Siena: Burning off the Gelato

We’ve had friends and family comment on the volume of decadent food we are eating during our travels and wonder how we aren’t gaining weight. Other friends have expressed concern that we will be unrecognizable upon return to the US. So, as a companion post to our Siena cuisine blog, here is how we spent a month in Siena burning off all the pasta, gelato, wine, and ricciarelli cookies.

Tuscany is known for gorgeous rolling hills of grapevines and olive trees, so I had been dreaming all year about long bike rides through the countryside. Unfortunately, I recently had surgery on my calf, so I hadn’t ridden a bike in two months, and even before that, I hadn’t ridden a bike outdoors in almost a year (living in the center of Boston is not ideal for cycling!). I was actually quite nervous heading out on my first bike ride – a solo female cyclist in a foreign country on a random rental bike. What if I got lost? Or a flat that I couldn’t fix? Or an accident? I didn’t even know where I was going because maps and road signs are useless in Tuscany! But, my excitement to finally be outdoors on a bike again in beautiful terrain got me out the door.

The start of the ride leaving Siena is luckily downhill, and I was hoping after that to find some gently rolling hills (or even flat terrain) to get used to my rental bike and test out my calf. But, alas, the one flat road out of town was a major highway, so I turned my bike up a giant hill in hopes of finding a more scenic way out of town. Big mistake!! This hill was like a mountain…it kept going and going and then got steeper and steeper. I was up out of the saddle grinding with every bit of muscle that I had, barely moving, and praying that I didn’t tip over in the middle of the hill still clipped into my bike. Not a good way to start my adventure and definitely not “easing” back into working out like my doctor had advised. I was hyperventilating by the time I reached the top but was thankful that my calf felt okay. I was only 15 min into the ride, and I sent Jimmy a text that I might not make it much further. Yeah right, rolling hills. This was more like showing up to Boone camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains with absolutely no training! My goal was to make it to a town called Castellina in Chianti. I had no idea that the last 5 miles was an uphill climb to reach this quintessential Tuscan village. Thankfully, I was rewarded for my efforts with one of the most fabulous rides I have ever been on.

The countryside leading up to Castellina in Chianti

A church on the main square in Castellina in Chianti

And I was glad that I had found an Italian version of “gu” to help me power through.

Tuscany is known for an amateur throw-back bike event called L’eroica that starts in another town called Gaiole in Chianti. Cyclists wear vintage cycling gear and ride vintage bicycles (I think I read the rule was that the bike had to be made prior to 1987), and the route follows much of the famous Strade Bianche (named for the historic white roads of the region) – a pro cycling race that finishes in Siena. I set out on another weekend long ride in search of the L’eroica route and Gaiole. And I actually found the one flat-ish section of Tuscany!! The last 5 miles leading into Gaiole from Siena is along a valley, and I think Gaiole is the only Tuscan town NOT at the top of a giant hill. For the first time, I was finally able to ride with some descent speed, and I actually missed my aero bars. Entering into Gaiole, I was greeted by this green cyclist demonstrating the importance of the race and cycling to this city.

Gaiole was a cute Chianti village, and I took a bit of time to stroll through the historic center to check it out.

I found the famous symbol of Chianti Classico – the black rooster – made with 800kg of iron and an impressive 2000 plumage feathers.

And devoured a slice of pizza before heading back out.

Of course, the L’Eroica route is known for its challenging terrain, so on either side of the valley leading into Gaiole are some pretty serious climbs. The famous Castles of Chianti are all at the top of these “hills”, so I wasn’t going to be in this area and not check out a couple. The effort paid off with the climbs taking me past historic churches

And to the doorstep of medieval castles such as Castello di Meleto

On my last ride in Tuscany, I finally felt confident with the Chianti region and was able to do a 3hr loop instead of my usual out-and-back to avoid getting lost. I linked the three towns in the heart of Chianti considered the most authentic and charming – Gaiole and Castellina that I already mentioned and now Rada as well. The climb to Rada was another pretty tough one, and just when I was going about as slow as anyone could possibly go on a bike, I got attacked by demon horse flies!! How could these bastards be here too!?!? I thought about all my friends back home in NC running in Umstead and how much everybody hates these fiends. I was so angry that I couldn’t out-bike a stupid fly, but those suckers are relentless. I sprinted as fast as I could up the hill to drop them (although fast and hill does not really belong in the same sentence for me), and I could still see the pesky fly’s shadow right by my head chasing me for quite some time. So frustrating!! Rada could not come soon enough.

I took a quick stroll through the pedestrian zone in search of some gelato (hey, I didn’t have another Italian “gu” and needed to replenish carbs). I was shocked to not find an open gelato store (I guess it was only 10am) but got a good laugh out of this souvenir T-shirt:

Perfect for all my science friends that love wine too!!

After enjoying the views in Rada, I was off to Castellina to continue my hunt for proper carbs to make sure I had energy for the journey back home. A few more hills later and thankfully no more horse flies, my mission was complete!!

Now that I have written so much about how I burned off extra calories (and maybe still consumed some along the way), you might be wondering what Jimmy was doing. We were pleasantly surprised that, although we were living inside the old medieval town walls, there was actually a decent gym within a 5-10 min walk from our apartment. Plenty of free weights to keep us both strong and pumped up! And with a pretty decent view over some of the Siena rooftops.

And if you are thinking that weightlifting wasn’t enough and some cardio needed to be added to Jimmy’s routine, we had to walk up a massive hill after every gym workout AND climb 4 flights of stairs back to our apartment.

We even made an Italian friend at the gym. Only a couple other people were ever working out at the same time, but we were focused on our workouts (and didn’t speak Italian) so hadn’t really talked to him except a “ciao” here or there. One evening, we stopped in at a small restaurant near our apartment called La Taverna Di Cecco, and our gym buddy was one of the servers. He recognized us right away and started chatting away like we were best friends…in Italian. Did Jimmy and I really blend in that well? Or was Jimmy’s ability to say a few phrases in Italian convincing? Even after we spoke in English and I was unable to ask for a fork in Italian (he did correct me and taught me how to say fork), he still kept stopping by the table and charismatically telling us who knows what in Italian. When we left, Jimmy was able to at least say “see you at the gym tomorrow”, and he gave us a big smile and hearty wave good-bye.

The one downside to our Siena gym was that it had minimal hours and wasn’t open every day. But, that is no excuse to not get a workout in. As I mentioned in the “About Us” section of our website, we have to be more creative and willing to do unconventional workouts. And lookie what we found….outdoor exercise equipment in the Fortezza (old fort) overlooking the city. Fresh air, great views, and Jimmy on an “elliptical”

And here I am on some 1980s, infomercial exercise gadget:

Was there actually a name for this thing? I definitely think a few reps on this torched some serious gelato calories. And this twisty gadget that targets obliques took off at least 5 inches from my waist.

Oh, if only they had the Shake weight, our workout would have been complete!