After a relaxing day in Radicofani, we were ready to bust out of town. By 7:30am, George and I hit the trail running. Well probably not running, but a brisk walk. It was almost all downhill for the first 8-10 miles.

The morning was perfect for a long stroll. George has acquired his trail legs and he is much faster now. Rarely did I ever really leave him in the dust. He is hardly ever far behind. But today, he was keeping up. Even with umpteen blisters, double hernias and a bum knee, he’s doing amazingly well. Hmm, so what does that say about me? I’m pretty well preserved and George is keeping up. I need to step up my game!

We had tremendous views this morning. Today is somewhat bittersweet as we will cross over from the Tuscany Region to Lazio. I’m not sure what to expect but I guess when I get there, I’ll let you know. We walked on a ridgeline for most of the morning so we had views both to the east and west. Nothing but green hills, mountain tops and valleys below. At times when you look down, it’s like a version of the Grand Canyon but instead of oranges, pinks and reds, it’s green. Lime green, copper green, forest green and kelly green all wrapped into one palate of, well you can imagine, nothing but green!

We had a couple of bike packers pass us on the dirt road, and a couple from Australia I imagine, based on their ascent. Then we met a German couple that we played hop scotch will all day. They would pass us and then we’d pass them. This continued until we finally stopped for a long lunch. But I’m sure we’ll see them again.

There were few, well actually no services available with the exception of a farm that had a serve yourself snacks and drinks. I love these little outposts. They seem to pop up when you least expect them and are such a treat. Today was no exception. We were living off our morning espresso and Nutella cookies from breakfast and most definitely, in calorie deficit. As we came into an agricultural field, there was a sign boasting of all the farro, spelt and e’peautre (type of puffed wheat) that is grown there.

We walked through the field and saw the Germans sitting and eating some goodies. They pointed to the box and there was the “Holy Grail” of all things wheat from this farm. They had packs of puffed wheat with honey, chocolate covered wheat, something like rice crisps, farro flatbread and lots of other tantalizing options. We obviously went for the chocolate and the farro bread, along with sparkling water to cool us down. What a Godsend as we had nothing for provisions! We munched it down, left 10 euros to cover our snacks and went on our way. Once again, we never seem to go unnourished!

We walked a bit along the road with all the big trucks, buses and way too many cars. Luckily, we found a side trail that took us into the clumping grass, as George calls it, and I was glad to get away from the menacing traffic. We had to opt back and forth from road to clumpy grass and finally found a true oasis. It was similar to a Roach Coach just on the outskirts of town.

Ends up this is a well known spot for locals as there were a few guys who obviously knew about this dive bar. I asked what their special was and without skipping a beat, the owner told me about his pulled pork panini with pickled cabbage. Sure, I’ll take two. George and I grabbed some chips, beer, soda and had a proper lunch. Oh was it tasty! We ate every last bite and then attempted to finish out the last few miles of our day.

George took the lead and we walked slowly waiting for our joints to get lubricated. We only had 5 km which is around three miles left. Not too bad. But it was. Today had blessed us with little climbs, but mostly downhill and flat. But that last mile, did us both in. I’m gonna go a little George here. It was a loose gravel 40 degree pitch that you couldn’t drive a tractor up, let alone walk. Why in green tarnation would you have this type of roadway up to the city gates? Probably because you didn’t want anyone coming over unexpected! I felt like a crusader trying to capture a city on my last leg! It was absolutely brutal. Somehow, someway we arrived only to find our apartment was at the top of the city’s streets. Go figure!

But it was well worth it. I sent our host a message we’d be in town by 3:30pm. As we rounded the corner, there she was. The biggest smile, like she had been waiting years for us to show up. She walked us upstairs of course, because all apartments are upstairs. But when she opened the door, it was perfect. A full living room, kitchen, with two bedrooms in case we want to spread out. Thank you nice lady! I collapsed on the reclining couch and immediately took off my shoes. Today was indeed, a training day!