The hotels where we have been staying have been very quiet in the early travel season. At Rifugio di Giulia, near Paganico, there was only one other group of guests. The complex is a large facility that looks like it could be popular with families with a pool, bar, outdoor kitchen and large dining area as well as a small field to play sports. We found this stop a bit of a quiet oasis.
Our breakfast was served buffet style with several offerings including at least six different type of croissants. We both took the whole wheat one kidding our selves that this was the healthy option! But there was also a selection of fruit and cereal as well as the meat and cheese trays. The coffee machine was a bit sad, but other than that we left full and satisfied as we prepared for a bit longer ride today. Still a short ride by many standards but with the necessary climbing involved, long enough for us.
We packed up and joined the highway for a short ride to look at Paganico. As we sort of expected, we did not see very much that held our attention which may explain why there was no overnight accommodation that we could find.
The sign post for our overnight stay provides many reasons to stop here.
On our way out of town, we picked up a couple of litres water at the local Coop store as we were planning for a warm day and a fair bit of hill climbing. The ride started off on the SP 48 and we found it to be exceptional cycling conditions up a gentle grade through forested areas and often on new asphalt. There was almost no car traffic as we made our way up the first climb of the day towards Roccastrada. We passed just below it and then sped on a 10 KM downhill run until we reached the town of Ribolla well down into the valley.
Rachael AndersonI hope you aren’t riding without a helmet! I had a terrible crash on a smooth bike path I always ride and still had a concussion with a helmet on! Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Ribolla, our lunch stop, was at the very end of a long downhill run and about 30KMs into the ride. It was a small, unremarkable town but we did find a cash machine which was supposed to work with our debit cards, but it declined both our cards. We were getting a bit concerned as we have been finding a number of Bankomat machines but they will not work for us either. We have never experienced problems getting cash in Europe before. In fact the opposite is true; we were always very surprised at how easy it was to get money quickly at many locations.
Large clouds we beginning to form with about 10 kms to our destination.
Looking up at Massa Marittima our destination for the day. The steep climb at the end of the day was a tough one. We stopped at the base of the hill to have a drink and a bit of a break before the final push. The delay may have cost us.
When the rain cleared we immediately found and checked into our B&B. There was sporatic rain for the rest of the day so we grabbed a quick dinner at a local restaurant. We had only a quick look at Massa Marittima, but we will be here for two nights . The good news was that we found a bank machine that will give us Euros! Not as many as we would like, but we can use it over the next few days and stock up. Tomorrow will be a day off the bikes and we will explore the attractive town further then. We are due for a day off as we have been riding and moving for about 14 days in a row.
The dark sky, sunset and and rainy conditions this evening did make for some interesting pictures.
Scott FenwickTo Scott AndersonLooked at it but just not in the cards on this trip. Corsica was another route that did not make the final version. Having a great time so we will have to come back. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Scott FenwickTo Patrick O'HaraThanks Patrick. Had to get a bit wet getting some of those but it was fun. Always love the opportunity that comes with the dark clouds and the sun peaking underneath. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
