28 June 2022
We had hoped to get to Olympia today…but Mr Google was up to his usual tricks!! It was always going to be a big day….but…..!
We were off to a good early start….and then climbed for 32 kms..a very gentle start…then steeper and battery-draining steeper.
Very beautiful….but exhausting
….and by the time we stopped for a nice Frappe (traditional iced Greek coffee!) at the top…my battery was showing a balance range of just 2kms! So I plugged it in (we had well over 100km still to go!!)…and after forty minutes…I had 8kms of range…!!
So…no surprise when the battery died shortly thereafter…..with a worrying 70kms+ to go just to reach the coast!! And I had been in battery-management mode from the start! Range is one thing…and I could manage that if a two or three hour stop allowed one to recharge…but my batteries often take a full eight hours to charge!!
I do need to get in touch with Shimano when this is over…and see if I can pass on a few words…of wisdom…or maybe just angry words! The comparison with the Bosch battery is truly illuminating!! So if you are thinking of touring on an ebike…go Bosch every time!! On which subject…you have to laugh…but I wrote to Bosch seeking heir urgent help when our battery failed back in Tirana. No reply….until TODAY!!
“ We have created a service case for your request: 00067504. We are very sorry that this has happened to you on your holiday. Please try to reset the battery by pressing down the on/off button for at least 12 seconds to see if that helps.” FFS….over three weeks for a response to my urgent call for help….and then a somewhat patronising “reset” instruction, as if we had not tried everything many times!! Ho hum….!
I digress…..a short descent…a little doubt about directions…another long climb…and then a spectacular 700m descent….which gave me the distance to allow us to reach the coast!
We had been running sort of parallel to a motorway for a while, which meant a lovely empty road…but then the motorway ended…and the traffic (& speeds) increased significantly!
But the road was very pretty… (what are those flowers…?).
We were both drained by the time we hit the coast…so we quickly abandoned plans for a recharge and onwards journey! Stopped at the first cafe for beers….and then looked on-line for somewhere to stay nearby. Nothing!
A quick glance around…and there was a tiny hotel right next door…classic! This was the view from my balcony to the cafe where we had stopped!!
A nice wee spot…with a good beach (& beach chairs etc!).
All was well…until beer time. Every single bar in Greece…supplies ice cold glasses with your (almost always) bottled beer. So as I was handed my beer…and a very warm glass…I asked if I could get a cold one. No..was the very abrupt response. Only for draft beer. But…Please? (There was not a single other customer on site…and I rarely trust unused draft beer!). No…!
Time for the second and a friendly waiter was around…..so I asked again…! Yes, no problem…he said!! Until the fat-arse “manager” fagging away at a nearby table)…said “no”..again! I then enquired about her customer relations as I pointed to the bar next door which happily provide iced glasses…at which point she said….”you have already pissed me off”. …which she then advised was because I had used my scungy fraying hotel towel at the beach (pebbly..so no sand issues etc!). And no…no beach towels available…”you can go and buy your own”. She was just so joyful – not!! A first in Greece…for everywhere (except hotels!)…the accommodation has been top quality, and great value and the people have been SO friendly everywhere!!
We drank…and ate next door!
And as I discussed our altercation with her co-owner brother later (who had been great!)…he started using their mother’s illness as the excuse…!! Maybe she was just having a bad day…but she really was a pig of a woman….
Talking of which…a new sign today!
So in Greece…we have had bears, snakes, dogs to scare the living daylight out of you…tortoises (high in the mountains again)..
…and now wild boar to worry about!!
But the biggest issue…is in fact insects!! Bloody great bumble bees and beetles crashing in to you as you cycle along (literally causing small bruises), wasps and bees getting stuck in shirts, and helmet straps…and stinging. And today I accidentally “caught” a wasp with my lips (thankfully before it got into my mouth!). Good job I am not allergic! And the good news? Nae had not been bitten by a bee since childhood, and thought she was allergic…but we can now confirm that she is not! Still bloody sore…but not really problematic!!
3,500 metres of ascent…and 250kms….over two days…..does that count as two 3-ton days?
