Stage 3 - From Torrenieri to Campiglia
24 May 2026 - 84.57 km / 1350 m ascent
There are many forms of resilience. There is a passive resilience, which is the ability to accept situations for what they are and that’s it, and there is an active resilience, the kind that makes us react with our determination to the situations we are in and want to live.
The start
Yesterday I thought about giving up. Too much tiredness, but above all too much effort. This morning, instead, I said to myself: oh well, let’s give it another go today and see what happens. We set off, as usual, fairly early after a substantial breakfast, and immediately we found ourselves immersed in a paradise: the Siena hills where the route of the Eroica Classica unfolds, along with the equally important Strade Bianche. The air was fresh, and I immediately had the feeling of being well. I noticed that I wasn’t tired and had strength and no muscle pain. After the first climbs I understood it was going to be a different day, as if my body had woken up and told me “ah ok, I get what you want to do in these days.”
Towards Siena
The scenery is incredible: wide gravel paths, lines of cypress trees along the ridgelines of the hills, vast panoramas stretching as far as the eye can see. You climb and descend without suffering, except for one steep and rough climb where many of us are forced to push, but from which I set off again anything but undone. Today everything seems different. At a certain point I tell my friends that I’d really like a coffee with something sweet to eat (I’d had a hearty savory breakfast) and just a few kilometers later we find Podere Sant’Antonio, an agriturismo that had organized a refreshment stop for Trail cyclists. A lovely atmosphere, coffee, juices, pastries and sandwiches, plus the chance to refill bottles with fresh water.
We set off again, and in a crescendo of beauty, climbs, and a fun stream ford, despite the sun really starting to beat down, we arrive in Siena in perfect time for lunch and with more than half the route already behind us.
I feel good
After a relaxed lunch at a nice spot in Siena called Bottega Roots, we set off again with the awareness of having taken the necessary time to catch our breath, and of still having enough ahead of us. It starts to get really hot, and that’s when I notice I’m at a different pace than in the previous days. It’s known that the body adapts (more or less quickly) to the “demand,” but to notice that I still have this flexibility, this body memory, but also the capacity for active resilience, of “accepting by reacting,” without having to choose between passivity and flight, does me good and brightens my spirits. I pedal calmly, without excessive effort, dosing my energy, and I am very happy.
Towards Campiglia
Alternating between provincial road, gravel paths and countryside, also passing the beautiful castle of Monteriggioni, we reach Colle Val d’Elsa, where we slip into a nonsensical off-track detour suggested by the Komoot app to reach our bed and breakfast faster. We arrive in Campiglia, today’s stage destination. And the sign we find in the well-organized base camp says a lot about this splendid route and the people who animate it. And about what can be done for love.
