Date: 2017-10-06
Start: Tsoutsouros
End: Kalamaki
Distance (km): 71
Climbing (m): 900
Route description: country roads through the hills
Road condition & traffic: Road was in excellent condition, though no shoulders almost the whole way, but traffic was almost nonexistent, so it didn’t matter. One small section was dirt road through an olive farm, fairly hard packed dirt/gravel, just a little bumpy.
Weather: 23-32C, mixed sun, clouds, and some sprinkles
Stops: gas station near Sternes for refreshments and to put on rain gear, horrible taverna for lunch, should have known by the English signs and pictures
Accomodation: Hotel Kostas 30€
Notes: Except for the beach at the beginning and end of the ride, you could have thought you were riding through inland Greece or even Portugal on this ride, with the rolling hills, endless olive orchards, and small quaint rural villages.
On checkout, we thanked Niko (at San Gregorio Hotel) for his amazing hospitality and his wife’s excellent cooking, and took a photo with him. He really made us feel at home, and it was great to meet someone who used to live in San Diego half-way around the world. I enjoyed his home made raki the night before, so he gave me a bottle to carry with me!
The first climb was killer, up to 13% grades, sustained for 6km (average 8%!). One of the most difficult climbs since Albania. At the top I celebrated with a sip of raki (thanks Niko!).
The rest of the ride was really pleasant, rolling hills through olive orchards and small farming villages. We got a little wet, but just some sprinkles. The place we stopped for lunch was very poor quality food, and a little pricey, but there weren’t a lot of other options on the rural route we’d planned. But there were some adorable kittens that had to be less than a month old.
We made it to Kalamaki and asked about a room at Hotel Kostas. They said they had a double available, but they wanted us to put the bikes in a storage room. With our bikepacking bags, it takes a while to deal with the bags, so we asked nicely to bring them into the room, and she shrugged and said okay.
The weather’s not nice enough to go swimming, so we will go for a drink at a beach bar and do some computer work (I’m brushing up on the latest Google Firebase updates) and reading.
Steve is on the lookout for the best moussaka in town, will update on that later! The last one we had was in Chios and was amazing but too filling!