Liguria Explored – Coastal Cycling

Yesterday we explored 24 kilometers (15miles) of the beautiful Ligurian Flower Riviera by bike, the cycling lane following the railway line of the former coastal railroad from Genoa to Ventimiglia.

“La Pista Ciclabile”, the cycling lane, follows for 24 kilometers the layout of the old coastal railroad from San Lorenzo al Mare (our home base) to Ospedaletti, already near the French border.

We rented the bikes at the bike station in San Lorenzo, but there are many bike stations (all belonging to the same company) distributed along the track, so can easily change bikes or get service if needed. The route is completely flat and easy to navigate. And it is definitely fun to ride through the tunnels along the way.

The cycling lane almost always runs along the coast, and everywhere is easy beach access should you feel like taking a dip. You can choose between on of the fully serviced “Bagni” or just take your towel onto one of the many public beaches. Especially east of San Remo are some beautiful beaches with crystal clear water.

After passing through some smaller coastal villages, La Pista Ciclabile takes the cyclist through the buzzing town of San Remo. You pass quite a few Grand Hotels, the Casino, the Russian Cathedral and the Fortress at the harbor, all witnesses of San Remo’s golden past.

Of course there is also some opportunity at street photography along the way.

The cycling street photographer uses the great vantage points on the cycling track for some candid beach photography.

The longest tunnel, between San Remo and Ospedaletti, features views on the history of the famous one day cycling classic Milano-San Remo. Actually, it is quite entertaining following more than 100 years of history as you pass through the cool (and after the heat outside quite refreshing) tunnel.

The end of the 24km track in Ospedaletti welcomes us with pristine pebbled beaches and a great bar, where we freshened up with cool drinks and great snacks before doing the return trip.

All in all we cycled nearly 50 kilometers (30 miles). But it was a fun bike trip on a beautiful stretch of Italian coastline. We had much fun because of the combination of cycling and doing refreshing dips into the sea.

Most photos were taken with my iPhone, some with the PEN-F and the 12-100mm F/4 that I brought. Cycling all day in the sun I decided to travel light gearwise.

Wish you a great Thursday!

Marcus

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