Today I woke up ready for the bike. Ken, not so much. He was very slow moving and didn't sound or look like he was ready for anything but back to bed. He had a very long day on the bike yesterday, so it wasn't surprising. I headed down to breakfast and he eventually joined me. We went back to the room to get our riding gear, and I knew it was going to be a tough day when he laid back down on the bed.  I suggested he rest for a bit, then grab the van to the first stop when he felt better. Nope, he was going to be on the bike. Uh, OK.
 
I went down to get my bike ready and listen to the route rap, and eventually Ken joined. We started off, and it was a beautiful morning. As per the norm, the rest of the group went zooming off and I was on my own, enjoying the hills and scenery. Our group are all experienced bikers and Edoardo commented that rarely do they have this many expert bikers on one trip. Ken does great with keeping up with a pack of about 4-5, while there is another group that is way out front on every leg. Allan (from NJ) is very fast, but he comes back down the hills to check on Linda and Lauren (his wife and daughter), then goes back up. He adds on a lot of mileage just by going up, down and back up again. He is great at encouraging and on one of the long uphills, came down and let me know that I was on the steepest part, and it would be much more gradual soon. That was nice to know!
 
On this morning, I wasn't to far behind and the van would be waiting at the top of one of the long hills. I got up to the top and found most of the group refilling snacks and water, and also found that Ken had fallen. Like me, he had a hard time unclipping, toppled over and scraped up his leg and chest. It is hard to explain how frustrating it is to be at an almost dead stop and literally fall over. His wounds were getting cleaned out at the point I arrived, but blood was still dripping down his leg. He insisted he was Ok, and off we went to our next stop...a little village that had a great bike shop with cool biking jerseys.   
 
I was right behind Ken, and as we pulled into the small area to park the bikes, Ken once again fell. It wasn't his clips this time, but he was just getting ready to get off and fell, toppling over into Hilary who was still recovering from her crash yesterday. This time he was more embarrassed than hurt, and the day had not improved from the point he woke up.   
 
The next leg was about 20k, and unlike Ken, I was really enjoying the day. Every morning, we are given detailed step by step instructions on the route. It includes an overall kilometer count, as well as the km's between each step. On the bikes we have odometers that tell the time, how fast we are going and the km's we have traveled. So while it is quite easy to keep up on where you are, if your km count is off, you have to do the math to follow the directions. Because I have taken quick "bumps" up particularly steep hills (it is either that or walk up them), I am used to knowing that I must add x amount of km's to my odometer to match the map.  
 
In addition to Ken's mishaps, his odometer was also off. So, instead of figuring it out, he was depending on the verbal instructions. Setting off from the bike shop, it was Ken, Eduordo and I in the back. Soon, the rest of the group was off and running and once again, I was bringing up the rear. At one point, I got a bit confused as there was a Y in the road, so I stopped to look more closely at my directions and figured out I had to go left. Halfway up the hill, I saw Edoardo and he asked if Ken was behind me...nope, I was the last one. We quickly determined that Ken had taken the wrong turn, so Edoardo went off on his bike to find him.  
 
I kept going and really enjoyed my ride. It was out on a very small country road, with lots of "Tuscan rollers"...meaning the road went up and down a lot. While I was loving the scenery and the ride, I began to get concerned as Edoardo and Ken hadn't caught me. Now, I am not super slow, but it was a long leg (about 2 hours) and I was sure they would catch me at some point. Ken was not having a good day, and I was really worried something had happened. I finally rolled into town to our lunch stop, where Lynn was waiting for me. I asked about Ken and Edoardo and Lynn pointed behind me...they were about 200 yds back.  Ken had in fact taken the wrong turn and had gone about 3-4 km's before Edoardo caught him, then they had to backtrack to get on the normal route. He looked totally spent.  
 
During lunch, I convinced Ken that we had already done 43k (he did a bit more obviously) and that was the normal route for the day. So, we could call it a day and head to the hotel. It was obvious he had crashed not just on the bike, but also metabolically, mentally and physically. He didn't put up much of an argument, and we hopped in the van and left for Villa Curina, where we would stay for two nights. Once again, the property is just beautiful, overlooking the rolling vineyards and large rooms, with windows the open onto wonderful gardens. 
 
We spent the next 3 hours relaxing, reading and taking a nap, which helped Ken get rejuvinated. At 5p, the group hopped on a bus for a 30 minute ride to Sienna. When we arrived, we walked up a very steep pedestrian type road within the city walls, where we met Dario Castagno, the author of several books about Tuscany. He began as a tour guide, then decided to write about his home in Tuscany and spent time giving us a fascinating look at life in Sienna.  
 
To give just a quick overview about Sienna, the city is divided into 16 Contrada's, or communities that are located within the city walls but behind doors. He took us into his (know as the Caterpillars) through a non-descript door, that opened into an entire living area including a park, eating/cooking facilities, museum type rooms that contained their Contrada artifacts and administration offices, all for about 2500 members. They are born into the Contrada and as such, they participate and support it for the rest of their life.  
 
Another interesting part of life in Sienna, is the yearly horse race around the town square. The Contrada's to participate are drawn via a lottery, then also draw for the horse and jockey. The Contrada's and the race have existed for 100's of years, and to win the race is a massive honor. Dario showed us a short video of when his Contrada won the race in 2008, and the celebration/emotion was incredible.   
 
After spending time with Dario, we were on our own for dinner. Dario had offered to make reservations for us at restaurant that was owned by a fellow Caterpillar and was also recommended by both Lynn and Eduordo. Cinnamon, Jason, Vince, Hillary, Ken and I took him up on the offer and enjoyed a very good dinner just down from the main square.  
 
After dinner, we met up with the rest of the group to head to the van, but not before we all stopped for gelato. I am going to miss the daily gelato!!