On day 2 I started out early heading north along the coast, excited to begin my adventure. In the crisp morning before the sultry day begins for most people I have the road to myself. I found a nice side road from Fragene to Polidoro. At Polidoro I joined the N-1 (Via Aureola) that hugs the coast through Ladispoli and San Marinella to just past Civitavecchio. The N-1 has a good shoulder and not too much traffic in the morning. Occasionally you'll find wonderful views of the Mediterranean coast. Much of the coast has vacation and resort development but doesn't feel urban.

Along the way I came across quite a few bicyclists, maybe a group every 10-15 minutes. I saw only one touring bicyclist who didn't stop. I waved at all who passed, a couple returned the greeting. Just before you get to Civitavecchio the road goes over a few small hill-lets, perhaps mostly noticeable because of the extreme flatness closer to Rome.

Civitavecchio is a medium sized town but I didn't have trouble finding my way through. Just north of Civitavecchio the N-1 changes to the larger and busier SS-1, so I took a smaller road that travels roughly parallel to the SS-1. This road travels through lightly developed countryside with vacation homes and small resorts. Eventually, I reached the road that connects Tarquinia Lido and Tarquinia. Tarquinia Lido is a small resort town on the coast about 5 km from ancient Tarquinia. I decided to stay at Tarquinia Lido, easily finding a small hotel with space.

After a short rest I pedalled the 5 km to Tarquinia. Tarquinia is an ancient city, once an important center of the Etruscan civilization. The city was eventually sacked by the Romans during the decline of the Etruscans. But, during the height of Etruscan power and wealth Tarquinians built lavish tombs for the wealthy nobility. These tombs were built like homes with walls covered with beautiful images of everyday life for the Etruscans. Don't miss the necropolis of Tarquinia for the insight into Etruscan life that it enables.

Day 2, May 26, 84 Km:

Left Tarquinia Lido early in the morning taking the road back to Tarquinia. Just north of Tarquinia. You'll need to choose, left for Grosseto and right for Tuscania. The next 8-10 Km the road is basically flat, following a pleasant valley up toward the distant hills. The morning air is a bit heavy with humidity but it's cool and pleasant nevertheless. Occasional traffic disturbs the quiet road but there's little else besides an occasional farmer or small animal to provoke a more pleasant distraction from my contemplation. Eventually, just before Tuscania, there's a steep hill that slows my speed to 11-14 Km per hour.

From Tuscania the road climbs steadily to Piansano and continues to climb to Valentano. Along the way are pleasant renaissance hilltowns and rolling hills. Sometimes the road goes right up into the hilltown, seeking the most difficult and steepest route possible. A few very steep climbs will leave you panting and sweating. Getting into a hilltown this way, more like a medieval pilgrim than a modern traveller, produces some appreciation to how much people were willing to sacrifice in order to find a little more safety. Old Roman towns in the valleys, near good water and productive fields, medieval towns on the top of hills surrounded by defensive walls tells you something about the changes after the end of the Pax Romana.

I ate a nice lunch at Valentano but I would have done better to wait. The road north out of Valentano the road passes pretty close to Lake Bolsena. You'll have some nice views of the lake and you'll pass quite a few countryside Trattatoria Typica ("rustic" local cuisine) that looked very inviting. The road continues climbing from Valentano to Latera. Just north of Latera you'll come to a junction with highway No. 74, take it west.

From the junction with No. 74 you'll pass thruogh Evangelista, about 6 Km. more of uphill climbing brings you to a pass on the border between Lazio and Tuscano. The province of Lazio contains Rome and the province Toscano contains Sienna and Florence. My planned route will take me through the center of the Tuscan countryside.

Entering Pitigliano from the east doesn't provide you the dramatic entrance enjoyed by those coming from the west, but the western entrance faces a steep climb while the eastern entrance offers a nice breath restoring glide into town. The road has a couple sharp turns just as it enters Pitigliano and if you're not careful you'll leave the town before you realize it. Stop just before you start an obvious steep descent past the town walls.

I arrived in Pitigliano about 2pm and found a room at the Guastini. I highly recommend this nice hotel atop the city walls. If you're lucky you can get a room with a spectacular view of the valley to the west and the city walls looming over the rising road below.

Day 3, May 27, 57 Km:

Day 4 started with a lucky wrong turn. I had planned to go more directly north and take the left turn to Sovana, but instead I went northeast, almost parallel to the highway No. 74 that I had come in on. This road starts out with a steep climb out of Pitigliano and heads directly to Sorano. Another steep climb brings you into the town of Sorano. The mistake was lucky because Sorano is fantastic, not to be missed. Sorano is one of the more spectacular of the hill towns I visited in Italy. Old, medevial, remote, undeveloped, you can't find better.

But, as spectacular as I found the town, the road north out of Sorano is quite incredible. Going out you'll get to enjoy it more than coming in, yet briefly because the road goes steeply down into the canyon below the town. But, even more amazing than the view was the road itself. It seems literally to have been carved into the cliff side. Sometimes the road looks more like a water channel than a mountain road. With just enough room for a two lane road, I was glad not to meet much of any traffic. I found myself wondering when the road was constructed and how they did it. Cruising down this amazing road, in the cool shade I wondered how I might have to pay for this joy later. After all, as every biker knows all too well, what goes down must go up. Anyway, it's worth the sweaty climb up just to see Sorano, this spectacular road was just all extra surplus for me.

Later, going up the other side, I met a German cycle tourer who stopped. He was traveling pretty rough, sleeping out by the road and cooking all his own food. Later I would encounter people on van supported biking tours of the wine country around Florence to see people at the other extreme. I put myself in the middle, staying in cheap hotels, eating out, but otherwise finding my own way. On to Sovena, I found a nice little town, nice piazza with a nice cafe and a single main street lined with old homes and a few tourist shops. Tomba Idelbrand, yet more Etruscan tombs, was forgettable. Nice for a break but not much else.

Just a couple of kilometers outside of Sovana I came up on a very steep climb to a small pass. I could only muster about 8-10 Km per hour, and walked the last 400 meters. At the top is the little town of San Martino with a very nice park. The park has a nice shade tree, fresh mountain breeze, cool fountain, and some old men complete the scene. My bike generated its usual attention but after the hard work getting there I didn't have the energy to cope with sign language and broken english/italian. Still, after recuperating I enjoyed the company enough decide on lunch at the park. That turned out to be a mistake, probably what I took to be curious questions about my bike were actually warnings about the sandwiches at the nearby bar. Yes, I think I did find the worst panini in Italy at a remote mountain pass.

From San Martino the road goes up and down, steep on both sides until Semproniano. Along the way I passed many scenic hill towns set back from the main road. From Semproniano the road goes almost consistently uphill to the fork between Petricci and Cellena, both routes go to Triana. I took the Cellena route where the road rises steadily but not steeply to Triana. From Triana I found a mostly downhill ride to Arcidosso, where I decided to spend the night.

It's not really hot at this altitude of about 800 meters but it's humid and toiling up a steep hill in the sun one can work up quite a sweat. Then, going down the other side, sometimes in the shade of large trees, it can get almost chilly blowing off all the accumulated sweat. Still, this was a great day of bicycling. On my way to Arcidosso I passed through pine forests that reminded me of the Rocky Mountains. I passed through one town that had pictures of people skiing. Despite the occasional steep hills it's been one of the best bicycling days I've had.

The Tuscan odors constantly arouse my senses. Most of the time I smell grass, sometimes fresh cut. Sometimes I catch a whiff of smoke from someone burning brush. The pine forests around Triana brought back memories of climbing in the Rockies. A couple of times I caught a pungent musk smell with a hint of mint. The sights, the smells, the quiet sound of a country road, all in all a wonderful day.

Day 4, May 28, 135 Km:

Another early start gets me out of Arcidosso with the dawn light to start what turns out to be my longest day. The early morning light streamed through the partly cloudy sky like a romantic painting. As usual for early in the morning, I had the road to myself. Looking back, I caught a wonderful image of Arcidosso on the ridge line. Later I came across one spectacular view of the Tuscan hill country after another. The town of Montegiovi especially stood out on its hill surrounded by Tuscan light.

The road flows downhill almost the entire way to Pagnico, over 30 Km of spectacular biking from an altitude of 670 meters to only 63 meters. Of course, there are a few small hills to keep a recumbent driver from falling asleep, but about half of the 30 Km have easy pedalling along the valley of the River Orcia. It rained last night so today at mid morning it's incredibly humid. Even with the downhill pedaling I'm still working up a good sweat.

I reach the busy SS 223 at Paganico and started up the Gretano valley for Roccastrada. About 13 Km of moderate climbing brought me to the SS 73 heading north, finally reaching Roccastrada at 475 meters above sea level. Roccastrada is a pretty little town set in the hills. From Roccastrada to Monteciano the road goes up and down, sometimes steeply. Often I find myself pedalling through tree lined tunnels of green and shade, roads with the feeling of America and it's lonely roads, missing people.

Monteciano has a few nice hotels and a nice little piazza. I reached Monteciano about noon, time for lunch. It's a Sunday and by noon the church has let out and it seems like most of the town is in the square, eating, drinking, and enjoying the nice weather. As I pulled into town the kids stopped playing and not a few pieces of food dropped off of forks raised only half way to the owners mouth. I worked my way into the crowded bar and found panini and a cold bottle of juice for lunch.

As I sat eating lunch on my bike for lack of a better seat, I fielded the usual questions. Where are you from? Did I make the bike? Where does the bike come from? How much did the bike cost? After asking about the cost of the bike, the next most common question concerns how well the bike goes uphill. I explain patiently, using body language, that although I can't stand up on the pedals I can push against the seat back. All my curious groupies seem to accept this idea with some scepticism, but they all clearly see the comfort of the seat.

After a nice rest, and a good demo of starting for the crowd, I'm off for San Galgano. I decided to push on to San Galgano even though I had planned to stay in Roccastrada. No particular reason, just no good reason to stay. San Galgano comes about 5 Km later down a steep hill. San Galgano sits back from the highway about a kilometer, in a park like setting, surrounded by trees and gentle fields. The abandoned monastery itself lives up to it's billing. It must have been grand during its heyday of the 1100's. I enjoy sitting and wandering around the skeleton of it's old self. The old derelict attracts quite a few visitors, several tour buses pulled up during the hour I spent resting and imagining.

San Galgano has a nice hotel nearby but again I decided to push on, in a light rain. Starting north again on the SS 73, the road climbs steeply to Frosini. From Frosini the road goes mostly downhill to the fork between Sienna and Colle di Val d'Elsa. Picking up the SS 541 at the fork, I traveled over rolling hills with lots of traffic, even on a Sunday mid afternoon. Near San Galgano I found some of the most beautiful umber landscapes of my trip, stereotypical Tuscan scenes. Later, the road passes through increasingly developed areas with light industry along the road. About Collato I hit the wall. I hadn't eaten much that day and wasn't carrying any food with me (rookie mistake) except a tube of honey. So, sitting in the parking lot of a small plant I sucked on my tube of honey until I had some energy to continue. At San Giulia I took a right turn on small country roads heading east, through Strove. This shortcut goes up and down some steep but short hills, passing some activity resorts with tennis, swimming, and other urban sports.

Monteriggioni is an old garrison town built to defend Sienna from the Florentines. Monteriggioni has an intact town wall studded with towers sitting on a low hill. Almost circular, the diameter can't exceed 100 meters by much. Almost abandoned, the town's population dropped to only 30 people by 1900. Tourism has revived the town but the ambiance has been protected by severely limiting development. It appears to have but one hotel, perhaps the most expensive three star hotel I've seen. Never mind, they don't have a vacancy unless you book well in advance, so with some directions from the tourist office I head off for a campground.

The tourist office had promised no more than 1 Km. on a gravel road after leaving the paved highway. This turned out to require more like 3 Km on a very dusty and at time steep gravel road. Fortunately, the camp site was very nice with a nice restaurant. Best of all, I met a bicyling couple, from Belgium, who spoke excellent english, and graced me with their presence for a wonderful dinner. I enjoyed the company and the chance to talk. I'm not really a talkative or gregarious person but after nearly a week, a proper sit down dinner with pleasant company was great tonic for my tired legs. My Belgian friends took bicycle touring rather differently than myself. Their trip consists of biking 20-30 Km. every other day, eating great food, and sampling the Tuscan wines.

After dinner, I returned to my little one man tent, layed down, and slept soundly until dawn.

Day 5,May 29, 37 Km: