Day 7 - Attigliano to Chiusi
Today was an early start again…
The sun rises at about 5.30 am so I am awake ahead of the alarm at 6.00pm. No sleep ins whilst on the road with the boys.
So after a shower and packing, we were on the road by about 7.00am as we wantonly get the bulk of the ride done before the heat….more on that later!
The weather was a bit foggy and humid but early on the temps were on the high teens. As the day wore on the sun burned off the fog and it became warmer with the maximum temperature in the early 30 degrees.
We traveled about 10 kms to Baschi where we had breakfast which consisted of 2 croissants and 2 cups of cappuccino! Just right to begin the day.
The first part of the ride was on good roads with flat and undulating terrain. Seems we are getting out of the more hilly country now.
We had a drink stop at Orvieto so I could call my grand daughter Sienna for her 11 year old birthday! Congratulations Sienna and hope you had a great day!
After this we started to do some climbing which was expected in the route we had planned. There was one particular part which had gradients exceeding 15%. To be frank I walked a good part of the 15% road…. No point in doing yourself harm this early in the ride!
After this we had lunch at Ficulle which was an ideal spot to have a rest ahead of a flat ride in to our final destination of Chiusi. Lunch was a cheese and tomato sandwich with soft drinks…. We needed a good drink after the big climb as the heat started building in the early afternoon.
After lunch it was a nice downhill then a flat ride on a gravel road to Chiusi. The yellowish gravel road was reflecting heat which meant we had to constantly keep hydrating ourselves.
During this time we were passing alongside the rail line and the trains kept wizzing along at regular intervals of about every 15 minutes. Most of the trains were the high speed trains going in excess of 160 kmh!
We arrived at Chiusi and found an ice cream shop to quench our thirst as it was now very hot indeed!
After this I thought it was only a short ride to our accommodation…. Seems we had the wrong address!!!
Bugger!!! And to make matters worse, we had to climb up the hill to the old part of the town…. Seems that most of the towns in this part of the world are at the top of the hills!
So after doing 80 kms we climbed again about 150 metres to our final destination. Not what was planned but on these trips sometimes things have a habit of changing!
Today we rode about 80 kms and we climbed about 750 metres… I reckon I could add another 100 plus metres of climbing for the time I walk which was not recorded on my Garmin.
Although the day had a few challenges, the day was terrific and rewarding. I am starting to get my riding legs which is good for the time ahead!
Today’s pictures are:
The route
A view from the road of a town on the hill….typical in these parts
2 photos of Steve and Chris at lunch after the climb with the bikes who needed a rest too!!!
A view from the top of Chiusi after the final climb!!!!
…. And our home for the night…. Shower was welcome!!!
