jd – To Infinity & Beyond!

After over a month of not riding a bike, David and I were itching for the freedom and glory of cruising on a two-wheeler. Upon arrival in Florence, Italy, we noticed there were bike tours available, easy bike rentals, and a flat city with a small amount of traffic. We were interested.

We rented bikes for 24 hours for 15 euro each (about $18 – a steal compared to US bike rentals!). As soon as we got on them, we both had giant grins on our faces, sighing, “man it feels so good to be on a bike”. To quote one of my former bike students, “its like flying on a witches broom!”

We used our bikes to explore Florence – searching out quiet shade and nice overlooks. We spent a good amount of time hunting for a high-rated Gelataria named Il Procopio (my sister’s last name) but couldn’t find it – it was most likely chiuso per ferio – closed for vacation, like many of the businesses in Italy for the month of August. We instead got gelato at this place:

Florence is full of art, history, and giant churches.

We also rode our trusty steeds up to the top of an overlook at sunset, watching the sun set over Florence and enjoying a juice box of red wine.

In Certaldo, a small Tuscan hill town, our hostel was in the middle of nowhere, so we used bicycles to go to the supermarket, get to the funicular to ride up the nearest hill, and ride to the trail to hike up the hill. Our bicycles provided us with access to some lovely views.

Lastly, in San Sebastian (northern Spain, near France), we cruised around on bikes – beating the heat with a self-made breeze and enjoying San Sebastian’s excellent bike facilities – cycle tracks and bicycle stop lights!

Viva la bicicleta!!