Glorious Gravel Cyprus trip coming soon.
This misleadingly tranquil scene is in Cyprus the island where Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love was born out of Seaspray we’re the taxi to an unknown destination and then we’re going for a bike [Applause] Ride Fact this also it’s theim I got for my son a sandwich and then he said I don’t know want this one I got I how old is your son he’s 15 uh well we’ve uh we arrived at the star today we’ve had to move the start
Forward a bit where there was a lot of Josh fa um going on so it’s now 4 4 5 p.m. you couldn’t even get your back wheel in um yeah so we got about what 40K now to do hopefully make it back before it gets too cold so I’m Mike hajan I’m a
Local here in Cyprus and I do organize events and tours for uh cyclist and uh it’s a it’s a pleasure today to welcome these two guys from glor gravel to uh check the route for for our next event all right thank you very much Mike just see you
Friday yeah whatever whatever you need just all Day me and Max have made it to Cyprus we’re going up Hefty Burg already uh we arrived into the airport about 1:00 had a quick change around buil up the bikes and uh I’ve not quite got the setup dialed in right now I’ve got a heavy backpack with the camera gear in a
Tripod strapped over my shoulder um it’s not the most comfortable but it’s 40K to the the hotel so not too far um absolutely roasting and are we going left or we we’re going straight we’re going straight Nice Do you have car with you oh No Just bikes welcome film um what’s your R for your room yeah it’s not bad might get the fire going they’re pretty good and we can keep bring our bikes in the room I know incredible incredible how was today’s R
Yeah it was it was fantastic um one for the memory books was it it was fantastic I loved it one of those headlights yeah that was why it was so memorable you don’t remember the just nice rides remember the ones where you know you ride in the dark for 2 hours this is
Dreamy stars were out amazing Sunset some dodgy gravel tracks yeah yeah Lovely how was the first day max oh here we go again oh first day was great Josh um lovely dinner um Josh is getting up at half 3 tomorrow morning to go up M Olympus um and I shall not be going again so it’s about 7 17K um trip in the morning good
Night I’ve made some overshoes with my socks um it’s 4:00 a.m. and I’m heading to top of Mount Olympus uh it should be pretty cold up there so we’ll see how it goes um but yeah hoping to get a bit of a nice sunrise and get back here for Breakfast It’s now uh 6:36 and I didn’t quite make it up um for sunrise at the top but it’s like a military zone up there anyway I’m really glad I made the trip up and uh yeah great start to the Morning [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] Good morning Josh how you doing how’s your trip to Mountain Olympus this morning yeah was good uh got up for Sunrise Is We’re about 20K into the second day of riding and uh it’s pretty hot uh feels like repa of English summer uh which is love nice to get some sun on the skin uh how you feeling Max feeling good uh pretty spicy clim more legs Up we’ve uh ascended the two biggest climbs of the day um done a bit of gravel had some bread and hummus for for lunch and a nice kind of Pop which is dreamed of the hallway um up the two burgs that we’ve just done and now we just got to
Drop down to the ocean which is about 1 and half th000 M um downhill with a lump in the way but um yeah generally downhill and looking forward to get to the ocean which will be nice and uh we’re going to be slumming it tonight because we’re in a a two star hotel
Which after the fourstar hotel last night it’s a bit of a downgrade but um yeah I’m not sure how we’ll cope with that one but I think you’re nice Josh you think Yeah 1K from the summit of the the last notable climb that uh Kuts told us about me and Max are out here uh wrecking a possible uh glorious gravel event in C that had happened in 2024 and uh yeah stunning scenery and some pretty tasty gravel it seemed like centuries ago the mon cross
Mountain El Camino and a sipp and tea lemonator we Ponder all that we can lose in a theater of dark the cross of Jesus sees it all oh his Red Bloods on the Bar how’s the food yeah it’s pretty good um they treated us well two two vegans in some rural Cypress hotel um we’ve had every single dish on the vegan menu it seems um yeah it’s nice yeah it’s been a good day um we’re both pretty crack now to be honest um Josh
Josh was really suffering and once we got not on the bike once we got here you he was full full cracked um got some food down him and you’ve been a bit more sply since um I’m cracked as well of course and now I’ve just got all this to uh Munch our way Through nice out there zoom in can eat my food and peace Now currently heading up K climb just not exactly what you want after just eating so much food at breakfast and uh it’s pretty hot and we’re going straight into a headwind all day which is pretty brutal um yeah how’s feeling much station are average at best but enjoying
The roads yeah so should be a good day on the bike well it’s nice nice to be in shorts and sleeves oh of course yeah shorts and short sleeves but uh yeah looking at the forecast back in the UK definitely glad to be out here even with a H Oh Oh A This oh yes I Che ingredients ingredients fine as well it’s a rather large back oh yeah it’s Good where are we Max we’re at the bath of aphrodite um um which is a small little pool here um it’s slightly underwhelming um but this is where apparently according to grief mythology she met her l in this pool right here no no no it’s well worth a Visit Back and side to side high and low low and high trying to find something that makes me feel alive nothing new Under the Sun running to running from I just need someone to help me see the so uh we’re currently on a unknown length beat section uh there
Is absolutely zero Trail um and it’s almost dark so yeah 30k left of the hotel classic day out for the boys and you uh cracked a little bit on the last section mentally oh I did crack a it mentally but we’re on the up somehow we’ve been going on these massive burgs
And then the trail that’s next to these idyllic beaches like The Bluest of blue and Max cracks it’s the crack CS one of the crack C you can’t you can’t control It how happy are you to do a 30k hike Bik how you feeling good manate Max almost uh lost his Burke for the second time in a row and uh this is getting a bit brutal um um the elevation was a big hill at the start of the day and then um uh then it was flat for the rest but it
Just shows that you just can’t trust a profile for how difficult a gravel ride is because uh this last section has been hike a bike uh we’ve had a few wrong turns and had to do a bit of hiking through some thorns and trying to avoid puddles that are just real sloppy and
Clog up your tires so yeah this last section’s been really brutal but um five star hotel tonight and I’m not sure if you can rock up in the filthy state with cuts all over you that we’re in but um a shower will be very Nice what you doing MX stronger BS they are in the rain last night possibly you know nothing worse W on so get a hair yeah the legs are they’re suffering these stairs but it’s the last day one last day one last day to enjoy the sunshine carry my um backpack now car
It how heavy is it yeah yeah Fair place that’s what I Say this is such a silly hiker bike uh have to carry the bikes on the shoulders we’re getting spiked by really spiky plants and uh just super tough just not ridable at all um supp it’s good training for the Sussex Mystery Tour in July well Max had a allall of a time he
Loved it not one complaint I think we’re almost at the road now yeah I don’t think that’s a usable Route baby get baby don’t leave me Max has gone back he’s lost his BKE again and that’s been the third time on this trip and uh yeah he lost him a couple of times in Morocco as well well but he’s not learning his lesson Obviously how you doing Josh uh back in agony uh very steep liim the view is stunning so it be nice to not have this weight of all the cameras in my backpack got a bit of the headwind as well uh pretty much anything you can complain
About is like just the cards being dealt and yeah Josh is Josh is complaining just the it’s kind of a beautiful carful there I’m not got a backpack on my back so I’m having a good time still well you picked it up before you you
Know how heavy it is yeah Fair place in Josh we got about half a car m still gradient a bit nicer gradient is much nicer so we keep walking away what is SC To You go big push big big p Baby don’t get the phone baby don’t leave me alone baby I’m sticking the car I’m you you you baby BBE babbe I’m I’ll be what how was today’s ride Max it was challenging but I had a great time still um the clowns were pretty it was spicy um
Yeah good views at the top when now sat on the beach being hummus and and chips in the sun life’s pretty good you spent too long at track travel chips are crisp I know I know it’s terrible cycling Cafe here the feed Zone Cafe in the village of toi near laka and
Liur uh the fitone cafe is a project that started and was uh created during the pandemic uh it’s a hot spot for for cyclist uh from around the area in in the cities around uh the village uh it’s also a a hub for different bike routs mainly we do like
Um gravel rides here directly into gravel roads more different Road rides uh with glorious gra gravel we are planning to to start a big event for um for uh next year for 2024 and uh we we aim to have a a really nice event for gravel bikers in uh in Cyprus
The the roads here the gravel roads are a bit rougher than normal but the scenery uh it’s uh it’s really amazing so max um despite the steepness with the roots over the last couple of days how you found cyp Mike is under selling Cypress it’s been the gravel’s
Been pretty smooth compared to the UK um and beautiful Roots um yeah it’s going to be an amazing ride next year and yeah really happy to to be here and thanks Mike for giving us these great roots to ride yeah it was a pretty special riding
Yeah was uh it’s it’s you know every every place every country has different let’s say some some uniqueness in in in in the terrain so I think Cyprus combines a nice terrain with some nice scenery good food good food yeah definitely good food Mediterranean food
Is uh is known for for his taste so we we are aiming to have a a good good week in Cyprus for glorious gra um bikers