Bob and Ann - BAC Tuscany on the Med 2013

We had a typical hotel buffet breakfast at Hotel I Ginepri with unexpected scrambled eggs.

Our Day 1 ride was a basic ride to get us oriented to the area. Because there are so many people on our tour, we started out in groups. Our group was led by George Hall. He was a very considerate leader, keeping a casual pace and stopping at all of the major turns so that we could regroup.

The weather was partly cloudy, warm and a little windy. The terrain was rolling with a couple of short, steep pitches. We rode past vineyards, olive groves, fields of dying sunflowers, Cyprus trees and natural unspoiled land. We walked through a market in Donoratico and stopped for coffee in Bolgheri. I was pushing a heavy hybrid bicycle and struggled up the few hills. On the next few rides, I will go at my own pace so I do not slow anybody down. Here is my record of today's ride:

On the way back to the hotel while passing through Donoratico, I stopped at Cyclo Sport to pick up our cycling jerseys that were given to us as part of our tour. Then I proceeded to the hotel and met Ann. After cleaning up, we went to a restaurant across the street for lunch. Ann had a salad while I had risotto with octopus. We walked around the hotel area to get oriented so that we could find all of the grocery stores, restaurants and gelatorias. Then Ann took a swim while I did my internet thing.

Tonight's Menu

We had a Happy Hour at 6:00 on the Garden Terrace. Syd was the MC and reviewed today's route, tomorrow's route and several miscellaneous things. Tommy Glendinning told a joke and sang the national anthem of Scotland. (Did you know that the national animal of Scotland is the unicorn)? After that we had our dinner.

Here is a a link to today's photos.