Tuscany trail, the write up!
Discussion
Following on from my thread here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=174&t=1598516 which turned out to be a bit more blow by blow than I imagined thanks to Tesco giving me roaming out of my bundled minutes, so you all know the outcome already, but there is a lot I missed out, so I'll try and give a full round up. I'll put my kit list up at the end of it.
Wednesday saw me fly to Pisa then catch the train to the start point in Massa, whilst sitting in Luton Airport, I was checking the weather forecast, to see a flood warning in force!! Eeek!!!! I knew it had been raining, but hadn't realised it was this bad!
I'm a Brit FFS, I'm going to Italy for a holiday and its raining, this isn't cricket!!!
The weather, whilst flying over France, I had a window seat so got an eye full of the cloud cover, this shows how bad it was, I'm sure thats that's Mont Blanc !
Travelling was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and once in Italy, a pleasant suprise, a combined shuttle bus and train ticket was €7.30 inc a €1 commission! On the train to Massa, I could see mountains going up into the cloud base, and kept thinking tomorrow was going to hurt! Now I can walk up Mt Snowdon in 3 hours so worst case is I'd be walking, which was part of the plan anyway for the 2 mountains as we'd be starting from sea level on both. Oh and it was peeing it down
Arriving in Massa I got a taxi to the overnight point ( a gym) to sign on and assemble the bike, where I met a few of the guys I'd been talking to on Facebook. Sign on was simple affair, but assembling the bike took a bit of time as I packed it well. I also got bagged for an interview for the Bike Channel
Once the bike was assembled and jeans etc packed in the bike bag, it was handed over to the shuttle service to take it to the finish (€40), then it was on to the important bit, Pizza and Beer at the local restuarant. Pizza was €4.50, (and a proper pizza at that, stone baked in a traditional oven), and €3 for a beer. 3 beers later we walked out and tried to sleep. Sleep was not forthcoming, with 150 odd people in the gym and a lot of snorers. Oh boy could some of them snore, and the volume, I would hate to think how they'd register on the dB scale!!!!
Day 1 and the Grand Depart.
No one had any sympathy for the Brits in the hall, and everyone seemed to be up and making noise at 6:30 CET (thats 5:30 to me!) and not one pot of coffee was on, ugggh, I don't function without coffee in the morning, still up and att them as they say, and its also raining!
We had a 5km cycle to the start point, the main square in the old town. The 2nd June was a public holiday in Italy, and there were Soldiers, Sailors, Police, and the Military Police, all milling around ready to start their public duty, plus 500 or so mountain bikers, so it made it very full, and we were asked to vacate the area as quickly as possible. Stuff that, I'm off to the cafe for breakfast and coffee after everyone had rushed off. The narrow streets weren't the place for a 500 strong peleton.
Fuelled up, I rode out of Massa with alan, an ex pat who I'd on the events forum, and we got talking of our plans, I listened to him, and his very helpful tips and then told him mine. Which he said weren't realistic given the conditions, (I'd planned on 140km for 4 days). I soon saw why he was saying this as we passed a river, it was in partial flood, I've seen the river Severn like this (I grew up in Shropshire) and lives have been lost on it, the risk factor now kicked in, safety was going to be paramount over pushing it. I revised my distance plans and decided a mountain a day was enough and I could catch up on the Strada Banchi and tarmac.
From Massa to the start of the mountain was all tarmac, and apart from wet, uneventful.
Coming in to the next town, a policeman was on traffic duty and signalled for us to cross, then told us to get off the bikes, as it was a closed road for an event. Rounding the corner at the bottom of the street, we soon found out what the event was, a bike race, and we were heading into its jaws! A quick dive down a side street and the lead motorbike came into view. So a quick 5 minute rest to let it pass and watch.
A couple of kms later we turned off the tarmac onto the Italian version of a bridleway. Sadly it was very flood damaged, and had its own mini stream system running down it, up to 6 inches deep, it don't bode well for the mountains.
More KMS later, the road started to go upwards, and upwards I went, still on the bike, it wasn't too bad, only probably a 4 or 5% gradient, but manageable. I knew it was going to kick up violently soon to 1000m, this 1 climb has 2 cat 4's a cat 3 and a cat 2! All on a bike that weighed in at 22kgs! The scenery was nice but at about 300 meters, I stalled thanks to a fluffed gear change and turn, and had to start walking. No matter walking was part of the plan anyway. I had past a couple who started before me with the GD so I was buoyed up from that.
Further up the mountain, I ran out of water, then found a mountain stream / well, so refilled and used the water purification tabs to be sure, and carried on the hike. More time elapsed, and to be honest, time isn't that important, its either light or its not.
I was by now at the top of the mountain (1000m) and tarmac ran out at about 900m, so was now in the mud. Oh the mud!!!!!!!!! There was lots of it, it was either runny stuff that coats everything in slurry, or like toffee. i also took the opportunity to sort out a niggle that I'd been ignoring, a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my heel. I took my sock off to reveal this.
Coming down the back side of the mountain, there were parts I rode, and parts I walked. One stretch I had the classic Oh poo moment. The path was skirting the side of the crest, and on my left was a 150m drop on, and I was riding through the runny mud, thinking don't put your left foot down (I, by habit unclip left first), at which point, the front slipped and I went down on my right, at a massive 5mph. It happened so slowly I knew what was coming but powerless to prevent it. Unharmed, and unshaken I pushed on, I wanted that next town for a coffee.
Further down the track, it got steep and was toffee mud, and this is where I came the cropper. Using the bike as a 3rd leg, I lost my footing, and the bike jack knifed sending the saddle in to my backpack, and resulting in me going over on to a rock. The shoulder took the brunt, and the head a glancing blow. Because I was walking, I wasn't wearing my lid. I'd brought the wrong tyres, Xkings do not like mud.
I never lost consciousness, but I did have a cracking headache, and know enough this could be bad, so called it and made my way off the mountain, as quickly as I could. The last thing I needed was a concussion. The headache lasted about an hour.
I found my self on the SS12 and heading to Lucca, where I got a hotel room and let everyone know I was safe, but off course. I had a safety net watching me on the tracker, and the event organiser.
Now I could eat well, sleep well and make a call on the route tomorrow morning. The shoulder looked like this at night, and would blow up to full rainbow!
Day 2
I woke up feeling fine, and after looking at the paper maps decide I'd rejoin and Siena, hoping to time it to meet up with Alan and a couple of other riders. So made my way to there and found a lovely hostel 9and cheap) on the route. Bumped into 3 ladies, cycling from West cost Spain to Rome! Turns out they were lost, and looking for the same hostel as I was as I met them again at check in. I'd also help them sort their gps out the following morning.
The hostel did a roaring trade in TT riders that night, and at only €3 a beer, a good trade too! I also bumped into 3 riders from East London Velo, who were using the steps of the place as a rest point to eat and recover, before pushing on to their hotel. All 3 were riding 1 x CX bikes and had regretted the decision on the 2 mountains.
Day 3
After leaving the hostel, I got on the wheel of a group and followed them into Siena, quite uneventful, but I'd left it too late to have the roads to myself and the streets were already full of shoppers.
I have a video of the entry to Siena, which I'll post when I've edited it.
Sorry, had to be done Yes, I'm sporting a PH top!
Getting out of Siena proved tricky, thanks to the 810 loosing satellite reception, but 6 miles out, you come to a T junction and are met with this!
Yes, I was on part of the the L'Erioca route and partaking in the Tuscany I recognised now it had stopped raining
My tyre choice was now right 
You come across the most unexpected things in Tuscany, in Radi for instance, I found this lovely restaurant, had 3 coffees and a cake there, and in true bad style, just as I was about to leave the heavens opened! great, either wet through rain, or wet through sweat, not fun! Goretex really is boil in the bag.
Then it was back on to the gravel, and on to Radifonconti which would probably be my overnight stop, unless it turned to tarmac.
The bianchi roads have a speed limit of 30 kph on them, I didn't see a car doing less than 50! They all thought they were Marcus Gronholm, but without the skill, judging by the handling skills I saw of the drivers.
Just outside Murlo, I had to do a double take and slammed the anchors on and doubled back for this shot! I really did a double take.
the sun was out now, really out, so I stopped for a drink and to put on sunblock, which turned out to be an insect attractant, and I got bitten multiple times on the legs!
Whilst stopped I heard pissst, pissst, pissst and noticed my forks had lost over an inch of travel, and my front brake had gone soft. A quick scan on google showed no bike shops in the vicinity so getting hold of a shock pump was out of the question. The most annoying thing is I had one back at the finish in my kit, but elected not to carry it with me. Thats a lesson learned the hard way.
So not wishing to ruin the forks and not trusting the front brakes, I made Bunoconvento and caught the train to the finish at Capalbio.
Wasn't all bad, the 2 of guys ( 1 had rolled in earlier after a mech issue) from East London Velo I'd met in Siena made the finish, and we set about the fridge full of beer the bar had 1 turned out to be a TCR 2015 finisher, and he pointed out where I'd made bad decisions on the kit I'd brought, and his TCR experience. Oddly enough, we had 1 thing we agreed on, a pair of boxers to sleep in! Sleeping in compression shorts isn't pleasant, and boxers are a lightweight luxury that makes life whilst asleep a lot more pleasant!
What cheered me up, is the logic I had applied, turned out to be right, I just decided to do it on a shoestring budget which wasn't ideal and I'd paid the weight penalty for it to the tune of 1.5 kgs.
Overall its a good event, and the most popular endurance MTB event in the work (521 entries this year). In the dry it would be great, the conditions made it not that much fun.
A date of 2nd June 2017 has been mooted for next year, so I have 6 - 8 months to decide if I want to do it again (more than likely) but I and the bike need a diet. I estimate that all in (kit, bike (22kgs) and me) weighed 115 kgs. I need to get the kit and bike to under 18kgs which seemed to be the ideal.
Day 1 on strava
https://www.strava.com/activities/603101197
Day 3
https://www.strava.com/activities/603101142
I have no idea why the 810 straight lined me.
Wednesday saw me fly to Pisa then catch the train to the start point in Massa, whilst sitting in Luton Airport, I was checking the weather forecast, to see a flood warning in force!! Eeek!!!! I knew it had been raining, but hadn't realised it was this bad!
I'm a Brit FFS, I'm going to Italy for a holiday and its raining, this isn't cricket!!!
The weather, whilst flying over France, I had a window seat so got an eye full of the cloud cover, this shows how bad it was, I'm sure thats that's Mont Blanc !
Travelling was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and once in Italy, a pleasant suprise, a combined shuttle bus and train ticket was €7.30 inc a €1 commission! On the train to Massa, I could see mountains going up into the cloud base, and kept thinking tomorrow was going to hurt! Now I can walk up Mt Snowdon in 3 hours so worst case is I'd be walking, which was part of the plan anyway for the 2 mountains as we'd be starting from sea level on both. Oh and it was peeing it down
Arriving in Massa I got a taxi to the overnight point ( a gym) to sign on and assemble the bike, where I met a few of the guys I'd been talking to on Facebook. Sign on was simple affair, but assembling the bike took a bit of time as I packed it well. I also got bagged for an interview for the Bike Channel
Once the bike was assembled and jeans etc packed in the bike bag, it was handed over to the shuttle service to take it to the finish (€40), then it was on to the important bit, Pizza and Beer at the local restuarant. Pizza was €4.50, (and a proper pizza at that, stone baked in a traditional oven), and €3 for a beer. 3 beers later we walked out and tried to sleep. Sleep was not forthcoming, with 150 odd people in the gym and a lot of snorers. Oh boy could some of them snore, and the volume, I would hate to think how they'd register on the dB scale!!!!Day 1 and the Grand Depart.
No one had any sympathy for the Brits in the hall, and everyone seemed to be up and making noise at 6:30 CET (thats 5:30 to me!) and not one pot of coffee was on, ugggh, I don't function without coffee in the morning, still up and att them as they say, and its also raining!
We had a 5km cycle to the start point, the main square in the old town. The 2nd June was a public holiday in Italy, and there were Soldiers, Sailors, Police, and the Military Police, all milling around ready to start their public duty, plus 500 or so mountain bikers, so it made it very full, and we were asked to vacate the area as quickly as possible. Stuff that, I'm off to the cafe for breakfast and coffee after everyone had rushed off. The narrow streets weren't the place for a 500 strong peleton.
Fuelled up, I rode out of Massa with alan, an ex pat who I'd on the events forum, and we got talking of our plans, I listened to him, and his very helpful tips and then told him mine. Which he said weren't realistic given the conditions, (I'd planned on 140km for 4 days). I soon saw why he was saying this as we passed a river, it was in partial flood, I've seen the river Severn like this (I grew up in Shropshire) and lives have been lost on it, the risk factor now kicked in, safety was going to be paramount over pushing it. I revised my distance plans and decided a mountain a day was enough and I could catch up on the Strada Banchi and tarmac.
From Massa to the start of the mountain was all tarmac, and apart from wet, uneventful.
Coming in to the next town, a policeman was on traffic duty and signalled for us to cross, then told us to get off the bikes, as it was a closed road for an event. Rounding the corner at the bottom of the street, we soon found out what the event was, a bike race, and we were heading into its jaws! A quick dive down a side street and the lead motorbike came into view. So a quick 5 minute rest to let it pass and watch.
A couple of kms later we turned off the tarmac onto the Italian version of a bridleway. Sadly it was very flood damaged, and had its own mini stream system running down it, up to 6 inches deep, it don't bode well for the mountains.
More KMS later, the road started to go upwards, and upwards I went, still on the bike, it wasn't too bad, only probably a 4 or 5% gradient, but manageable. I knew it was going to kick up violently soon to 1000m, this 1 climb has 2 cat 4's a cat 3 and a cat 2! All on a bike that weighed in at 22kgs! The scenery was nice but at about 300 meters, I stalled thanks to a fluffed gear change and turn, and had to start walking. No matter walking was part of the plan anyway. I had past a couple who started before me with the GD so I was buoyed up from that.
Further up the mountain, I ran out of water, then found a mountain stream / well, so refilled and used the water purification tabs to be sure, and carried on the hike. More time elapsed, and to be honest, time isn't that important, its either light or its not.
I was by now at the top of the mountain (1000m) and tarmac ran out at about 900m, so was now in the mud. Oh the mud!!!!!!!!! There was lots of it, it was either runny stuff that coats everything in slurry, or like toffee. i also took the opportunity to sort out a niggle that I'd been ignoring, a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my heel. I took my sock off to reveal this.
Coming down the back side of the mountain, there were parts I rode, and parts I walked. One stretch I had the classic Oh poo moment. The path was skirting the side of the crest, and on my left was a 150m drop on, and I was riding through the runny mud, thinking don't put your left foot down (I, by habit unclip left first), at which point, the front slipped and I went down on my right, at a massive 5mph. It happened so slowly I knew what was coming but powerless to prevent it. Unharmed, and unshaken I pushed on, I wanted that next town for a coffee.
Further down the track, it got steep and was toffee mud, and this is where I came the cropper. Using the bike as a 3rd leg, I lost my footing, and the bike jack knifed sending the saddle in to my backpack, and resulting in me going over on to a rock. The shoulder took the brunt, and the head a glancing blow. Because I was walking, I wasn't wearing my lid. I'd brought the wrong tyres, Xkings do not like mud.
I never lost consciousness, but I did have a cracking headache, and know enough this could be bad, so called it and made my way off the mountain, as quickly as I could. The last thing I needed was a concussion. The headache lasted about an hour.
I found my self on the SS12 and heading to Lucca, where I got a hotel room and let everyone know I was safe, but off course. I had a safety net watching me on the tracker, and the event organiser.
Now I could eat well, sleep well and make a call on the route tomorrow morning. The shoulder looked like this at night, and would blow up to full rainbow!
Day 2
I woke up feeling fine, and after looking at the paper maps decide I'd rejoin and Siena, hoping to time it to meet up with Alan and a couple of other riders. So made my way to there and found a lovely hostel 9and cheap) on the route. Bumped into 3 ladies, cycling from West cost Spain to Rome! Turns out they were lost, and looking for the same hostel as I was as I met them again at check in. I'd also help them sort their gps out the following morning.
The hostel did a roaring trade in TT riders that night, and at only €3 a beer, a good trade too! I also bumped into 3 riders from East London Velo, who were using the steps of the place as a rest point to eat and recover, before pushing on to their hotel. All 3 were riding 1 x CX bikes and had regretted the decision on the 2 mountains.
Day 3
After leaving the hostel, I got on the wheel of a group and followed them into Siena, quite uneventful, but I'd left it too late to have the roads to myself and the streets were already full of shoppers.
I have a video of the entry to Siena, which I'll post when I've edited it.
Sorry, had to be done
Yes, I'm sporting a PH top!Getting out of Siena proved tricky, thanks to the 810 loosing satellite reception, but 6 miles out, you come to a T junction and are met with this!
Yes, I was on part of the the L'Erioca route and partaking in the Tuscany I recognised now it had stopped raining
My tyre choice was now right You come across the most unexpected things in Tuscany, in Radi for instance, I found this lovely restaurant, had 3 coffees and a cake there, and in true bad style, just as I was about to leave the heavens opened! great, either wet through rain, or wet through sweat, not fun! Goretex really is boil in the bag.
Then it was back on to the gravel, and on to Radifonconti which would probably be my overnight stop, unless it turned to tarmac.
The bianchi roads have a speed limit of 30 kph on them, I didn't see a car doing less than 50! They all thought they were Marcus Gronholm, but without the skill, judging by the handling skills I saw of the drivers.
Just outside Murlo, I had to do a double take and slammed the anchors on and doubled back for this shot! I really did a double take.
the sun was out now, really out, so I stopped for a drink and to put on sunblock, which turned out to be an insect attractant, and I got bitten multiple times on the legs!
Whilst stopped I heard pissst, pissst, pissst and noticed my forks had lost over an inch of travel, and my front brake had gone soft. A quick scan on google showed no bike shops in the vicinity so getting hold of a shock pump was out of the question. The most annoying thing is I had one back at the finish in my kit, but elected not to carry it with me. Thats a lesson learned the hard way.
So not wishing to ruin the forks and not trusting the front brakes, I made Bunoconvento and caught the train to the finish at Capalbio.
Wasn't all bad, the 2 of guys ( 1 had rolled in earlier after a mech issue) from East London Velo I'd met in Siena made the finish, and we set about the fridge full of beer the bar had
1 turned out to be a TCR 2015 finisher, and he pointed out where I'd made bad decisions on the kit I'd brought, and his TCR experience. Oddly enough, we had 1 thing we agreed on, a pair of boxers to sleep in! Sleeping in compression shorts isn't pleasant, and boxers are a lightweight luxury that makes life whilst asleep a lot more pleasant!What cheered me up, is the logic I had applied, turned out to be right, I just decided to do it on a shoestring budget which wasn't ideal and I'd paid the weight penalty for it to the tune of 1.5 kgs.
Overall its a good event, and the most popular endurance MTB event in the work (521 entries this year). In the dry it would be great, the conditions made it not that much fun.
A date of 2nd June 2017 has been mooted for next year, so I have 6 - 8 months to decide if I want to do it again (more than likely) but I and the bike need a diet. I estimate that all in (kit, bike (22kgs) and me) weighed 115 kgs. I need to get the kit and bike to under 18kgs which seemed to be the ideal.
Day 1 on strava
https://www.strava.com/activities/603101197
Day 3
https://www.strava.com/activities/603101142
I have no idea why the 810 straight lined me.
Edited by Celtic Dragon on Saturday 11th June 08:24
Front bag
Sleeping bag
Tarp
Lightweight air mat
bivibag
Handlebars
Stem cell (bottle carrier)
Go pro
Top tube
Fuel Cell (battery packs for lights and electronics + cables)
emergency lights
Possum (underslung top tube
Brew kit (mighty mug, krakau burner)
leathermans
Multitool
Spares bag
Lube
Hydro tabs
innertubes
Zip ties
Compass
Tyre sealant
Koala (seat post)
Boxers
Spare short liners
Spare top
Spare socks
Goretex
Gas can for the cooker
chamios creme
1 emergency meal
wash kit (wet wipes, deo and toothbrush/ paste)
Fleece
Osprey pack
Tyre levers
Medical kit
Blood check kit
pump
knee braces
Wallet
phone
passport
ipod
3l camelbac
energy bars
vape stuff inc sapre fluid
Spare spokes were gaffer taped inside my seatpost.
Gruffy. Justin. I vape so have a load of 30ml bottles complete with fine nozzle which are perfect for lube and the like. If you'd like some for you bikepack trips, then just shout. Everyone else, if you want some, you're more than welcome to them, but the lads get first dibs.
Sleeping bag
Tarp
Lightweight air mat
bivibag
Handlebars
Stem cell (bottle carrier)
Go pro
Top tube
Fuel Cell (battery packs for lights and electronics + cables)
emergency lights
Possum (underslung top tube
Brew kit (mighty mug, krakau burner)
leathermans
Multitool
Spares bag
Lube
Hydro tabs
innertubes
Zip ties
Compass
Tyre sealant
Koala (seat post)
Boxers
Spare short liners
Spare top
Spare socks
Goretex
Gas can for the cooker
chamios creme
1 emergency meal
wash kit (wet wipes, deo and toothbrush/ paste)
Fleece
Osprey pack
Tyre levers
Medical kit
Blood check kit
pump
knee braces
Wallet
phone
passport
ipod
3l camelbac
energy bars
vape stuff inc sapre fluid
Spare spokes were gaffer taped inside my seatpost.
Gruffy. Justin. I vape so have a load of 30ml bottles complete with fine nozzle which are perfect for lube and the like. If you'd like some for you bikepack trips, then just shout. Everyone else, if you want some, you're more than welcome to them, but the lads get first dibs.
Annoyingly my sceptical fitness was there, ok I was slow, but I was comfortable and with this kind of event, that's the main thing. What annoyed me the most was the mech failures which I could have sorted had I chosen the weight penalty. Something I won't make the mistake of doing again.
Tomorrow I'll strip the front calliper down and find out why it went soft, I suspect it's full of mud.
Tomorrow I'll strip the front calliper down and find out why it went soft, I suspect it's full of mud.
If anyone is interested or has had their intrest peaked, Josh Ibbet has released a blog and video, shows the conditions quite well.
http://www.huntbikewheels.com/blogs/news/114687622...
There is also a load of photo's on the facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/TuscanyTrail/?fref=ts
http://www.huntbikewheels.com/blogs/news/114687622...
There is also a load of photo's on the facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/TuscanyTrail/?fref=ts
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