Day 93 was a rest stay at the stunning campsite in Montecatini. Tim and Dad went into the town on the funicular, which was built in 1898 (Keith stat). After their trip into the centre we met in an old village (Montecatini Alto) near the campsite. It was a stunning place and we had 360* views of the towns below. There was more hill climbing than I expected so I took it easy for the rest of the day. Lots of relaxing time revolving around football so I’ll spare you the details!

Day 94! It was time to get a move on and get ourselves closer to Florence. Today’s ride seemed like a simple one on the map so I was accepting an uneventful trip. This didn’t turn out to be the case!

Dad joined me for the ride today. Here we are saying goodbye to our campsite. We’ll miss the view!

The ride started off downhill- what a treat! It appeared there was a bike race going on as we cycled under an inflatable finish line near the campsite (see below!). The road surface was poor as usual but it wasn’t busy so that made up for it. We came across this delightful road with trees either side (see below!).

Next up were a series of main roads through some villages. We soon found ourselves competing in the aforementioned bike race! There were hundreds of bikers dressed up in swish cycle gear everywhere. We saw the start line and a crowd of people- unfortunately they weren’t there to see us!

The roads out of the town were quieter and we made good progress. Check out some of the photos below!

After 20km, things started to get interesting. We made our way up a narrow, single lane road. It started to get steeper and steeper! It was a toughie but it was short. It couldn’t get any worse could it? Or boy, it did! Another very long steep climb up to a main road took a lot out of me. I pedalled slowly but got there in the end!

Next, we assessed the situation. We had a decision to make: 1. Take the risky 9km “road” over the mountain or 2. Take the safe 18km road through Vinci. We decided to take a risk and started climbing again. I completed a couple of 20% gradient hills but the road suddenly vanished! We had to turn back and take the long way round! It took a lot of effort getting up that hill but it was all in vain haha!

The road down to Vinci was very enjoyable. It was downhill and had an assortment of cracking views. However, I fell out with a few pot holes as per usual! We soon arrived in Leonardo’s home town of Vinci. It looked like a corker of a place but we didn’t have time to admire the views (although you can with this photo below).

It was time for hill climb number 2! The road snaked its way up the mountain and into a forest. It wasn’t as steep as earlier but my legs were aching so I powered on to get it finished quickly. We arrived at the campsite just before it started raining. We cycled an extra 15km and up a few hills we could have avoided- all part of the fun though eh. Here is the data below.

After enjoying some lunch, I realised I hadn’t taken my pain medication this morning. My hip and legs felt good when riding but we’ll see later. Hopefully they aren’t too stiff or sore! Never a dull moment on the B to R trip!