I rented my bike at a place called Florence by Bike, and they helped me figure out a route. They even gave me maps and highlighted the roads that I should take. The route to Greve was absolutely beautiful! There were olive orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. I was really amazed by the expansiveness of the vineyards. Never before did I realize how big the wine industry actually is here. Today it finally hit me that this is how many people in Italy make their living. Many of the farms double as villas for guests, something the Italians call agritourism. It seems like a nice way for farmers to bring in a little extra income. When I reached Greve I explored the town a little and found a nice little bar to have lunch at. I was able to get a panine sandwich and a glass of Chianti wine for only four euros! After lunch I decided to do a little side trip up to a little village at the top of a big hill. It was about one extra kilometer, but it was extremely steep! I asked some guys on the sidewalk how to get there, and when they saw that I was biking they just started laughing because they didn't think I could make it. But I did make it, and I must say the view was well worth it. After spending a little time at the top of the mountain I began to make the 20 mile trek back to Florence. On my way back I saw some road signs that pointed to Florence, and I decided to follow them rather than retrace my same route. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turned out to be not so good. I ended up on a busy highway, and although it had a roomy shoulder, unlike the country roads, I still felt a little bit vulnerable when I was biking on it. But I did make it back to Florence in one piece and returned my bike. If you would like to see the route that I biked today, you can check it out on the Google map in the blog entry below. You will have to zoom out to view the entire route. Now I am extremely sore, and I have a feeling it will probably be worse in the morning, but it was definitely worth it.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Breaking Away
Last night I was trying to decide what to do today, and I just decided that I wanted to rent a bike and explore the countryside. So that is how I ended up renting a Bianchi racing bike and riding 20 miles to the small town of Greve in Chianti (pronounced Gray-vay). 
I rented my bike at a place called Florence by Bike, and they helped me figure out a route. They even gave me maps and highlighted the roads that I should take. The route to Greve was absolutely beautiful! There were olive orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. I was really amazed by the expansiveness of the vineyards. Never before did I realize how big the wine industry actually is here. Today it finally hit me that this is how many people in Italy make their living. Many of the farms double as villas for guests, something the Italians call agritourism. It seems like a nice way for farmers to bring in a little extra income. When I reached Greve I explored the town a little and found a nice little bar to have lunch at. I was able to get a panine sandwich and a glass of Chianti wine for only four euros! After lunch I decided to do a little side trip up to a little village at the top of a big hill. It was about one extra kilometer, but it was extremely steep! I asked some guys on the sidewalk how to get there, and when they saw that I was biking they just started laughing because they didn't think I could make it. But I did make it, and I must say the view was well worth it. After spending a little time at the top of the mountain I began to make the 20 mile trek back to Florence. On my way back I saw some road signs that pointed to Florence, and I decided to follow them rather than retrace my same route. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turned out to be not so good. I ended up on a busy highway, and although it had a roomy shoulder, unlike the country roads, I still felt a little bit vulnerable when I was biking on it. But I did make it back to Florence in one piece and returned my bike. If you would like to see the route that I biked today, you can check it out on the Google map in the blog entry below. You will have to zoom out to view the entire route. Now I am extremely sore, and I have a feeling it will probably be worse in the morning, but it was definitely worth it.
I rented my bike at a place called Florence by Bike, and they helped me figure out a route. They even gave me maps and highlighted the roads that I should take. The route to Greve was absolutely beautiful! There were olive orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. I was really amazed by the expansiveness of the vineyards. Never before did I realize how big the wine industry actually is here. Today it finally hit me that this is how many people in Italy make their living. Many of the farms double as villas for guests, something the Italians call agritourism. It seems like a nice way for farmers to bring in a little extra income. When I reached Greve I explored the town a little and found a nice little bar to have lunch at. I was able to get a panine sandwich and a glass of Chianti wine for only four euros! After lunch I decided to do a little side trip up to a little village at the top of a big hill. It was about one extra kilometer, but it was extremely steep! I asked some guys on the sidewalk how to get there, and when they saw that I was biking they just started laughing because they didn't think I could make it. But I did make it, and I must say the view was well worth it. After spending a little time at the top of the mountain I began to make the 20 mile trek back to Florence. On my way back I saw some road signs that pointed to Florence, and I decided to follow them rather than retrace my same route. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turned out to be not so good. I ended up on a busy highway, and although it had a roomy shoulder, unlike the country roads, I still felt a little bit vulnerable when I was biking on it. But I did make it back to Florence in one piece and returned my bike. If you would like to see the route that I biked today, you can check it out on the Google map in the blog entry below. You will have to zoom out to view the entire route. Now I am extremely sore, and I have a feeling it will probably be worse in the morning, but it was definitely worth it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment