Cycling Day 2 - Piombino to Pisa

The day's cycling started later than expected.  This was down to a non-existent wifi connection in the hotel, and having to use the very old and slow desktop computer that was in the communal lounge area (I needed to Googlemap my route). Eventually I made sufficient notes on how to get to Pisa and made my way downstairs and got my bike out of the garage ready to set off. I then realised I didn't have the notes I'd just written down. They weren't in any of my bags or pockets. Neither were they in the room - the cleaners had already been in and taken any rubbish away. So I ended up going down to the laundry area in the basement with one of the cleaning ladies and foraging my notes out of a bin bag. The cleaning lady and owner were interested in my trip so had a chat with them about what lay ahead. I finally departed at what must have been at least 11am and made my way out of the town. It was a glorious day - sunny but not too hot and with virtually no wind. The roads were straight and pancake flat making my life as easy as it could have been. Despite having a big supermarket breakfast before leaving it wasn't long before I was hungry - I probably only managed about 20km before stopping at a roadside restaurant for lunch. I remember ordering 2 omlettes and still not being full afterwards. Also there was a traditional 'hole in the floor' toilet - a clear sign that I was off the tourist track. It wasn't long after lunch until I reached  the first town of San Vincenzo. The road was generally pancake flat which made my life as easy as it could have been. Upon arrival in San Vincenzo I cycled around the town following a signpost with the Olympic Rings on. After passing a massive port/boathouse the rings led me to an athletics stadium. The gates were open and nobody seemed to be around. I walked in and there was one guy doing some run training. Leaving the bike by the side I popped on my running shoes and did a nice easy 3-lap recovery jog. This felt pretty good and gave me a confidence boost that I may be able to run the marathon relatively well in Turin in 5 days time. There was a very long road that ran along the coast as I made my way north out of San Vincenzo. This was pancake flat and straight and was lined with endless restaurants as well as the odd surf shop/arcade. The roads remained straight and flat for the rest of the day - the only change was switching from riding along the coast to riding inland. There was a McDonalds wifi session at the second town of Cecina mid-afternoon to check directions (the SS1 road I'd planned on going on turned out to be a motorway, so I had to find an alternative route). I managed to make it to Pisa just as it was getting dark (I had to maintain a decent pace after the McDonalds delay to do this). I found the station in Pisa and retraced my way back to the Leaning Tower in search of a restaurant. My 2 requirements - big portions and wifi access. I went into the first one and ordered a huge pizza. This was meant for at least 2 people and when it came out I could see why. It took a while to devour but I got there in the end. I left the restaurant bloated with the intention of finding the first suitable camp spot out of the city centre and pitching up for the night. 15 minutes later I'd found a reasonable patch of grass set back from the side of the road with a bush that offered me a degree of camouflage. I popped the tent up quietly (it was a residential area) and went to sleep.