Just a small guide about some mountain bike tours around my village, Pontassieve. The landscape is very beautiful, you certainely will find all the green sweetness of the Tuscan countryside. The uphills will never be too hard while downhills will give you an unforgettable experience.
Something to suggest? Please notice me.

Tour 1 - The Arno terraces
Map of the tour
GPS track of the tour
2,5 h.
18,2 Km.
650 mt.

In geological terms a terrace is a flat platform of land created alongside of a river, actually suspended some hundreds of meters over the river level. After the climb of this gap the tour allows to ride easily.
The tour starts in Rosano: don't forget to visit the Benedictine nuns Abbey of Santa Maria in Rosano, home to an order of seclusion nuns even today. The visits are limited at the times of services, for example the Vesprum between 5,30 and 6,30 pm (depending on the season).
Then, follow the route for Rignano and get the secondary route on the right after few hundreds of meters. Follow this route (paved) until the guest house Castiglionchio, then turn left on the white route.
Here starts a nice country route, paved with ancient stones (surpass an house) until a bridge on a small stream. Go straight ahead leaving the other routes on right and left (here straight ahead and keep the left), the route go up hardly for some meters, then still pretty hard for two hundred meters, until the farm of Mitigliano. Now the route is easier, some hundreds meters separate you from the top.
Finally, the top! Another farm, fattoria di Moriano, and on the left a path signed as "AR" (Anello Rinascimentale), red and white signs, that briefly reaches the flat terrace. Now, in the wood, you ride on an ancient route that joined Firenze with the Valdarno along the high land (here, in winter). Less than one hour journey, a small climb to reach Poggio all'Incontro, from where you'll enjoy a good view of Firenze, then back by the paved route: ath the big cross turn right along the 00 path, then leave this path for the number 1, along the top of the hills along the Arno (a nice flat land with few wooden areas). the direction is Compiobbi, the signs even red&white. The path enters a nice, more sloped wood, where descent starts. Sometimes the red&white signed path is crossed by a yellow signed, less sloped path: follow it, is a MTB path that follows the same direction with less slope and more hairpin turns, in a very wonderful wood. The route ends in the small village of San Prugnano from where the well sloped white route (not paved) quickly reaches Rosano again, just in front of the abbey.
About 700 metres of gap, an avarage 3 hours of time needed. Medium-hard, or few hundred meters by feet.

Tour 2 - Pomino-Consuma
Map of the tour
GPS track of the tour
1 h.
...
250 mt.

Pomino is a well known village in one of the Chianti wine geographical regions, famous for the production of Chianti Rufina e Pomino. The Consuma pass is a usual place where people coming from Firenze take tehir rest, and a bit of fresh air, in the unsustainable hot afternoons of summer. This track climbs the mountain of Secchieta-Pratomagno between the two villages, using some comfortable white routes beneath seculary trees.
From the nice, romaneque church in Pomino, the route climbs hardly for some hundreds of meters, then plans and you'll access a dedalus of white routes in the woods. The meeting with wild boars and roe deers is common. Pass over the old foundry and then ruined church of Madonna dei Fossi, then go down until the nice bridge on the river, then rise again on the other side until the crest, along the 00 path (red and white signs). Along the top of Appenin the route follows sometimes the 00 path, some other a less tiring white route, untill the pass of Consuma.
Take your time for a traditional snack (I suggest "schiacciata con i funghi"), then follow the paved route until the access of path n° 5 (red&white signs) quickly running down until the church of Madonna dei Fossi, from where the route follow the first path.
About 650 metres of gap, an avarage 3,5 hours needed. Easy. Here the map.

Tour 3 - the ancient route of Marna valley
Map of the tour
GPS track of the tour
1 h.
13,5 Km.
250 mt.

This ancient route joins the low valley of Arno, close to the village of Rignano, with the high route the joined Firenze-Fiesole and Arezzo since the Etruscan times. The route was also used by the local lords to reach the country by the farm in Pieve a Pitiana. In the Pieve a Pitiana, a romanesque church, you'll find a painting of Ghirlandaio. From the foremost route, coming from Pontassieve, turn left just before Rignano, at the tag "Marnia". The route starts just here, and follow the well traced ancient route, running initially among grass fields (standing stones) and cultivated areas (it's usual to meet a couple of hawks), then easily climbing in a beautiful wood until the paved route, crossing some fields with olive trees. From here, in a couple of hundreds meters, you'll reach the Pieve a Pitiana (nice overlook) from where a white route on the northern side go downward until a new house. Pay a bit of attention here, keep the lest hand and go toward another coutry house (Casa al Bosco), from there on the left side a route runs down until a crossing four routes: get the second one on the right (without cipresses) an simply follow going down until the first route, and from there at the starting point again.
About 250 metres of gap, an avarage 1 hour of time needed. Very easy.

Tour 4 - Mild east face of Pratomagno
Map of the tour
GPS track of the tour
3,5 h.
27 Km.
800 mt.

I suggest this tour for the hottest days of summer, when you find a breath of fresh air beneath the shadow of the trees, along the northern and eastern slopes of Pratomagno-Secchieta, although in fall you can enjoy the wonderful colours of chestnut forests. The tour starts in the village of Montemignaio, reachable in a 40 minute drive from Pontassieve, following for Consuma, then turning on the right for Montemignaio. This medieval village hosts a beautyful tower, and a little lower, where the tour starts, the church simply knows as La Pieve is enriched by a typical ceramic of the Renaissance, known as Robbiana by the famous artist family of Della Robbia.
The tour can be done by both directions, so choose your preferred, we'll show you in the counter-clockwise direction.
Start at La Pieve and follow the main street rising toward Montemignaio (be careful to the traffic), yellow street on the map. In Montemignaio, close to the tower, follow the narrow street, paved yet, for Secchieta (touristic brown tag): after a first hairpin turn on the right, and a second on the left, take a concrete-paved route on the right, that rising hardly will bring you to the crossroads between the paths CAI 26 and 25 (red and white signs). Follow the 25, the right one, along an easy, wonderful mule track among the chestnut trees, wading some streams and following the ren and white signs untill they leave the route on the right: then still follow the route ahead (some red sign on the trees) untill a crossroads: turn left and rise for a while, untill the route go out the forest and then cross a main unpaved route, with the red and white signs of the path CAI 00.
Turn left and follow the route, that sometimes leaves the 00 path then meets again in some hundreds of meters: the route rises untill it meets the path 26, when you arrive after a 2h30' ride. From here, you can quickly come down to the village again, in about half an hour, simply following the signs (in the woods you're going to bring your bike by hand, if you are less than good bikers... anyway it's a short, easy path into a nice landscape!) untill the crossroads already seen.
To complete the tour, still follow the path 00 until the paved road, when you cross the route for Secchieta and even a paved route direct for Montemignaio again (the fastest comeback to the start). To go along the tour, rise toward Secchieta. This is a nice road, without traffic and beneath a wonderful wood, rising for 230 m. untill the Secchieta, the top of the tour. You can even folow the 00 path (red and white signs) parallel to the road.
From here the road becomes unpaved, goes slowly down southward and runs along the crest of the mountain crossing some points of overlook toward the west (the Arno Valley and Chianti).
After roughly 5 km from the top, along the white route we're riding, the 00 path crosses the path 28, signed by a tag saying Montemignaio: the path runs down north-eastward, along a nice mule track in the forest again, where you'll quickly loose altitude untill the paved route in the village of Fornello: pass the small soccer field, then the church, still following the red and white signs of path 28, untill the start of La Pieve.
About 800 metres of gap, an avarage 3,5 hour of time needed. Medium.

Tour 5 - The forests of Appennin
Map of the tour
GPS track of the tour
5 h.
28,7 Km.
900 mt.

Along this path you’ll dive into one of the widest portion of native forest in Italy, the national park of Foreste Casentinesi. Casentino, the valley where Arno finds its birthplace, begins with Stia, a cute village 35 km far from Pontassieve, 50 km from Florence, reachable by car (through the Consuma pass, see the tour above) or by train (from Arezzo, local train service).
From Stia a road rises eastward to the Calla pass: the start is located after the biggest bend, some kilometres before Passo della Calla.
After a short road turn on the right, pass the green gate and continue to go upward along the white road. Then the road follows downward (keep always the right) until a wooden bridge (after, go upward on the left). The road then meets the signed path 78, the most difficult part by bike (if necessary it’s easy to walk hanging the bike) that cross, finally, the summit.
On the flat summit of Appennin the path runs into the Riserva Naturale Integrale di Sasso Fratino, a native forest remained from the last ice age: the access is forbidden and only allowed on the main path. The environment here is wonderful in every season.
The path arrives to the flat ground of Passo della Calla: near the shelter, on the other side of the paved road, a white road go downward to the Fonte Calcedonia (the word calcedonio reminds the agate, or some other carbonate mineral; fonte is for spring).
At the spring you have to follow for roughly 500 meters the paved road: be careful, this road is used by motor bikers almost like a race track, every Saturday and Sunday.
Leave the paved road on the left, access the white road (green gate) that after some kilometres becomes a path, then a narrow path, difficult but very funny, always flat but the final part, rising. The environment here is very beautiful and wild.
The path ends in the first white road, going downward this time: in some minutes you will be at the starting point again. About 900 metres of gap, my time was 5 hours. Quite hard.