Another terrific ride today leading a bike tour for I Bike Italy with the fun group pictured here from the midwest U.S.Every day, every group, every mile has something new to offer. Spending a whole day riding, teaching, guiding, dining and socializing with such interesting and happy people is deeply fulfilling.
The landscape is changing every day. The lush green grapevines are drying out. You can smell wine fermenting in the air for miles, but it is hard to find a vineyard whose grapes have not yet been picked. I was fortunate to find perhaps the last one today, and pulled off the road with my group to share with them the beautiful bounty of the harvest, partaking in their joy of eating the grapes off the vine and watching them them marveling and taking photos in awe. I feel very lucky to have found my destiny making people happy and sharing the beauty of Tuscany with them. I could not ask for more.
I am constantly pinching myself to convince myself this is really real. Leading them, pointing out in the distance such sights as the house where Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" and the villa where Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.....what a dream come true.The skies are getting cloudy and I am now wearing longer pants. Being out in the open air every day, spending so much time in the saddle, I have become one with the earth, one with Tuscany. My heart beats in cadence with the land. I feel sewn together with everything that is Tuscany. It is a tremendous feeling of peace and harmony. I guess you could call it heaven.
