Kaldamyri – a Greek odyssey

I’m on holiday in Greece with the lovely Mrs S but never miss the opportunity to jump on a hire bike from 2407.com and head off into the hills.

Routes available here:

Route 1: Ridomo Gorge (the big climb and hilly route)
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/332497201

Route 2: Aghios Nikolaos (a small climb and the coastal bike path)
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/332530205

[Music] Um, so yeah, the bike looks okay. What’s that? 11speed Altegra um rear mech. It looks okay. Nice big gearing on the back to get me up the hill. And uh this rather goofy helmet, which is slightly small for me. Um, and I’ve got my um, non cycling glasses on. These are my sunglasses and uh, flat pedals because I didn’t have space in the case to pack my cycling shoes. But, uh, yeah, looks like the route is up here and to the left. So, um, let’s head off. And of course, because we’re in Euroland, don’t forget to ride on the right. gained some height already. Look, started at sea level. Literally sea level. Oh, we got some gears left. Shut up. I’ve only done uh 7 and a half kilometers, but um I did about 500 m along the high street and then straight into this climb. Um I mean from sea level I’ve gone 260 m altitude which isn’t a massive climb but on I mean it’s very warm today 30 uh 30° and not a cloud in the sky. This is the bay of um Msini I think or Manny. Um and uh see that island there. We are staying um on the mainland just in the foreground here. There’s the clouds over the mountains. This is steep, right? I uh turned off the main road which was good. Few too many construction lorries on there for me, for my liking. Um and uh yeah, came through a little village and still climbing but just on a little back road which is much nicer. The ging’s still beeping away. Wild ball crossing. What was it my old mate Nick used to say? RIP. The only thing that prepares you for riding in mountains is riding in mountains. And it turns out that sitting by the pool drinking beer and eating kebabs or sulaki as they call them here for a week is not the ideal preparation. 575 m altitude. the white boat there. That’s uh opposite where I’m staying on the coast. Right on the coastline. Sea view balcony. But look at these places here. Not sure what village this is. Uh I’m just looking for something to drink now. I think there might be something here. 13 km distance, about 600 km vertical. Um they only take card if when the husband’s around and he’s out for 2 hours, but uh fortunately she’s taken pity on me and giving me a gratus uh bottle of water, which is very nice of her. Um 13 km is ridiculous, but it’s uh it’s very hot. 30 32 degrees. As I said, not a cloud in the sky. I am covered in uh sun cream, but it’s um it’s a tough gig. Um but who’s complaining? I’m not complaining. I’m not complaining. Much rather be here than working. I’m in Euroland, aren’t I? So um the uh the brakes are on the wrong side, which hasn’t been a problem so far on the ascents, but I’ll have to um remember that on the descents. Um I know I came acropper on a fast descent um in Italy. And um yeah, I I um I hit the deck on the way down. So, um because I grabbed a handful of brake on a grally corner. A handful of the wrong brake on a grally corner. Bike’s really nice. Really nice. I just wish I wasn’t riding with um flat pedals. But this is a pretty special place, isn’t it? I can see why uh the ride came up here. Um it’s sort of uh comes into this town, stops presumably for a drink, and then goes back down and takes another turn to head back down the hill. So, um uh yeah, it’s well worth the uh well worth the effort to get up here. It’s really nice. That’s what he gets. Right back down. And remember the left the left is the front brake. The left is the front brake. Okay, let’s go. Left is the front brake. Something coming up here. Oh, heat. Oh, the next climb. Climb three out of eight starting. That’s only 1.25 km. Amber, not red. [Music] [Applause] Oh, it’s a bit rough. Yeah, it’s not nice. We have a gravel section. So, I’m taking this carefully on these skinny tires. gravel still. I could do with getting off this. Don’t really like riding this on gravel, which is ironic, isn’t it? But it’s horses for courses. This is not the right bike. An impressive looking gorge just uh going to infinity there. Infinity and beyond. That’s um I’ve just come around just come around there and then got the first sight of this another attractive church here but not sure where this is but 22k 22.29k 29K to be exact. Descending. Finally. [Music] Now we’ve uh descended a bit. You can see we’re going through all the uh groves of olive trees. There’s literally thousands of them. Okay. A ridiculous climb here that uh no way am I pedalling up. Um This seems to be correct. I’m bang on route here. It feels like I was diverted up there just to see that church. Really? Really? What Oh, here. [Applause] [Music] That was one ride. This is two uh do you recognize that Carter USM? I think this is the second ride. I unfortunately uh missed pressed the wrong button and saved the first ride. But this is a totally different ride. Had lunch back at home back at base with the lovely Mrs. S who’s been lying around the pool all morning and I’ve just climbed that same mountain but the other side of it. 5 kilometers. I’m up at 271 m. The good news is that I think this is the high point of this ride. It’s a It’s a lot easier ride. A lot less climbing in this one. That way, I think. [Music] Oh, that’s nice and cool. All right. Yeah. The ubiquitous church around these parts. Whoever made these roots likes churches. This gorge again. Oh, look a bike pole. I’m in Nicico. Uh, nice little harbor with shops. Got myself an ice cream. Got a Coke for some energy. And everywhere you go in Greece, you get a free bottle of water as well. So, um, yeah, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy this. I never ever drink Coke and unless I’m cycling, in which case I love it. [Music] This is very nice. This bike specific path going up to Nicico. Um the route was supposed to go past there, but I’m running a bit short on time. So uh had a lovely ice cream can a can of Coke there and uh terminated the ride there and well decided that was as far as I was going and I turn around and I’m coming back. Um, so I’ll post the links to the rides down below and let me know if you’ve uh ridden out here or what you think of the uh what you think of the uh ride. Right, the coastal road heading back from uh Stuper to Cardami. Not far to go now. It’s been a good ride this second one. Definitely easier than the first one, but there again my legs were uh quite tired from this morning’s effort. So, uh yeah, good day all out all all around. Some bloody good climbs here. Um loads of hair pins if you like hair pins. It’s actually easier to climb some of the descents. The tarmac is a bit dodgy, but uh you don’t want to be going too fast. But yeah, what a great day out. Uh over and out.