Primo giro in bicicletta

We finally got bikes and a car carrier, so we were dying to get out on Tuesday.  It has been a long time since we have ridden, owing to all we had to do before we left, so we were looking for an unchallenging ride.  That is not easy around here--lots of steep hills, and biking on a road with traffic is way scarier than being on it in a car.  Fortunately, we met a wonderful couple, Lindy and Karen, staying at the B&B next door who spent time exploring the area.  They suggested that we go to Loppiano to ride.  I was skeptical because we go by the turn-off to Loppiano on our way to Incisa, and it goes up a steep hillside.  But we tried it, and it turned out to be a great place to ride.

On the way out, Carmen finally got the chance to photograph the bright yellow flowers beside the road.  This particular spot is just past Burchio, one of the small comunes (villages) on the way to Incisa.

After winding our way up the hill, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the terrain was relatively flat on top with a choice of several back roads to ride on, and a convenient parking lot across from a church.  

Down one back road, we found a small cemetery.

Here is what Carmen saw through the gate:

At one point we found a dirt path between two of the roads, so it was time to work out those new mountain bikes!

You may notice I am not wearing a regular bicycle helmet.  The story here is:  do you remember our adventure shipping the boxes of our stuff?  The first of our boxes arrived a few days after we did.  Getting the customs form filled out correctly was a whole other adventure, but I digress.  Two weeks later, our neighbor Sara knocked on our door and told us two of our boxes were waiting for us at the local gas station.  Apparently that is where the postman drops off large packages that are too much trouble to haul up our hill.  So we have received three of the four boxes, but four weeks on, we have not received the last one.  Everyone says don't worry, they always show up eventually.  Well, my bicycle helmet is in the missing box, so in the meantime I am wearing my snowboard helmet.

After our very satisfying ride, we stopped off in Incisa to do a little shopping.  Here is a view of the Arno River from there.  Apparently Tuesday is laundry day at the house across the river.

And here is our little Fiat Panda loaded up with our bikes:

Until the next post, Ciao!