Introducing Bike Florence&Tuscany

A friend offered us to join a special bike ride from Florence through some small towns in Chianti Region all the way to Sienna. Luckily I didn't have to ride a bike, I had a privilege to be the photographer and to follow their biking trip by car. The bike ride was meant to test biking routes they were going to offer to tourists, as they planned to open a new company named 'Bike Florence & Tuscany'.

The meeting point was in Bagno a Ripoli area and we got there on our bikes. Jos was on his racing bike and I was on my road bike. According to the plan, the three of us would bike, Paolo and I would follow the three bikers by car from the starting point in San Donato. Three racing bicycles were checked and were carefully attached to the bike carrier, after fifteen minutes car ride we arrived at the starting point.  Once we arrived, Paolo released the bikes from the bike carrier while the bikers were getting ready with their biking outfits.

Toured Colle di Val d' Elsa, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Siena.



The first half hour was from San Donato through a beautiful winding roads in Chianti region, all the way up to a village named Castellina. This was the shortest and easy route with moderate latitude for non regular bikers. From where we stood, Elena a 'strong lady biker' and a leader of this biking tour showed us a view of San Gimignano in a distance. The view was breathtaking for our naked eyes but unfortunately not for my camera. The distance was a bit too far and the air was a bit foggy which disadvantaged my aim for a clear photograph.The bike ride continued all the way up to San Gimignano.

After a little stop for coffee and sandwich, we continued our bike ride and plunged into the stunning Tuscan landscape, skirting cultivated fields bordered by cypress trees. In the magic backdrop of the countryside, we saw many perfect spots to take a photo and a stroll among rows of lush Sangiovese grapevines.

Before facing the final, easy climbed towards our final destination, Siena, the Gothic city. At the end of our last challenge, in order to avoid the busy traffic, the car drove us to the ancient, medieval walls. We decided to do a little walk in fair Siena and had some gelato in a well-known gelateria in town. 

Time went by, we rode back to Bagno a Ripoli  by car and arrived before evening. It was a satisfaction and an enjoyable experience. A good taste of a bike ride with 'Bike Florence & Tuscany'. Then we went off for a twenty minutes bike ride home.