Bob and Ann - BAC Tuscany on the Med 2013

We had a tour scheduled at Petra Vineyards late this morning. To make sure that I got there in time, I started out early. The sky was clear, the temperature was cool and the wind was calm. I followed my GPS route due south to San Vincenzo to the first roundabout. I rode 1 1/4 times around it which confused my GPS. I did not know that it was not sending out turn signals because the route was straight along a wonderful separated bicycle lane next to the road. Fortunately some of my riding friends caught up to me at a left turn that I would have missed. I followed them and soon a lot of other riders caught up to us. I fiddled with the GPS a couple of times to try to get it to route me again, but I was not successful even after rebooting. So my upload to Strava and RideWithGPS shows me riding four rides today.

By following riders that were far ahead in the distance, I managed to get to the vineyard in plenty of time. I recognized it from a previous BAC ride that I was on that went from Massa Maritima to Elba and back. The winery has a very unique and recognizable design by a famous architect who also designed SF MOMA and other buildings in various locations including Tel Aviv. Our tour was led by a young woman who spoke perfect English. She took us through the whole wine making process. We were lucky that they were crushing grapes today and we could see the process in action. At the end of the tour, we were offered tastings of several wines along with samples of salami, lardo, what looked like uncooked bacon, bread and olive oil.

Fortified with the wine and the snacks, I headed out and continued on the designated route past Suverato and Sassetta non-stop until I reached our hotel. I had restarted the route on my GPS so I was comfortable with its directions. The temperature had warmed up to the high 70's so it was very pleasant riding on the ridge line above our village.

Tonight's Menu

Snacks and gelato kept me energized until our Happy Hour where I had more snacks and wine. Dinner was good as usual.

Here is a a link to today's photos.