Steady Pedals

An earlier start today, off to catch a train. Having gone West from Nice now heading East. A little further East than originally planned !

I was at the station in plenty of time for the 0830 train, destination Italy. I bypassed the joys of Monte Carlo with it’s wealth and glamour (and the F1 circuit) and Menton, gateway to some serious climbing. They could wait until another day.

Ventimilgia was the end of the line for my train, just across the border in Italy. From there the plan was to get to Sanremo and ride a rail train down the Ligurian Riviera to Imperia and back. By all accounts it was stunning, although this was the tourist office saying so !

It was standing room only in the train, not surprising as it was what passes for rush hour. All changed at Monaco, where the station was buried, presumably so as not to spoil the views. This was destination for almost everyone on the train. Migrant workers in a way I guess , after all few can afford to live in Monaco.

Once in Ventimilgia, it was a change of trains (and four flights of stairs) and off to Sanremo, but not before helping an old lady with her bags. She was struggling with the stairs and not one person stopped to help her !

The rail trail has been created along what was the old track which hugged the coast. The new railway runs mainly underground, as a result, Sanremo station has been constructed deeper in a mountain than Dr Evil‘s secret lair, escaping it involved the longest passageway imaginable with multiple moving walkways. A new experience for the Brompton. I gave up after the second one, as these were clearly working on Italian time and barely crawled along.

Once out of the station, and past the police dog which tried to take a chunk out of my bag, and it was almost immediately onto the cycle track, which ran for some 25km. The start was just before Sanremo, so I headed back West in order to ride the whole thing.

They have done a really good job of building the track, it’s very wide and well surfaced. Running along the old track beds and through tunnels, the first of which was nearly 2km long, so long it was decorated with photographs of cycling heros and reading material to stop you getting bored.

Heading back through Sanremo the track hugged the coast offering great views on either side.

As it was past 11 o’clock I was ready for my morning “Fika stop“ a Swedish tradition which I happily follow. This time it was with an Italian twist.

Once I finished the coffee ( not a long job !) I was off. Fuelled with caffeine I made good progress. I wasn‘t the only one on the track. Lycra clad cyclists clearly used this for time trialling, but I was there to enjoy the views.

It wasn‘t long before I hit the end of the track close to Imperia. Encouragingly it looks like further work is underway to extend it closer to the town.

I decided to head back rather than go into town. Firstly I’d spotted a cafe a few km back and secondly it had started to rain on and off. Looking back towards Sanremo I could see what looked like heavy rain.

It didn’t trouble me on the way to the lunch stop, so I was able to eat my crepe in the dry.

My good luck lasted all the way to Sanremo, where I had a 30 minute wait for the train. Of course now was the time for the heavens to open ! Time to don a rain jacket for me and the Brompton bag.

The train was packed and very slow, when we got to Menton, we were held while Police went through the train checking identity documents. For once I actually had my passport with me, but they seemed happy enough with the UK driving licence. Maybe as it still has the EU flag on it, it’s a better bet than my Blue passport ! I’m not sure telling the gendarmes that His Britannic Majesty demands my free passage carries the same weight as it did !

Stop by stop the train filled up even more, by Monaco it was at London rush hour levels, with people sandwiched tightly in every space. The constant announcements to not stand in front of the doors, were vaguely amusing, for me if not those in the human sandwich. Perhaps UK railways aren’t so bad after all !

Having the folded Brompton in front of me, at least gave me some room (and I had a seat, so shouldn’t complain. I was really hoping everyone would get off at Nice !

Eventually we made it back to Nice and successfully off the train. The weather forecast isn’t good, but hopefully I’ll make it out on the bike again before I go home.