DRAFT — awaiting Kevin's confirm-notes below before publish.

Italy · Liguria · Riviera dei Fiori

The exact opposite of Dolcedo's climb: flat, paved, car-free, and laid on a railway line that ran for 128 years before it became one of Europe's best-known cycle paths.

A handful of low-elevation rides logged around Imperia in this same stretch of coast — almost certainly the Pista Ciclabile del Ponente Ligure, a 28km sea-level path built on the old Genoa–Ventimiglia railway after the line was rerouted inland in 2001. It runs from Imperia (Borgo San Moro/San Lorenzo al Mare) to Ospedaletti, and the European Greenways Association has ranked it among the three most beautiful cycle paths in Europe.

The ride

Logged 4 October 2022 as a "Morning Ride": 35.5km, 108m of climbing — genuinely flat by this coast's standards. Ridden repeatedly rather than once: matching low-elevation rides on this same stretch turn up on 24 April, 15 September and 17 September, distances ranging 19–53km depending on how much of the 28km path got covered in each direction.

Not just a cycle path — a weekend race track

On weekends, this same path doubles as an informal time-trial course for local road cyclists chasing their own best times and old records — genuinely quick riders using the flat, car-free run to push pace, not just families out for a gentle spin. Worth knowing before setting off at a leisurely pace on a Saturday morning.

Why it's worth a page on its own: old railway alignment means gentle grades, sea-level tunnels, and bridges the whole way — genuinely traffic-free, which is rare on this coast. It's the recovery-day or bring-the-family counterpart to the Dolcedo climb on weekdays, and a genuine local time-trial course on weekends.
The path runs the length of this stretch of coast, from Imperia in the east to Ospedaletti in the west.

What it actually looks like

A road bike leaning against a railing overlooking the sea along the Ligurian coast path near Imperia
The bike, parked at one of the sea-level viewpoints along the path.
Kevin's wife at a clifftop stop along the Ligurian coast path, sea and rocks in the background
Kevin's wife at one of the clifftop stops along the way.
A Peugeot motorhome parked at a coastal viewpoint along the Ligurian coast near Imperia
The motorhome parked up at one of the coastal viewpoints along the route.
A café stop along the Ligurian coast path near Imperia
A café stop along the route — the path passes through enough villages that finding one isn't hard.

📝 Kevin — needs your input

  • Did you ride the whole 28km one-way, or a shorter stretch out-and-back?
  • Bike hire/rental points exist along the route — ever used one, or always on your own bike?

Source: Kevin's Strava export — confirmed the Ponente Ligure path directly, plus 4 real photos matched by GPS from the Google Photos archive. Built alongside the Porto Maurizio → Dolcedo page.