All roads lead to Tuscany

All roads lead to Tuscany

By Kenny Stocker

All roads lead to Tuscany, discovering Italy's charm and beauty on two wheels.

The Tuscany Trail is a mountain bike event which follows a 560km route from Massa over the Apennine mountains to Capalbio. It passes through the very quarries where Michelangelo selected the marble he used to carve his David, the beautiful cities of Florence and Sienna and skirts close to the iconic medieval village of San Gimignano. Despite having lived in Italy for a few years it is a region I haven’t really explored in any depth. So what better way than by signing up to the Tuscany Trail and seeing it by bike!

My fitness levels at the start of the year were disappointingly low. My work / play balance was severely unbalanced, but this was a good focus to help me readdress the situation. In addition we had been getting close to developing our own adventure bikes. with the adventure sorted I now needed one of those bikes!

Once the flight was booked I was committed, it was time to get some miles in. I had lost the habit of cycling to work, it’s 50 minutes either way with a hill in between. Not that impressive in the grand scheme of human achievement, but doing that 3 or 4 times a week over 6 months builds up a good base fitness level, especially when you go after some of the Strava segments!

I have a problem with my knees over long distances - they start to hurt. Yes I know that’s not uncommon but I do have to be a little careful. With this in mind I decided to go for the little and often approach rather than trying something close to the full distance. I haven’t got a grand plan for training, no cycling specific routines, but I have got into Training for Alpinism by Steve House. In his book he says overtraining is worst than under training. a sentiment that I have no problem sticking to. I am never going to expose myself to the risks or objective dangers Steve does, but bikepacking shares many of the fundamentals of Alpinism such as self sufficiency, light weight and the single push.

The clocks changing has helped me squeeze in some training rides and I have managed to shoot up to the Peak District for a couple of hours after work, the Cromford Inclines providing a suitably intense after work workout. I have managed to fit in 2 - 3 rides in a week, 25 - 50 km each with 500 to 1200 metres of ascent. The Tuscany Trail has about 10,000 metres of ascent over its distance so I wanted to make sure I had something in the tank.

Pretty mundane so far, but we do have some prototypes of our new bikes and they are sooo shiny! Getting them built up in time is going to be cutting it fine, but I am hopeful since we have a master mechanic on the case.

One model that is already built up is the 650b all mountain style steed. Col and myself took it down to Cannock Chase for a spin. We were both getting over colds and were in need of some fresh air.

Sonder Bikes

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Camino Al Apex1 AXS XPLR Camino Al Apex1 AXS XPLR

Camino Al Apex1 AXS XPLR

  • Sram Apex AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,949.00 $2,349.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Ti Apex1 AXS XPLR Camino Ti Apex1 AXS XPLR

Camino Ti Apex1 AXS XPLR

  • Sram Apex AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$3,199.00 $3,799.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 May.
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Camino Al Rival1 AXS XPLR Camino Al Rival1 AXS XPLR

Camino Al Rival1 AXS XPLR

  • SRAM Rival AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$2,349.00 $2,799.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino TI Force1 AXS XPLR Camino TI Force1 AXS XPLR

Camino TI Force1 AXS XPLR

  • SRAM Force AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$3,849.00 $4,549.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 May.
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Camino TI Rival1 AXS XPLR Camino TI Rival1 AXS XPLR

Camino TI Rival1 AXS XPLR

  • SRAM Rival AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$3,549.00 $4,199.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 May.
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Camino Al Apex1 Flat Bar Camino Al Apex1 Flat Bar

Camino Al Apex1 Flat Bar

  • SRAM Apex 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,249.00 $1,499.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Al Tiagra Camino Al Tiagra

Camino Al Tiagra

  • Shimano Tiagra R4700 10-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,249.00 $1,499.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Al Tiagra Hydraulic Camino Al Tiagra Hydraulic

Camino Al Tiagra Hydraulic

  • Shimano Tiagra R4700 Hydraulic 10-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,499.00 $1,799.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Al 105 Camino Al 105

Camino Al 105

  • Shimano 105 R7120 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,699.00 $2,049.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Al GRX1 Camino Al GRX1

Camino Al GRX1

  • Shimano GRX 610 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,699.00 $2,049.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Al GRX2 Camino Al GRX2

Camino Al GRX2

  • Shimano GRX 610 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,799.00 $2,099.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 21 April.
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Camino Al 105 Di2 Camino Al 105 Di2

Camino Al 105 Di2

  • Shimano 105 R7170 Di2 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$2,499.00 $2,949.00
Buy Now. Deliveries from 12 May.

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