Bob and Ann - BAC Tuscany on the Med 2013

Scary weather this morning. The sky was black and boiling. The surf was pounding and running up to the beach chairs. The wind was blowing at gale force. So what did I do? I went on a bicycle ride.

The focus of today's ride was lunch at the hotel owners' house in their olive grove way above the marina plain. To get there would have been a fairly easy bike ride, but that would not have been a challenge. Instead, I left at 8:30 to beat the pack riders. I followed the directions from my GPS which was working perfectly today. I managed to meet Tom Grant and Frank Lamitola. We rode together until lunch. Our route was in forests, next to vineyards and alongside farm land with big rolls of hay. We even passed an area where tomatoes were being grown for the local populace.

After a couple of climbs with some good descents and easy flat roads, we stopped in Monteverdi for cappuccino. Then we continued on to lunch.

Old Olive Tree

We had a wonderful four–course meal – antipasti of meats and cheeses, salad, sliced veal with a yummy gravy and biscotti for dessert. The food was accompanied by table wine, dessert wine, limoncello and coffee. After our meal, we had a tour of the olive grove by the grandfather. There were some olive trees over 100 years old. He explained the irrigation system and the harvesting procedure. The whole experience was wonderful – from the food and wine to the tour to the owner's house where it all took place. The staff was very accommodating to Ann and another non–rider by driving them back and forth to the event.

The Road Home

After that, we got back on our bicycles and wove our way back to the hotel. It is a good thing that there were no sobriety checks along the way.

Here is my route:

Tonight's Menu

Of course, we had Happy Hour and dinner as usual.

Here is a a link to today's photos.