“Before I went on this tour, I had 1000 reasons why not to do this. After the tour, not one of them was good”
The Olive Route Cycling Tour from Athens to Lisbon takes riders through 5 European countries – Greece, Italy, France, Spain & Portugal – a 2 ½ month, 5290 km journey through some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery and some of the world’s most historical sites and cities. From the Acropolis to the mountain villages of Italy; from Mount Olympia to the French Alps; from the chic shops of Milan to the restaurants of Lyon; from the vineyards of Bordeaux to Santiago de Compostela; from Bilbao’s Museo Guggenheim to Lisbon’s charming streets; this is a ride not to be missed!
#tdaoliveroute
Learn more at https://tdaglobalcycling.com/olive-route
Yesterday is almost indescribable with words, but I’ll try. I’ll say it was the best 85 km ride I’ve ever done in my life. We began a descent that someone had said was 40 kilometers or so, but it felt like we descended for a day. It was amazing. It was truly incredible. I felt It felt divine. [Music] [Music] I think there are people who would look at a trip like this and think, “Oh, it would be so cool to do that, but I can’t.” And I’d suggest that if you think that way, you can change your mindset. You can do just about everything you want. And again, it’s a matter of what you expect of yourself. [Music] I’ve never done a tour like this. And tours like this are you don’t really know what you’re getting into. It was a little daunting. [Music] Day one, we were cycling up from the coast. You could see the coastline and see the islands dotted around. The first day of riding, I felt better. It was like medicine. And every day of riding since has been like more medicine. We’re in an unbelievably pristine environment. I think we are at a particularly nice time of the year cuz it’s spring. There flowers wherever you look. There’s birds all around me. I can probably hear 10 different bird songs as I’m speaking to you. And for me, that is a real highlight of the trip. We’re cycling through such amazing places, places with such rich history. I really wanted to make sure that I was as focused on my time on the bike as my time off the bike. The trick with the TDA is they put you into places where a lot of people just never get to and and you just have mindblowing experiences. You just have to open yourself up to that. You just figure it out, you know, and you get better at packing and unpacking and figuring out what you need for the day and you’re less nervous about whether you have the right stuff and you just get better at it. Cycling down into Petras was the most beautiful descent. And then you get to what is obviously a port town with hundreds of fairies just lined up along the dock, one of which was ours to take across the Sea to Italy. Cycling in Italy has been amazing for me because rural Italy is amazing. You know, the people are so friendly, so it’s it’s good fun. The other day we was Saturday and there was up teen uh riders on the road just blasting by. Not one of them didn’t say ciao like hey ciao like way to go. So it’s really cool to be immersed in that. Entering into Italy was um obviously a sea level and and very soon we started ascending mountains um and little mountain villages which are always seem to be perched on the most steep slope you can imagine. Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, it all just feels very soulful and old and rich and great. [Music] [Music] back. Cycling through that into really what defines the styles of Italy, which would be the towns and cities of Obino, which is where Raphael was born, Ravena, where a lot of interesting writers spend their time, and Cremonia. Cremona um is where Stratavarius um was born and lived and for those who don’t know is the luier that has made some of the most valuable and most beautiful sounding string instruments in the world. The end of the section is Milan. You couldn’t see the dwell until you turned around a corner and suddenly in front of you was this mystical piece of architecture. It is absolutely magical. [Music] I’m a little bit nervous again about the mountains. You were terrified of the Alps. A little worried about the Alps, but we’ll see. I was really afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to cross the Alps on my own. And I thought maybe, you know, it’s going to be too big of a day for me. I should probably take the van. We had a great day, actually. Everything looks so majestic. I was I I wasn’t even thinking of my legs. I was just looking around going, “Wow, how beautiful is this?” And that I think was my motivation to keep going just to see more. Sometimes it’s a little terrifying cuz you’re you’re going up this road and then you see up above there’s this ribbon of road going and you’re like, “Oh my god, they’re going to make me go up that.” Doing the ascent has its own rewards other than just the descent because you have time to see these views knowing that whatever photograph you take will never do it justice. Will never do it justice. One of the joys is you get to go your own speed. Go your own speed. Go. Don’t worry about missing out. Everybody’s ride is different. And somehow, whether it’s God or the ride or fate or kismmet, you get a different experience than almost everybody else. [Music] You You don’t know what you’re going to see. You don’t know what you’re going to experience, but you’re experiencing with all your senses. You’re always in the moment, and uh you just need to be open to whatever’s going to happen. Sometimes the route would just take this Alice in Wonderland, dive into these these little tunnels of green and canopied forest roads. You just felt like you were descending down past the mirror into this wonderland. Not having that physical barrier between you and the environment makes it so much more real and and tactile. [Music] Well, I was really excited to be in a chateau. It was really fun. It was kind of fairy taleish like you know like uh this is what it’s like to live in a castle and sleep in a castle and cycling up the cypressel lined driveway up to it and being able to see it from afar. That was that was great. And usually when we are ending the day and our hotel is on a hill, you’re like, “Oh no, why? Why does it have to be on a hill?” But this time when you saw the castle kind of up on the hill and the beautiful clouds beside it, you know, behind it, you were like, “Yes, that’s my place. I’m going up that hill right now. [Music] This tour has been fantastic. One of the best uh of 16 tours, and I’m just really enjoying every day. It’s been fantastic. Cheers. [Applause] Once we left Bordeaux, we had a we went to a place called Beirits and that was a bit like the Amalfi Coast, not in appearance, but in wowness factor. Once we got to the coast, it was absolutely gorgeous. I think the big surprise for me so far is that it’s so green here. I’ve loved cycling through the forests, the eucalyptus forests, and when it was the misting and you could smell the eucalyptus, it’s like it’s quiet. The roads were almost like they’re being prepared for a tour to France race is ridiculous. There’s a deep religious significance to the town. So, the town has a real spirituality to it married with a group of people of all shapes and sizes who have arrived there and are ready to party. And so, th those two things come together in Santiago and it’s really cool. [Music] There should be a word for when you you take the slope and divide it by the width of the road and then multiply it by the coefficient of the little cute houses. And Portugal has a really nice road road delightfulness coefficient factor. For me, riding the bike is about the expansion of my heart and my mind. I find that you learn a lot about yourself. You end up being able to go to places which aren’t maybe on our tourist radar. You’re seeing places that you might not otherwise go to. It’s a fantastic opportunity to to see and do things which you’ve never uh thought to see and do before. You know, we had a cyclist. He didn’t want to do it. Congratulations. At the end, he wrote a quote where he said, “Before I went on a tour, I had 1,000 reasons why not to do this.” After the tour, not one of them was good. You should be. It’s been a good trip. Two and a half months ago, I showed up. I had never done a TDA trip. I thought, “How am I going to ride through a country? I don’t speak a lick of the language.” And I was really nervous. TDA helped me grow um as a as a cyclist and a person and a traveler. But it helped me grow within this protective family. We are this weird lumpy or organism family that I’ve gotten to know people really really well. [Music] [Applause]