Tag Archives: cycling

Day 48 – San Remo to Finale Ligura

91km of 3201km so far…

First morning in Italy and just after I packed my bike, I started looking for the equivalent of a boulangerie to get my breakfast. I didn’t find exactly what I had in mind, but one of the delicatessen I went in had some fantastic pies, so I bought a couple along with a piece of pizza. From now on croissants will be replaced by pizzas and baguettes by focaccia, which I don’t mind at all.
San Remo has an old city as well, so I spend some time wondering around its nice alleys. They are similar with the ones in France, but in these ones the houses are connected together with small bridge like supports.

The old city of San Remo

The old city of San Remo

Its main church

Its main church

I left the city and by accident I joined the costal cycle path that runs for about 20km. I have to say it is probable one of the best I’ve been so far in terms of construction, simply because it is build on top of an old rail track. That means it is completely flat and even if the car road has to go above hills, the cycle path is going within tunnels. It also has emergency phones and picnic areas with running water every kilometer. And all these are by the coast, so what else can you ask?

A tunnel just for bikes and pedestrians

A tunnel just for bikes and pedestrians

Imberia

Imberia

That's Cervo in case you missed the sign

That's Cervo in case you missed the sign

I went through many towns and villages and most of them had a similar atmosphere and an old part wit small alleys. It was one of them though, where I found something very interesting. In Laigueglia, there was a wall in one of the squares that was covered with little hand painted tiles and each one carried a name and a signature. There were also loads of lockers connected one to each other. I tried to find out what is the story behind it, but unfortunately the young people I asked didn’t speak English, so I only understood that the tiles are made by famous people and the lockers are put there by lovers to symbolize that their love is locked or something.

Just a section of the wall

Just a section of the wall

Many amores

Many amores

I continued north-east by the coast again until I got to Finale Ligure, where I looked for a camping to pitch my tent.There were a few around the area, but I chose the one with the less starts. The guys gave me a discount without even asking and he was happy to give me the password for his wifi. This is just the second time I have free wifi in a camping, so not a bad choice at all.

A very nice day indeed, nice and warm but not hot

A very nice day indeed, nice and warm but not hot

At Finale Ligura

At Finale Ligura

The original carbonara

The original carbonara

Day 47 – Nice to San Remo

68km of 3110km so far…

Today I finally left Nice after spending there three night. My knee was feeling ok in the morning, but I started getting the pains within the first 5km. I rode very slowly and always on low gear, to minimize the problem.

Nice and its port as I was leaving
Nice and its port as I was leaving

After Nice I went through many towns and villages, that were almost connected to one each other. There were always big hills and mountains on my left and the road had a few tunnels.

The bay of Villefranche
The bay of Villefranche
Not very glamorous beach
Not very glamorous beach

One of the tunels I went through
One of the tunels I went through
A parade of classic cars
I guess it’s typical to show off your car around there

The big highlight on the way was of course The Principality of Monaco. It’s is very small and as it is located on the slope of the mountains, it means it is very densely build. Big posh hotels and restaurants, a port full of massive yatchs and of course many fast cars. I didn’t stay much as I couldn’t find any boulangeries around to refuel my stomach. But I did ride over the Formula One track which goes within the city and felt like an F1 pilot as I was going under the casino tunnel with the wild speed of 15km/h!

By the Formula One track
By the Formula One track
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
The Casino tunnel
The Casino tunnel
les triplettes de Monaco
les triplettes de Monaco

I left Monte Carlo and half an hour later I stopped at Menton for lunch. I had a microwaved chicken escalope sandwich, on a dry baguette, with minimal tomato and lettuce in it, along with a coca cola. I know not the best choice for my last lunch in France, but didn’t have many other options.

Menton, the last French city

Menton, the last French city

The French end indeed

The Italian borders at the backround

At kilometer 3080 of my trip, I crossed the borders to Italy. I spend 46 days in France and I think I am very lucky that my first cycling tour is in such a country. Many say it is the best country for cycle touring because of the all the cycling infrastructure and the awareness of the drivers. On top of that there is a huge variety of landscapes, beautiful cities and villages, loads of history and of course an amazing cuisine. What else can somebody on a bike ask?

Au revoir France...

Au revoir France...

It’s a little strange cycling in Italy and I think it will take me a couple of days to get used to a different country. My biggest problem is the language which I don’t speak at all. So I am relying on the locals to speak English or Greek, before I start my acting. After going through a few towns, I sto[ped at San Remo as I knew there is a camp site. A relatively nice and clean camping, but the only one where I had to pitch my tent on paved ground!