The plan was to take the train to San Remo and then ride back, but I decided to scrap the 2nd part of the train ride and do it by bike. I took the first train at 6.20 Saturday morning from Nice to Ventimiglia with my bike with no problems. Originally I thought I would then grab another train from Ventimiglia to San Remo but between the logistics of getting another ticket while in Italy and trying to figure out the schedule and then change trains I thought I would be better off to just get out in Ventimiglia and ride to San Remo.
This turns out to be a good decision because it is less than 20k from Ventimiglia to San Remo and the San Remo train station turns out to be huge when we go there a few days later - more like an aiport.
I ride to San Remo via the SP1 and it is a direct route and flat - just what I am looking for at this point. Once I enter San Remo I decide to stop for a caffe, after all I am in Italy. As expected it is much better than across the border in France and cheaper too.
Now its time to find the entrance to the Poggio. I know the route takes the cyclists along the SP1 and then a side street to the Poggio, it turns out I have no problem at all finding it and am ready to tackle the famous hill, or speed bump before the finish depending on how you look at it.
The hill is not steep, quite gradual and not very high either. I guess it makes a difference if it comes after almost 250k of racing!!Nonetheless, it is a cool climb through a small neighbourhood with stone walls lining much of the climb & descent.
The views are pretty average.
So close to the finish, the descent can be a chance to make attacks - very narrow and winding.
Now time to return to the apartment in Nice. The ride through Italy to Ventimiglia and beyond is interesting as the vibe is different than in France. I find a bike shop and stop in and almost buy a souvenir jersey but can't pull the trigger - oh well, there will be more opportunities for that.
The last bit of Italy before the border. I make a wrong turn and instead of taking open roads across the border I end up going though a tunnel almost 1km long with no room for cyclists. I ride the sidewalk but there are muddy sections and lots of leaned over signposts forcing me off my bike every 20m or so. Not too much traffic so I drop down to the road when nobody is coming and sprint until I see a bus coming behind me and get back on the sidewalk. After it goes by I am back down to the road and able to make the exit before any more traffic comes through.
Once I hit the border things are more serene, now its roads I have cycled before in the past few days and I am able to enjoy my way back.Some pics of the trip back to Nice
The Poggio is the 1st small hill at around km25 and the bigger one near the end is the climbing toward Eze. It is a Category 3 climb about 4km long @3.8% and topping out at 190m
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