Martin’s last day! And a double-ton to boot!! Last year, his last day involved 1,349m of climbing, before our terrifying plunge down to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro…..so we eclipsed it…just (& unexpectedly!!).
The day started exactly like yesterday…and 400m climb first off! But today…without the wind…so it was SO much easier!!
4km in…and looking back down to Eloundas. Nice….but not very memorable.
But a lovely ride….on the ‘old road’. In Turkey (and Albania etc)..when they build a ‘new’ road…they destroy the old road in the process…but here they keep the old one…for local traffic…and they make great cycling.
Lovely ride….a constant reminder that cycling in Greece is such a pleasure! Little traffic on surprisingly well-maintained roads. One wonders with all their economic woes..quite how they do it! The EU certainly helps….but…it is surprising all the same!
Over a series of hills…
…and then along the coast towards the airport……and Heraklion.
A big city really…but we had a great run through…mostly on the waterfront…before stopping for lunch at a wee beach bar at the West end if the city.
Arranged to meet our accommodation man in Agia Pelagia…only 45 minutes away! This was somewhere I booked back in February…for my extended mid-term break!! I sort of never thought I’d make it…!! So I was looking forward to seeing if the reality matched the luxury promise!!
Only 12km and 100m of climbing…no battery worries.
But then we went on a different route..(to avoid the big road!). Up..and up…and up…another 300m or so….and on….and on….and on…..and…surprise!!! My battery expired!!
That is in fact a first!! Usually you know you will need to recharge…but today I really did not!! So handed my battery and charger to Martin…(who pushed on with lots of BOSCH battery capacity….!)….and said I’d meet him at the next cafe/bar/restaurant…and started pushing!! These bikes are so heavy…it really is all but impossible to ride them up steepish hills without power assistance!
Not too far…thankfully…..! And I coyly messaged the guy we were meeting to say that we were going to be an hour late!! Half an hour of charging…and a hope!!
Time for a beer!! Things could be worse!
And that half an hour charge gave me…just 7km..! Which dropped to 5, 3, 1…over the next 2km…!!……just as we neared the crest of what I hoped might be the last hill!!
And it was……
So we floated down to Agia Pelagia……
Lovely guy greeted us on the beach….and walked us along…to this!
Not a bad spot for a few days…!!
A swim…..and a few celebratory beers later….time to reflect!
With Martin…we have cycled a further 1,260kms…in 14 days of riding…so not a bad average…certainly when combined with 16,626m of climbing! And I had imagined we had left the big climbing days behind in the Balkans!
So….just over 3,100km to date…combined with … 37,892m of ascent over 32 days on the bike! Funny really…for every day we climb over 1,000m, there is a mini-celebration…but in fact…we are doing it every day…and some…on average!! (…might explain the too many beers!!!)
Over half way now……
Happy as a chappy!
It really is a wonderful way to travel….every day is an adventure…..and most days are just glorious!! The weather has not been kind to us…but in fact it has been great cycling weather on the most part (Plovdiv/Bulgaria aside!!)….
Feeling fit and healthy (despite too many beers!)
Iain keeps reminding me that it is hotter in Manchester!! And it has been! Amazing really!!
But…I’d prefer to be here!
Sad to see Martin go…..again!… referencing last year..when with too many tunnels..and an awful ride out of Mostar…I thought I might have put him off for life!! But apart for our ride through a drowned tunnel under the main road to Bodrum airport….not ONE tunnel this year!! Family commitments aside…and despite the trials of parts of Turkey (bloody Bodrum again!)….he might even be back for a repeat! It’s been great as ever! Let’s hope so!
