Our third day on the bike was going to take us to Monticello, famous for the wonderful Brunello wines that we enjoyed last night. At the route rap, as yesterday, there was a significant climb into Monticello ( about 5k). My hand was sore from yesterday, and I needed to get comfortable again due to my two spills from yesterday. Once I got on, I kept up with Ken for most of the 12k to the van check point. I had already decided to grab the van up, and found Lauren (from NJ) already there. She wasn't feeling great, so decided to forego the riding for the day.  
 
We arrived at the top and found several of our group, Hillary and Vince (Calgary) and Lauren's brothers, David and Alex already at the checkpoint. Eduardo treated us to coffee while we waited for the rest of the group. It didn't take long before they all rolled in, forming their own little pelaton. Ken was part of that group and was excited to have experienced "drafting"... thanks to Cinnamon (from central California).  Lynn had advised that this was the place to buy wine, and there was a shop that offered free tasting and shipping, so of course we had to check it out. Vince joined me (Hillary was buying linen) while Ken kind of wandered in and wandered out, and we tasted some wonderful wines. Now, since I was still on a bike I did taste, but didn't drink much. I bought a case, which should arrive home in a few weeks. 
 
Then, we went to a shop where we could buy biking jerseys...Ken got a Brunello and I got a Chianti Classico, so now we look like real Italian bikers! It was time to head down the hill to Buenoconvento, our stop for lunch. It was all downhill, which of course meant Ken was long gone and I was enjoying the scenery, which was still beautiful! We reconvened it the very small town for a fortifying pasta lunch, preparing us for the climb into Monte Oliveto Abbey/Monestary.
 
The next segment was 11k, and mostly all up, but I decided to wear off the pasta and joined Ken for the ride. It was definitely doable, and we made it to the Abbey with no issue. During the ride, it started to sprinkle and the weather cooled off significantly.  By the time we got to the Abbey, it was raining and during the walk to the church, we all got drenched. Inside, those of use with shorts above the knee had to put on little brown skirts (even the guys), which was very attractive. Eduardo gave us an overview of the churches history and then waited for the Bendectine Monks to chant. The Monks moseyed in, settled themselves in their assigned spots and began the beautiful chant that echoed through the church. It was so relaxing that most of us snoozed through, and it was quite funny to look around see everyone's head drooping.  
 
This was the end of the normal route and those who wanted to hitch a ride to the hotel could do so. The additional route was another 30k through very rolling hills and I had decided that I was done for the day. Linda (mom from NJ and Lauren, her daughter who was already in the van) had also decided to call it in, due to the dicey weather. While the sun had come out while we were listening to the monks, the rain was expected to start again at some point. Biking in the rain didn't sound fun.   
 
Linda, Lauren, Eduardo and I left for the hotel, while the rest took off on the bikes (including Ken). The ride was beautiful on a very windy, hilly road ending at Casabianca, a typical Tuscan villa with amazing views. I checked in and went up three floors to our room, which looked a lot like something out of the movie a Room with a View.   
 
While I was relaxing out in the garden in front, the van pulled up with Hilary in the front seat. I was very surprised to see her, as she is training for an Ironman competition, and is always out in front of the pack.  Turned out she crashed on a downhill where the pavement was wet and had some very severe scrapes all along the left side of her body.  Lynn, who was with the pack, in her best leader voice...told Hillary she was done for the day. Luckily all parts were in tact, save for missing skin in place on her elbow and leg.   
 
Ken told about one of the large hills that they went up during the last leg. It was a long word that began with a "T" and he couldn't pronounce it (big surprise...we didn't pronounce most things well). So, he nicknamed it the "twerking" IT(aly) hill.  
 
Ken and the rest of the pelaton rolled in around 515p and said the ride was beautiful and hilly, but doable. Our evening activity was pizza making! We were all issued chefs hats an aprons, and then had a demo of how to make a proper pizza dough. Ken and Lauren were our two reps for the demo, as they got to make and knead the dough. After, we all got our own crusts to add our own ingredients for dinner. The pizza's all went into a stone oven, and we went inside for some amazing cheese, salads, grilled vegi's meats and of course wine! Since we were heading to Chianti, we went with Eduordo's recommendation from a family who he used to work for.  

Our pizza's came out, but at that point we had all been eating appetizers so we probably didn't enjoy it as much as expected. Long, but great day...ready for tomorrow!

BTW...pics aren't loading well, so will load more once I get better connectivity.