Started the day with amazing views over mist filled valleys. Then the highlight: Strada Bianche. The dusty white roads of gravel that thread their way along the ridges and into the small towns around Chianti.

• 36.3km, 663m climb

• 2h 21m moving, 3h 33m elapsed

• 52% off-road, Mist turning to sun, 14°C average, 22°C max

Highlights

• Perhaps the most perfect gravel ride I’ve ever done. It was a shame some of the gravel tracks are so fast that everything goes by so quickly, but it sure is fun.

• This is the time of year to visit Tuscany! Waking up in an ancient hill top town surrounded by a sea of mist. I spent perhaps an hour just watching the mist slowly recede into the valley whilst having a great Italian breakfast.

• Miles of quiet deserted gravel roads and tracks with views over the mist covered valleys. These roads are counted as roads in Italy, but there’s so few cars on them (and even then they go slowly due to the stones) so I’m counting them as “off-road” for the purposes of my trip.

• The views of Siena. You get glimpses of the ancient hill top city from various points along the route. Juts worth sitting by the road and taking it in for a few minutes.

• Siena itself is great. Pretty much only walking in the town. I went up on the rooftops next to the cathedral for some amazing views.

Lowlights

• There really weren’t any today. I could point out the fact I was getting cold at times because there was so much mist today. (In fact it was the coldest average day of my entire Via Francigena).