Tuscany

About the Route

The Monti Pisani are definitely one of the favourite places for all the cyclists living in Pisa and Lucca. No doubt a climber's paradise and for all the Pro’s that chose this part of Tuscany as their training ground.

On this route we will tackle every single access to the mountain on paved roads. Every climb is named after the village either at the bottom or the top of it.

The first decent climb arrives right after crossing Vicopisano. It is a fairly short but steep climb, 2.5 km at 8.2 % gradient that leads into a forest of Maritime Pines where the tarmac ends.

Probably the most scenic side of the Monte Serra, especially after a fire that affected this side of the mountain, opening up new vistas and revealing the valley underneath. This climb can be a tough one for those who are doing it for the first time as the profile is not very regular. Expect to ride up for a bit more than 7 km on an average gradient of 7.8%. Once arrived at the top we will descend through the Side of Sant’ Andrea, the nicest for switchbacks.

After descending through a pine forest we will have a chance to stop at a bakery at the bottom of this new Climb that after 4.5 km at 6.3% will lead us into the village of Ruota. There is no opportunity to keep climbing on a road bike so we will make our way down again already looking at the next little ascend.

This is another climb where the paved roads end as you meet a village. In this case Castelvecchio di Compito. We are not very high but the view looking at the Bientina Swamp is quite impressive. This is only 1.35 km of climbing but still at 7.4 % of gradient average.

To finish this series of rides up to the Monte Serra we will tackle the side from Buti, a village that sits at the bottom of this side. No doubt this is the most chosen side to go up by locals as not the steepest but surely the most constant. Expect to have heavy legs at this point. Only 6 km at 7.9% on paper but surely something to think about before finishing our day.

Go to asimismo.eu for more details.