Tuscany Trail beta

I toured the route in reverse in 2015 (the same weekend the race was happening, totally by chance but super cool!) skipping the mountain section at the beginning and opting to create my own made up on the spot small/side roads ride to Pisa through Lucca instead. Having gone this way I wish I has cross or road or any other skinnier tired bike with no gear outside of a change of clothes. My bikepacking kitted 29er with maxxis ikons just seemed wrong on the glorious roads of Italy and I'm not even a road biker. As it was with my little skip of the top section the terrain was pretty much paved the whole way.
Touring this route is the way to go. I spent 4 days I think maybe 5 by the time I got to Pisa. I stayed in hotels every night (lower season in May, way cheaper than high season), ate like a king, espresso's every stop. Sight seeing breaks to cruise around towns. I It was an amazing way to see Tuscany. Not much planning is needed as the GPS track takes you through all the best parts of the cities and towns through the main piazza's and near all the beautiful landmarks. A map to supplement some side trips and you're good to go. The people who created the track really thought about featuring the cities you pass through. For a plug in and ride self guided tour it was as good as it gets.