The sea with a lot mountains

Liguria from the eyes (and the bike) of Lorenzo 

Lorenzo tells us about these two beautiful days riding in Liguria on the hills above Imperia, that in these September days it is almost like "forcing" Lorenzo to take the bike and riding.

by Lorenzo Spanò

Day 1: 2013 September the 3^rd

A Lighthouse above the Aurelia Road, picture taken from the second turn of Poggio uphill (famous for the Milano-Sanremo race), I went up together with 2 racer guys from Laigueglia, even if always following their wheels at the end they even compliment me with me with my trekking bike (I call it the "gate") and the age declared on my id.
After arriving on the top they went down toward Sanremo ... (fortunately) while I got back to my normal pace of retired man toward Ceriana that offer a slight and scenic uphill.

View of Ceriana a couple of turns away, the village is very alive because is the destination of many people from Sanremo, it is strange the Tunnel which splits the village.

Baiardo. Just after taking this picture I went back home, anyway considering the beautifull weather I decided for the longer way passing in Sanremo so I turned toward direction San Romolo, one of the most scenic oads  of the "riviera" and one of the highest point closest to the coast with many downhill tracks.

Panoramic View over Sanremo.

GPS Tracking

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Distance: 112 Km
Vertical Climb: 1758 m
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Day 2: 2013 September the 4^th - Mendatica

From Bellissimi close in Dolcedo is almost impossible getting closer to the mountains without climbing many uphill, the only alternatives are the dangerous tunnels. No thanks...
Therefore from the National Road, in order to arrive to "Colle di Nava",  is necessary to face up the Torria uphill  (very nice and scenic without traffic), and continuing toward Cesio. In Cesio you can stop for a coffee and fill the bottles up in the only fountain, if it is not foggy day the spectacular landscape is ensured.

From Cesio you can continue toward Colle San Bartolomeo and afterwards the downhill towards Pieve di Teco, here you can rest having some food in panetteria Ferrari, play attention, a long queue could be possible, but it is worth to stop here.  

Entering again in the National Road that lead towards Colle di Nava, before 2 km from the top, after the village called Borgata Case Rosse, I turn inthe junction towards Mendatica direction. From the junction the road is flat and then downhill up to  Mendatica.

From the junction is possible either to get the uphill to get again to Ponte Nava or the downhill to Pieve di Teco. I of course chosen for the second option. This road is of historical and cultural interest and it is called  La strada del vino e dell'olio. (Get More info...)

This is the view after the junction, lovely landscape, it seems like a narrow valley, but after a while it gets wide and you can appreciate plenty of vineyards, gardens and fruit trees. Despite the elevation of 725 meters the climate here has to be mild considering the kind of farm. 

The Mendatica's church, it is located in the centre of a place with circular shape.

Mendatica downtown, with a very beautiful fountain, a sign says that the water here is not controlled, but don't worry the water here never miss.

This is place where to take water as well, next time I would like to gather information about this fountain, that is a wooden sculpture of a dog. Any thing has an history behind.

The way back has been very tough and long because in order to avoid uphill I got the seaside road, but the weather there was really hot.