all the way to Chuisi, the town with the train station, and then off away from it again to a campground by Lago di Chuisi...lake of Chuisi. We arrived there pretty late but the restaurant/office still had people working there and we got a site and went on in. We set up the tents although I was the only one sleeping in mine because Alex and Gordo were sleeping outside.
Once settled in I slept pretty well. It was a long two days but we covered quite a distance, saw some amazing scenery and an awesome little town and generally had a great end to our bike trip. The next day I would be heading to Rome.
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