I thought the last couple of days riding through the Riviera di Ponente would take some beating, and then straightaway came something even more awesome. The coastline to the east of Genoa is just as rugged as to the west, and then there’s the Cinque Terre, in a class of its own.
There’s some impressive detail when you zoom right in, especially the orange section
Thursday 8 September 2022. Vesima to Sestri Levante |82 km|
I didn’t ride far today even though it was an exceptionally good ride, because I got range anxiety when the batteries started draining quickly and also because of the lack of sleep I had last night due to my noisy neighbours cavorting to all hours. Also, I wanted to make sure I started tackling the Cinq Terre with full batteries because I was sure to need them considering how demanding the terrain was supposed to be (actually, at 1,500 m of climbing it turned out to be no worse than quite a few other days I’ve cycled in both Australia and in Europe).
I passed straight through the the port city of Genoa. I think Costa Cruises’ entire fleet of liners was tied up in the harbour. I couldn’t get a wide-angle shot showing all the ships and I thought there’d be plenty of professionally-done ones on the internet but maybe they’ve all been expunged, because I couldn’t find any. I think I counted at least 11 huge cruise liners crowded into the tiny harbour and it was quite a sight – I couldn’t have dreamt it. Could I? Please do a search and find them to set my mind at rest 🫥
So, after what seemed a particularly short day of only 82 km I found Camping Sant Anna , a tiny family-run campground in an old quarry, that cost a bit much at €25. I got caught in a full-on thunderstorm shortly before I got there and was thoroughly drenched when I arrived but it cleared up nicely in time to do some washing and peg my clothes out. I went for a couple of swims and had a nice cheap dinner in town for €25. This is about as cheap as you can do for daily expenses if traveling in Western Europe.
My camp neighbour, Paulo, had ridden his Moto from Lyon and was heading back home the next morning.
Friday September 2022. Sestri Levante to Senato |100 km|
Well, after reading and hearing a lot about it, this is finally the day to cycle the Cinque Terre, which is the name for the land between 5 villages on the Ligurian Coast of Italy. What the fuss isall about is that these villages are located on little bays or headlands on the coast with a rugged mountainous hinterland behind and, in a couple of cases at least, are not accessible by car (but are by bicycle).
So this was yet another fantastic day of cycling. First, 15 km uphill and then 15 more downhill into Levanto, where I recharged the batteries in a cafe for an hour, and then tackled the 30 km of the Cinque Terre itself. It is quite spectacular and will live long in the memory (I hope 🤪), but really not all that arduous – well, not if you’re on an eBike anyway. With the load I was toting I couldn’t even think about doing it on an ordinary bike, though I did pass a few intrepid young touring cyclists doing just that and with just about as much load.
The church I’m heading up towards in the above photo is the same one way down below in the next photo. What can I tell ya – it was a bloody big hill.
The extra power I took on board at Levanto didn’t last long and I only made it to 15 km past La Spezia, (which is a grimy industrial port and a home of the Italian Navy) to a bustling family resort-style campground called River Village Camping hidden away in behind a market-garden area that is, quite fankly, pretty ordinary. The campground itself was okay I guess – they had a huge pool complex anyway – the showers weren’t up to scratch but the foodstuffs available from their on-site providore were quite reasonable.
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Day 60: Europe in 2022 so far: 5,724 km in 53 days of cycling
Nights in hotels 27
Night on ferry 1
Night in B&B 1
Nights in tent 31
Bike maintenance: nothing new this blog
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- Rohloff oil change (Toulouse): km 0 (20,505 km on bike)
- Repairs to rear kickstand (Toulouse)
- 12 punctures:
- 2 punctures rear (Toulouse to Agde): km 250
- 4 punctures front (Toulouse to Agde): km 300
- 2 punctures rear (Hull to Birtley): km 2,730
- 4 punctures rear (Alnwick to Berwick): km 2,940
- 4 punctures rear (Sorges): km 5,016
- 1 puncture rear (Les Arcs): km 5,268
- 2 new tubes (Montelimar) km 780
- Two new Ortlieb Front Roller panniers (€140 Koblenz): km 1,870
- 2 sets new brake pads (£8 Boston): km 2,710
- Rear pannier rack broken; temp fix with cable ties (Bamburgh):km 3, 020
- 2 new tubes (Scremerston, UK): km 3,050
- 1 new tyre (Scremerston, UK) km 2,030
- New Gates CDX Carbon Belt (€87 Lyon): km 5,045. (25, 550 total for the belt)
- New Goretex rain jacket (€220 Lyon)
- 1 new tyre, Schwalbe Racing Ralph, (€62, incl. tubes, Cavaillon) km 5,167
- 2 new tubes Cavaillon km 5,167
- Refit rear tyre due to kangaroo-ing effect (Nice) km 5,426
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