Rose Pedals . . .: BIkes, Climbs and Tiramisu

Monday, April 25, 2016

Orvieto to Todi

50 miles, 4783 feet of climbing

A fun and challeging day on the bike. We headed north to Todi - a small, old town with amazing views. The temperature was quite brisk - about 47 degrees when we left the hotel. Because there was a chance of rain in the forecast (again), and the temp wasn't supposed to get much higher than 53, Art & I started out wearing all our rain gear - jacket, rain pants, shoe covers, even our helmet covers - hoping to stay warm. After we descended out of Orvieto, we began a 12-mile climb, which was a great way to stay warm. So warm, in fact, that I ended up sweating and had to take my jacket off. And so that's how it went all day - jacket off during the climbs, jacket back on during the descents. My rental bike is working great for the most part, although I seem to be having a contentious relationship with the saddle. I'm hopeful the two of us will work it out. At mile 30, we arrived in Marciano, where we stopped at a little bar/cafe for a bite to eat. There was a small group of older men gathered there, sitting around, shooting the breeze (in Italian) - very animatedly, as Italians do. It reminded me so much of my father and uncles and how they would interact at family gatherings. After that brief stop, we only had about 20 miles to Todi, but we still had a bit of climbing to do, some of which had some steep grades. It was essentially a rain-free day, save for some light, hardly noticeable sprinkles as we made the climb up into Todi. By then, we were almost done, so we didn't even mind. After a wrong turn or two, we found our hotel - Hotel Tudor - which is just outside of town. Our room has a balcony, which provides fantastic views of the countryside. We had fantastic dinner as a group in the hotel dining room - an amazing menu of three variations of pasta, a pork dish, an asparagus omelette with grilled veggies, and for dessert . . . Tiramisu! Everything was delicious, and we had a great time chatting with our fellow riders. A perfect ending to an exceptional day.