Made it to Makarska, About 40 miles. That was my target and was happy to make it. When I pulled into the medium-size town, I hadn’t been pulled over on the sidewalk for more than 30 seconds when an old gentleman on a motorcycle stopped by and asked me if I was looking for lodging. He said follow me, so I went to his place and he had a home upstairs with maybe three little apartments downstairs. I thought it was going to have the place to myself, it was perfect and about $35, so I was pleased to be there.

Well then apparently it is his habit to go out and seek more occupants, because after a while three guys on motorcycles showed up. You see hundreds of motorcycles every day along the road. Definitely a popular thing to do. Not sure which language they were speaking, but they never shut up until after 11 PM. Am I turning into a cranky old shit? I just want people to STFU when it’s time for quiet! I finally ended up slamming my door pretty hard and they shut up after that. Yeah I know, I guess I could’ve gone out there and asked them to be quiet, but at some point you just get pissed and next thing you know a door slams! Ha ha!

But maybe it reveals my bias that these people who have the audacity to put motors on their two wheel contraptions don’t work very hard all day. And I guess that’s why they stay up late yakking because they’re not tired from actually making the machine move down the road of their own power!

Makarska is beautiful town right on the water with a beautiful shared public park area with restaurants and stuff right on the water. Interesting comes to mind that Franco always said that Americans always have their own play structures in the backyards, instead of just going down to the playground. Well this park was right on the water, many benches, there was also like a carnival type area, numerous restaurants, a really good spot.

One special moment while I was there walking along the pathway in the park, there were four or five older women sitting on the bench, obviously old friends. At some point they just started singing songs together, seem so natural and delightful to hear them, though lyrics unknown to me. But I think that’s one thing that you see in some countries is just it’s normal for people to sing a song together. I got a short video and audio recording of it, but I can’t post a video on the blog.

I’ve been waking up at like 5 AM, do a little fire department work on the computer and then pack up and try to be on the road at an early time. Especially as it gets warmer each day, earlier is better. Started rolling about 8 AM, decided to take a unbeaten path out to Blace, glad I went but I was totally hosed by the time I got there. This heat is severe! But Getting there and leaving there kept me off the main road for quite a while and that was nice.

Traffic has been pretty polite here, and you definitely go a minute or two without a car going by so it’s not severe traffic thankfully.

So I looked at Google map to see where the apartments were, that’s what they call them here, rooms for rent basically. Well in that town, there were definitely a few possibilities, but I think as it early in the tourist season, some not open yet and was really nobody there to talk to about renting. The couple places I did find said they were full. So I got a little worried, and after an hour of riding around in the hills trying to find a place, I found one little studio apartment at street level that looked perfect. It was an apartment sign on the house, so I started walking up the steps and started talking to the older classic Slavic looking woman who I eventually discovered her name was Annie. I think she was taken aback by my insistence of trying to find a place, but there are only two more possibilities ahead of me and then I was out of options so I thought I would just try to get this place that looks perfect for me. Well as it turns out, it is a rental unit that was completely not prepared for use whatsoever, look like she had been doing her plant potting and stuff in there, bugs everywhere, spiderwebs, but as it was sort of a little apartment built into the hill, it was very cool and I was so tired, I was thankful she, despite the total language barrier, agreed to let me stay. It was just 150 HRK which is about $25 US.

She did her best to clean it up, and then made me an incredibly strong cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon, I guess this is probably 3 PM or maybe 4 PM by then. It is funny trying to communicate with somebody who doesn’t know a single word of your language, nor you were theirs. But she was very nice. I caught a photo of her and the neighbor woman Amena. After the coffee, and he walked next-door and asked if The neighbor Amena could come over and translate for her as Amena spoke great English. Her father is Swiss and spends the summer in this little town, and she was visiting for a couple of weeks. Very nice person, was nice to have a conversation with somebody that could go beyond general confusion.

After I got things in order and the caffeine got me alert, I walked down the stairway that Annie recommended and swam for a few minutes in the very refreshing Adriatic water. Then back into the place for a shower and then laundry and then walk to dinner at the only restaurant in town. Was not very good, it was super expensive, but better than nothing!

I’m pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30 PM. Cramping a problem, in my feet especially. It’s hard to get to sleep if every time you relax your feet a cramp develops. But somehow I got to sleep so that was a good thing! Woke up about 5 AM and started prepping for departure.

Beautiful views along the Dalmatian coast. But like any Ocean route, it’s certainly not flat. For a time you ride along the water, then you have to go over the next mountain to get to the next part of the beach, well not really mountains, but hills for sure.

I have had this idea that I was going to go cycle on the Ciro Trail, it is a 90 mile rail to trail that runs from Mostar to do Dubrovnik. They describe it as an open air museum as the trail passes through many towns that are now defunct when the railroad closed in 1967. To get to it, I would’ve had to go up the Neretva River valley to reach where I could join the trail. But in doing so I would need to have had a reservation at the only place that is up there to stay, which is a four room lodging and restaurant in a converted train station. Wild camping is frowned upon because there are many land mines remaining in the area just off the main pathways. I regret not being able to do that trail, but not adding another day and 60 km while I’m struggling with cramping is OK with me. I have faith that I will get into the groove here at some point and the cramping will get resolved. More salt!

Slept well, on the bike at 7 AM to try and beat some of the heat. Great start to the morning although had to push the bike up a very steep hill past an old cemetery, came across the other side and saw the entire Neretva River delta.

I was glad to have taken the unbeaten path to the beach town called Blace, it’s really on an inlet from the Adriatic, the cove doesn’t front it directly. The ride this morning up to the main highway was delightful, probably five or 6 km of just gorgeous quiet road with maybe two cars the entire time.

My target for today was either noon or Slano. I reached Neum at 9:20 AM so certainly I couldn’t have stopped then, but I was worried about hitting the wall again like I did yesterday. Everything was cramping, everything hurt yesterday. That’s unusual for me and maybe do that just bad conditioning, but I was reminded that are usually keep a couple bags of potato chips with me on these trips to keep up the salt and I think that is the problem. Anyway my choice was another 30 km to Slano which is what I chose to do.

Neum is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there’s about a 10 mile stretch as you right along the coastal road it is Bosnia, then you’re back in Croatia again. Shortly after entering entering back into Croatia, I met Jonny, the first English-speaking guy that I’ve come across this trip, he lives a couple hours out of London. He’s taking a couple months, started in France and will finish in Greece. 22 years old, so he was very kind to ride the rest of the wat to Slano with me. Again I hit the wall and had severe cramping, really sucks!

He took it slow with me until we got to Slano where we stopped and had a proper lunch. Realizing I needed salt, I added salt my hamburger before I tasted it and my gosh that was a bad idea! It made it almost inedible, though I did try to choke down a few bites. My appetite been very low on this trip, another unusual thing for me. Usually when I cycle I eat every damn thing that gets put in front of me, this trip I’ve left a couple of meals substantially uneaten.

Jonny was continuing on to Dubrovnik today, about another 30 km. There was no chance I was going to make that, it’s 89° here and just gets hotter the next couple hours in the afternoon, so I was very very happy to have met my target today and be done.

Found a nice little apartment house right on the water, I don’t have a view of water or anything as I’m in the back cheap room, but it has great air-conditioning and it feels so good! This is too damn hot! Tomorrow I will make it to Dubrovnik for sure, at least that is the plan, only about 20 miles. So should be no problem and if I feel great then maybe I’ll push past Dubrovnik.

Pastor Prov Nick, I will be heading into Albania and essentially turning left at the capital Tirana, I’ve been to Macedonia, Bulgaria and eventually Romania. I need to be there July 1 to meet the other guys.

I think the heat is just debilitating here, I need to try and get out the door earlier even though I was on the bike at 7 AM this morning. But by 1030 in the morning, it’s already brutally hot.

But I also don’t feel like I have my body chemistry right, so will try and keep it just to that short day and not go past Dubrovnik tomorrow. And get some potato chips!

Well I got the shower done, the laundry done, but even though this place has Wi-Fi there is no Wi-Fi in the room, so will head out to the patio after the sun drops a little lower and add pictures here. Probably not going to do captions, from my commentary you can kind of figure out who is who and where I am. Or not… Also will post a couple of map screenshots Since I’m not actually tracking my route on a daily basis. Takes too much battery!

In summary, good news is my back stopped hurting mostly, my intestines settled down, I have had some nice interactions with people I can’t really speak with, and was delighted to find a cycling buddy today for at least part of the day. The more challenging thing is now everything seems to cramp even in weird places like my neck, my abdomen, and of course hands and feet. So that’s not so delightful!

Whoever reads this, thank you! But you may notice that some of my comments are out of order or don’t make sense where I left them. I try to throw comments in my notes periodically so I remember things later, but just this post has taken me over an hour and that’s enough! Don’t even have the pictures in yet! But thank you still! Miss you all!

(Accidentally the photos are in reverse order of occurrence.)

Made it to Split, Croatia via Portland, LAX, London!My bike and gear made it too!

Several months ago, when I decided to join some of my cycling friends in Romania for a supported trip on July 1, I thought it was a great idea to do a solo ride in advance of that. Now on day three of starting the trip including the air travel time (actually my second day in Croatia) I realize there is a vast difference between sitting behind a computer and thinking about a solo cycling trip, and actually doing it! First impressions:

– Split, Croatia is beautiful but overrun with tourist amenities and tourists even though it’s not busy season right now. My area is along the Dalmatian Coast in the heart of Old Town Split.

-Cycling solo is more challenging than you (I) think. I came across this quote recently, it is already so true. “There is a fine line between blissful solitude and loneliness.”

I’ve done solo before, but never started out a trip solo…

-In my planning, I picked a hotel that is great for the sights of the old town of Split, but very poor in terms of getting out to my intended route which is a portion of Euro Velo 8. To join that route is about 4.5 miles away from where I am staying through so far narrow and congested roads.

– In reassembling my bike today, the continuous bending over in awkward positions did my back in, and I tweaked it in a way that has been pretty painful all day, I’m hoping another sleep before I begin my track tomorrow will loosen it. A sore back colors every movement…

-At dinner last night, met a nice couple from Ireland who were doing a driving vacation for two weeks through the Balkans including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a chunk of Montenegro. I will be doing potentially seven countries during my tour here depending on my exact route. My plan is to pick it each day. (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Romania.)

-On the plane, met one of two families traveling together from Denver, their idea of this vacation was to rent a boat that is large enough for all of them to stay on which will visit a bunch of the Croatian islands. It will be their floating hotel, and each day they will have an opportunity to visit another town or island. Sounds like a great idea for multi family vacations! I wonder if there is a Croatian version of Jairo! (That’s for Bridgette…)

– I plan to post periodically when I have good Wi-Fi. Probably just some short comments and photos of where I am. I had previously updated a map link set up to show my particular location, but I will probably just do that by screenshot this time. Much easier!

-Have only taken a few photos so far, representative of the area that I’m in which is old town, places that I walked by or to have breakfast or dinner.

-Tomorrow morning as long as my back is even remotely cooperative, I will pack up the bike and head out from here. About 100 lbs/45k fully loaded. My goal will be at least 40 miles tomorrow. My intent is to eventually get up to the second half of the Ciro trail, a rail to trail route on an abandoned narrow gauge rail line that was decommissioned in 1967. It starts in Mostar and terminates in Dubrovnik, so I would expect to be in Dubrovnik in two days, at least that is my best guess and hope at this point.

-Had a nice din last night of pizza, salad, and red wine. Yes, how uncreative of me! Good food; prices similar to US, but once out of this tourista area things should be lower.

-That’s it for now. Hoping all the mechanical, physical, spiritual and planning parts come together positively tomorrow. The weather looks good this next week!

Hugs and love to you all! (Sounds weird to say that, as no clue who’s gonna even read this! Funny the way social technology has changed things. Used to be you said hugs and love to a particular person, now you just sort of throw it out there to the ether… That’s kinda funny to me!)

My dinner spot last night

My porch

View from my room

Need stuff here!

I need to put info and photos here!

In dusty Colonet, we found a nice hotel in middle of nowhere about a mile out of town. Lucas and Franco were the cook and waiter. Very nice folks, great Margaritas, and Chris and I shared Molcajete dinner meal with cactus too! Sooo tasty!

Next day made 10 of 36 by 930am. Felt happy about that! It got a lot harder… Crossed a stream 20 times, shoes all wet repeatedly. Sometimes knee deep, but refreshing!

Stopped for lunch near a stone stacker guy’s place. Nice dogs he had there. 

Boy, it a lot hotter after lunch! Over 85′. 

Well this difficult day was only going to get more difficult. At a point where I was behind Chris, I crossed the steep little gully which puts a lot of torque on the bike frame and bounces everything.

Somehow I dropped one whole pannier in that gully crossing and didn’t notice it. 

We were climbing, some cycling and some pushing for 90 minutes all uphill before I realized the bag was missing. It was when we stopped partway up a huge hill where there was a little bit of shade available. I laid the bike down and it wasn’t until after I was sitting in the shade and looked over with astonishment and realized I only has one pannier! Choice words were blurted. I had no choice but to drop everything else off the bike, and go back and try and find it. 90 minutes and six extra hardass miles added to my day. Chris waited patiently. 

Those extra miles really took it out of me, I was already working at my maximum every day anyway, this was just the icing on the cake or some other bad metaphor. Super steep shit pushing the bike a lot toward end of day. 

Saint Chris gave me gel-packs and an apple. It helped a lot!!

Got to El Coyote, a remote ranch kind of place that apparently hosts yoga folks, about 630pm. Total exhaustion. No cabins available. Yoga people occupying all of them. (Same thing happened on GDMBR after a very long day hoping for a cabin!) We got there in time for a simple burrito din and a cold beer, so all was not lost. Set up camp after dark, chilly but not super cold. It is a crystal clear night, stars in abundance, full moon lighting the ground brightly! So very beautiful! I will sleep very well!

Leaving El Coyote I was very hopeful it would be mostly downhill for the 36 miles back to sea level. Not to be… And while there were some great stretches of good track through great scenery, the spirit of the day was dominated with more stupidly steep arroyos that we had to push up, ride down the next one, push up again, over and over. Rocky steep arroyos. We started both pushing one bike up at a time. We were traveling at approximately 1mph through all that crap. At one point we missed a turn onto a track that we had to push uphill 1/4 mile again to get back to the trail. (That was heartbreaking.) Then it was super steep down and so rocky, walking the bike down was sometimes necessary. 

All day I was reflecting on the endless difficulty, that Chris was so kind to help me along, but I was slowing him down, and Tom Dave were at least a full day ahead. At some point during the day I reached the realization, after ten days of super difficult riding, knowing the route was NOT going to get any easier according to the descriptions, that it was time for me to pull the plug on this endeavor. 

Ultimately, I don’t want to be struggling every single day, and I came to believe it would continue to be that for me. Not wanting to be absent for the birth of Rory’s daughter weighed in too. Most certainly I have reached my lifetime limit of riding/pushing up steep as hell f’n arroyos!

So now the main task at hand is to get Chris reunited with Dave Tom so he can continue the route. That is the mission now… We have a plan, but Dave needs to look at his phone in the am!

On arrival in Vicente Guerrero at sunset, we found a hotel, and near it was the best taco stand ever! A great finish to a tough as hell day. Back at the hotel I informed Chris of my decision to bail, and he gets it after seeing me struggle for days. He has been saintly, helping me along at every turn. He is a very good man I’m thankful to be friends with. He was not overly surprised at my decision…

The following morning, we worked it out so with Salvador at the bike shop here that Chris would get a ride down to where Tom and Dave were, about 45 miles south.

I will catch a 5:30 AM bus to Tijuana, cross the border on my bike, head to a bike shop and try to get it packed up and get on a flight Wednesday evening. Feel like the dog with his tail between his legs, but such is life and acknowledging one’s limitations…

In retrospect of course as is my nature, I second-guess the termination decision, I know the next two days were probably decent riding, but there was 120 mile stretch coming up after that, back into the mountains, probably four days worth of cycling without a water source, meaning we would have to carry at least 12 L. The advantage of stopping here is bus service and that simplified the decision I guess. I sure appreciated riding with Chris as I was with him alone most of the ten days, he is a good soul and every bit a saint in my book.

In contrast, the continental divide trip two years ago, with some exceptions, was dominated by roads or trails that were built to be driven on, though rarely seeing any traffic, but the grades were usually reasonable. Not the case here, and that’s what wore me out here every day. Shoulda woulda coulda trained harder better faster next time…

I took very few photos the last couple of days as riding and resting seemed to be everything.

All photos should be here… Copy and paste if the link doesn’t work. 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gyzd4257opyqq94/AAABiB4sWZQcfSyjf5ccEOwia?dl=0
Buenas noches Baja, for now…

BAJA DIVIDEThis is the first entry of the Baja divide trip from me, Wi-Fi has been essentially nonexistent and this covers about the first six days.

On arrival in San Diego, stayed with Dave’s very nice friends. In the middle of the city it’s hard to find a place to get rid of three large cardboard bike boxes, but we just happen to park right next to a construction dumpster and there they went!

Thank you Rolfe Schottle!

I should’ve paid more attention to the route, the first day ride out of San Diego was over Otay Mountain. Much much too long for a first day, we did get over the top but not until well after dark and that is dangerous cycling. I was the last to camp of course, this trip is kicking my ass. Cold up there!

Next day down to Tecate. At border, through ok, agent said with Trump that entry fee has gone up from $20-$30. 

Stayed in a motel as rain was forecast. Thankful has it rained most of the evening. Tecate for whatever reason is very chilly, much warmer as we got just south of there.! Burgers el gringo were good right next to the motel! The name is because the owner is a gringo, nice guy!

Next day many hills, very long day, camping very chilly!

Another super cold night with my crappy thin bag…

Next day a better ride to Ojos Negros and had the BEST tacos with roasted peppers! Tom and Dave got there 2.5 hrs earlier. I had chronic leak in rear tire. Lots of very difficult sand to cycle through! Had to push through the thick stuff, not possible for me to ride through it, but the other guys have 4 inch or greater tires instead of my 3 inch tires, they can ride better through the sand….

Got up a bit later instead of the always 545am that Dave typically wakes up. 

My rear tire went flat overnight. I don’t think my tires are too loose compatible, or the Rams really are the problem. They are leaking through the rim, not through the tire bead. So every day I have to pump the tire up repeatedly.

Chris and I have kinda paired at this point, neither of us want to do the death march pace of Tom and Dave. 

After huevos w chirizo, Chris and I set off hoping to reach Santo Tomas. Good for 15 miles or so but then an endless sandy up and down that was truly kicking my ass. Chris is in better shape than me, my three week fitness layoff before this trip taking its toll with every severely steep hill. He helped me push my bike up several really tough ones. Even some of the rocky downhills were unrideable, had to walk with both brakes. Cannot say enough about how kind Chris is being with me as I struggle. 

On the GDMBR you could get a rhythm and pace going. Not here. ALWAYS difficult sand, rocks, washouts, insanely steep grades; no rhythm is possible. It became apparent 46 miles was not possible today, we slept on the porch of an abandoned house. Quit about 4pm with still 20 miles to go. 4pm is always the time I want to be done riding, so this was perfect. 

I am overwhelmed all day long with the difficulty of this trip. We each cooked a great freeze dried meal which was fantastic! Talked about the stars and Chris’ star watching app. Both in sleeping bags by 7:15pm and beat! Frogs croaking under a clear moonlit night. Nice… 

And every time I lay my head down on this trip, I see the ribbons that my sweet grandaughters (so far!😄) M and B stuffed in there before my GDMBR trip a couple years ago. I love it!!

A better day today, my depth of stamina improving a bit, I think. A short 20 mile day, done at noonish, needed a rest day. Chris is a saint to slow down for me! Met Ben, a 22yr old guy doing the trip here. He joined for lunch, took a shower in our hostel quality room at the Hotel Restaurant Bar and Gas Station Palomar. Built in the 50’s… Tomorrow a big climb out of Santo Tomas and we will see the coast for the first time. I hope my rear tire will survive another day… 

Big climb but reasonable on a well graded road, did fine. 30 miles total today to Ejido Elendra. The last two hours along the Pacific coast on road with killer views. A good day, and not too much shit steep stuff. This is still a very difficult ride that I question my capability daily. 

Great tacos carne asada con guacamole con frijoles con chiles at the Restaurant Familia in Ejido Elendra. Super fantastic! Will get brekky there in the am too! Back at little motel room, asleep soon. 

Today, and the last day referred to in this blog entry, we rode much along the coast. Foggy for parts of it so was kind of chilly, and lots of up-and-down through arroyos, but also many miles of reasonably flat decent Road. Road meaning gravel or sand trail. We had to make only 23 miles today to get to Colonet. Surprisingly we found a place for pizza and I tasted good, although the Mexican food this trip so far has been spectacular! Absolutely delicious! Makes me wish I had that kind of food every single day! 

We decided that the next two days we will try and make about 35 miles each into Vincent Guerrero. One stop along the way should be a rustic Lodge type place called L coyote about 36 miles from here up in the mountains. We hope to make it by dark tomorrow. Well, basically we have to.

Both my tubeless tires have failed and each have tubes in them. I’m not sure what the problem is but I will probably have to continue with tubes the rest of this trip. That is a risk as we get into areas that tend to be more thorny.

I think Tom Dave and I will take a day off in Vincent Guerrero, there is a bike shop there that is probably capable of redoing my tubeless setup. May just have to give up on that but I will make an attempt.

Not sure where Tom and Dave are at this point, I suspect they will probably get to Vincent Guerrero tonight. Which puts them basically two days ahead of us. That’s OK, I certainly am not capable of keeping their pace and Chris is happy with the shorter days too. It’s not a race, it’s not about getting to the end for me, it’s about smelling some roses and tacos along the way…

These photos are all I’ve taken, may not be in order. They don’t represent what we’re doing most of the time which is riding on hard ass rocky steep gullied sandy shit ass trails. Can’t take any pictures when you’re doing that!

PS, uploading photos to WordPress sucks. I’ve uploaded more of them to dropbox instead. If anybody wants to see them, go to

https://db.tt/sbMoroPjx5

While I was lucky on that long day yesterday, I never got rained on, but as the rest of the crew was a bit later on arrival, they actually got rained on a little bit at the end. I could tell they weren’t very happy about that!

After everyone arrived, we set out for dinner at 7 PM as usual. Orlin had selected a restaurant for us, a place right on the water of the bay that had lots of fresh fish. But funny, when it came down to ordering, nobody ordered fresh fish, everybody had had it the prior night and apparently nobody wanted it today! I could tell Orlin was a little surprised!
But a good dinner with a few gin tonics, and then some Tsipouro out on the back deck of the hotel. It was very nice, it is a mixture of a grape alcohol and anise, very tasty. I think I had made a disparaging comment about Ouzo earlier in this blog, not deserved. It’s actually really good. Tsipouro is different and is primarily a grape-made alcohol either with or without anise. With anise is delightful! It is generally about 40% alcohol, similar to gin.
A couple folks went in for a night swim, I did not, then headed to the room for good sleep. Mosquitoes in the room were a problem; I had to cover myself entirely with a sheet the entire night.
Got up for the usual 8 AM breakfast and set off on the bikes for what will probably be the final day of cycling. I didn’t intend to get so far ahead of everybody but Paul and Rebecca were late getting down from the room and so Sheri and I set off. I rode with her for a little distance but then moved on at my own pace.
I had asked Orlin about directions earlier, I thought I knew exactly where I needed to go, but I ended up on a great divide like Trail, Rocky and incredibly steep, impossible to ride parts of it, but thankfully I had mapping on my phone and never got lost. But as a result of my unplanned off-road adventure, I saw them at the end of the day…
Despite the off-road effort to get up over the backbone of the third finger called Athos, I was rewarded with a beautiful ride across steep rocky dirt roads with absolutely nothing and nobody else around. Really did remind me of the great divide, it was a great day. Eventually I found my way back to the main road. All day was just spectacular scenery, the ocean was always visible one direction or the other the entire day. Such blue turquoise waters! On arrival in Ouranoupoli, I stopped at a little beachside café and had a well earned plate of spaghetti Bolognese. And a deliciously cold beer. Eventually the rest of the gang rode by and I yelled them down, they all joined for a cold beer before we checked into the hotel. A good fun finish to the day.
On another note…It was another day of feeling very thankful for everything in my life, all the wonderful people in it, my health, the ability to do trips like this. Long distance cycling always helps remind me of my many blessings…
I think everyone is heading down to the beach for a swim… We had an overpriced mediocre din down by the water. Everyone is pretty pooped after two long days. Early to bed.
In the am, we walked down to das boot for our ride to see the Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain. It is near Mt Athos. Women are only allowed to see the monestaties from a boat. Men can visit only by permit. Wiki covers it well at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos for more. There is an actual wall to keep people out. Hmmm…
We were narrated along the way and told that one monestary contains a piece of the Christ original cross with a nail hole in it, a piece of the original crown of thorns, and a piece of the original shroud. Wow!!! Saw lots o’ monasteries, from the required 500 meter distance.

After the boat ride and nice lunch with some chilled Tsipouro, we drove a couple hours back to a hotel nearer to Thessaloniki. We had our final dinner together, reminisced over our cycling days together; then stopped by a little game area we walked by and played a couple games of group foosball! I invited everybody back to my room for a nightcap Tsipouro, as Swati and I head to the airport around 5 AM, want to make sure we had a chance to say our goodbyes to Paul and Rebecca and Sheri.
At some point of every trip, I wish the cycling could continue, but then accept that it’s time to head back home and that’s a wonderful thing too. Cycling in Greece has been a delight, but cycling anywhere is pretty enjoyable! And now all I gotta do is fly from Thessa to Munich to DC to Portland and this Greek adventure will become a warm memory of swimming in the Aegean and cycling with old and new friends…

The day started rather late which is becoming a pattern, probably not on the bikes till nearly 10 AM. We had a few miles of the main road traveling it was not very pleasant, it was a very very hot day. But eventually we got to a much smaller road parallel to beach, even maybe 7 km of dirt and gravel. Everybody did pretty good today, it was by far the most enjoyable day riding so far, the most beautiful views of the unspoiled rocky cliffs and periodic sandy beaches. Not much else to say other than it was a very very nice day.

We ended in Porto Kofu, a small town on a circular body of water that is an inlet from the ocean, very calm waters and used by fisherman as a port. The story goes that this port is so deep, that during World War II, the German Navy would hide their submarines here.

There is a thin layer of clouds that has rolled in in the late afternoon, I suspect we will have a couple of slightly cooler days ahead, and that will be good.

Had a great dinner at the restaurant a short walk from our hotel. Everyone except me had fresh fish of some sort, including whole squid, grilled octopus, and some whole body fish. Perhaps one of the best dinners we’ve had on the trip.

Some Bulgarian guy a couple tables over lighted up a cigar during our dinner, I have learned to be tolerant of such things when I travel, but Sheri and Rebecca were trying to get the guy to quit by coughing excessively. It didn’t work, perhaps he even smoked a little bit more. Funny!

Tomorrow’s summary:

Day 6 This route starts with a 12 km ride over the mountain down to the beautiful beach of Kalamitsi where you can have a swim and short rest. Next, we follow the main rolling coastal road passing through numerous small villges and we finish up in Vourvourou resort- an area with great beaches and views towards the Diasporos Island.  

Cycling: 54 km, ascend/descend: 800/800m 

After a good sleep, woke for breakfast and realized clouds had rolled in and by the time we were getting ready for departure, it was a very light drizzle. Not the sunny day we were hoping for!

We held at the hotel for nearly 2 hours waiting for what turned out to be a major storm to pass! Super High winds came very quickly, lots of rain and not much to do but wait until it passed. But we finally did get on the bikes. Late. I doubt that we will do all the miles today, will probably end up in the van at some point.

Well as it turns out, I am still a certified member of the refi club! Rode every mile today, I was lucky in that once the storm passed in Porto Kofu, I continued through all the way without a lunch stop. I accidentally got ahead of the van and the group for quite some distance and missed the lunch stop, Orlin caught up with me and said I should go back to lunch, but there was no way I was going backwards and especially downhill. So I continued on, lots and lots of climbing, over 3000 feet today, but eventually got to Vourvouro! 

I immediately sat down at the café next to the hotel we were checking into and had a massive burger with a fried egg, barbecue sauce, grilled onions, bacon, chili peppers. It was a messy slippery thing that was very challenging to actually logistically eat, but it sure was good! The gang arrived a bit later, they got caught in some rain as they were running a little bit later in the day than I was. It was a great day! Other than the photo of us sitting and waiting for the storm to pass, I think I might have one or two photos of the whole day as it was overcast and near rain frequently, so I didn’t have my phone out very often…

PS, I am mentally already at the place where I realize oh my gosh, this trip is almost done! We only have two more cycling days! There are no days off, at the end of the second day, I will have to get up the following morning at 4 AM to get a ride to the airport. It seems like it was kind of a short trip, much shorter than most that I take. But so far has been a delicious and enjoyable trip! 

Pss: One of the photos I took today near the end of the post shows Mount Athos in the background. It looks a heck of a lot like Pioneer Peak to me! Anyway, that is the island mountain that is off-limits to women as it is a monastery zone or whatever they call it. 

Tomorrow summary: Day 7 On this day we cycle on mountain and coastal roads through small towns and villages whichwill take us to the third and most famous peninsula – Athos. Here we stay at Ouranoupoli village near the border of the Athos holy land – an autonomous state under Greek sovereignty with more than twenty Orthodox monasteries. 

There is an option for a cruise trip to the monasteries. 

Cycling: 70 km, ascend/descend: 900/900m 

We took their pic, they took ours…

 

After dinner walking…

Check out that brekky sandwich!

Waiting for the storm to pass…

The next morning, I got out into the lovely warm sun around 11 AM. Right near the hotel is the Agora (Roman Forum) of Thessaloniki. Parts of the ruins date back to the second century. Many of the important parts that indicate a viable culture there have been uncovered including a mint, archives, public baths, a restaurant, and of course a brothel. How civilized!

It’s always interesting to me how these ruins seem to exist almost everywhere here, in some cases they are uncovered and in some cases they’re built upon. Frequently you see integration with regular city stuff, such as a café built right on on the edge.

As I was walking today, I came across a main road that is under construction, they are building a bridge at ground level above ruins that have been discovered at some point.

Stumbled across a huge market today, with everything one would need! Including giant chunks of feta! That stuff is so so good!

Wandered around for a while in the market, then started thinking about lunch. Stopped at an ATM first, however it gave me €50 bills, I stopped at two banks to try and change them but to no avail. 50s are hard to use around here. 20s are best.

Had a Greek salad and some roasted potatoes with an unidentified meat bits for a very tasty and filling lunch.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way back, had the bright idea to get the makings for Gin and tonics, that is a tradition when traveling with Paul, so if they want one tonight after they get in and settled, I will have all the stuff.

We will meet with our guide Orlin for dinner later. Not sure if we will spend any time here tomorrow or if we hit the road right away.

And as it turns out, need to part first first thing after breakfast. An early start and into the van, about 90 minutes towards Halkidiki. We found a spot beside the road to pull off and get the bikes set up, there were some issues with the various pieces and parts and it took 30 to 40 minutes to get all the bikes set up, but once that was done we set off.

Halkidiki is made up of three fingers of land that jet out into the Aegean. We will explore all three on this trip, but our first is Kassandra.

Cycling today, often the Aegean Sea was directly to our right. An uneventful 35 km of riding to the town of Fourka. We had a delicious lunch in a little village beside the sea, then everyone I checked into the hotel room which is up above the beach a bit.

Orlin and I set out a few minutes later for an extended ride down a dirt road to some beautiful private coves directly on the sea. At one Cove there was a stack of rocks, a small cairn of sorts. I have seen this artist or worker whatever you would call him who stacks rocks in unusual and mind bending ways on the beach in Puerto Vallarta. So I decided I would try to stack a couple of rocks to add to rocks to the stack. And if you’ll note from the photo, they’re not just flat stacked, I tried to stack them more vertically. I was very proud of myself in case you hadn’t already noticed!

Back to the town and I went pretty much directly to the beach and got in the Aegean Sea, the water was absolutely perfect for swimming! It is a high salt content water so thus was very easy to float. What a delicious end to a hot cycling day, to swim in the calm cool sea. There’s a story to the weird photo of me on the beach in my biking liners and bum bag in the front… 😳

The next day we rode up across the spine of the Kassandra peninsula and back down to the beach on the other side. By the end of the cycling day, we stopped in Nea Fokea for a swim before we loaded up the bikes and drove up into the hills. It would’ve been a lovely ride, but it was not on the plan or in the time scheduled.

We arrived in Polygyros, a lovely little town built up in the hills above miles and miles and miles of all of olive tree groves. Looks like the hotel has been here quite some time; adjacent here is a nice pedestrian walkway, looks like during regular tour season it’s probably much busier than it is right now. We stayed in a beautiful little town.

Due to some sort of a mixup, there were only four rooms available, so I offered for Orlin to just stay in my room so he could save some money instead of buying a room in another hotel.

We had a nice dinner, but after dinner everybody headed to the hotel except me and Orlin. We stopped at Beeropolis and had a couple beers. We talked about his family, he is married, has one daughter three years old and her son is due in about 20 days. Very nice guy, interesting hearing about his history in Bulgaria, his parents, his business, etc. I always reach out and enjoy spending time with the local guides as they give me perspective that I would never otherwise get about their life, history, and culture. He asked me about the trumpster as well…

So it was getting close to 1230AM and I headed back to the hotel. Orlin was staying for another beer. (As I found out later, he met the Beeronio owner and they commenced to do some more beverages. Somewhere around 2 AM, for some reason I woke up and realized that I had the electronic room key card without which he could not get into the hotel. Same time I heard some voices outside, opened the little balcony door and looked down, Orlin was trying to get in the hotel. So in my underwear, I went down to the street level to let him in. Pretty damn funny, but I think you had to be there to appreciate the 2 AM hilarity…

The morning started with the nicest breakfast we’ve had so far in the hotel. And the days uphill started right away, heading out of town and up into the forest, on spectacular winding back roads, probably 1900 feet climbing, but not an extreme grade ever. But sometimes it was steep enough that I had to go so slow that I had mosquitoes buzzing my head.

Before that we passed an area that had many many beehives, at one place there was a partial swarm I had to ride through, got stung on my wrist but no problem from it. The others behind me freaked out a bit but they all survived. Plus occasionally that would be a car doing a Lemans rally on the road, it would be pretty surprised when they come down the center of the road at high-speed squealing tires around a curve and there I am on my bike. Assholes.

There was a bit of confusion by Orlin today, seemed like he really wasn’t sure where we were supposed to go, thankfully I had my iPhone GPS to help. At one point he thought we were definitely going to wrong way and in fact we were doing just fine. I’m not sure he’s ever done this trip before.

In the hills, somehow we missed the restaurant he was looking for and we ended up at a different one, a pretty strange place. There were stuffed boar head, a little fox, chicken, squirrel, all kinds of weird stuff taxidermy and hung up on the walls of this place. Very bizarre place. The woman spoke not a bit of English, we had to point at stuff that we wanted for our lunch out of her kitchen. But as usual, when it ecomes to exchanging money for food transaction, everything gets figured out somehow.

After lunch another six or 7 km of climbing that was not expected, but eventually we were rewarded with at least 15 km of downhill through miles and miles of all of trees as far as you could see.

About 13 K out of town from our destination, everyone else said they had had enough cycling for the day. I decided to carry-on while they look at all their bikes in the back. It wasn’t a very nice road, high traffic, but I want to continue to be a certified member of the REFI club. What’s that mean, you say? Ride every fucking inch!

Once I got to the hotel, everyone else was heading down to the beach. I had a leisurely shower, did my laundry, eventually walked down to the beach and had a beer with the gang on the waters edge.

Paul is doing a really good job of teaching Swati how to swim. Sometimes you forget that not everybody has the same life experience, that there are certain things that you just assume people know how to do, until you realize that swimming isn’t universal. She is so proud of her success at swimming, she is a very very kind and sweet person!

For those who haven’t read my blog back a couple of years, I first met Swati in Mumbai. Paul and I were there at the end of a cycling trip and met her and her parents. Her brother Prash lives in Nashville and I believe that’s where Paul’s connection to their family began. Swati and her family are perhaps the kindest lovable people I have ever met!

Did I mention there was a mishap with the sliding side door of the van today? Somehow it became unlatched, at some point when Orlin took off moving forward, the door slid back and off the track and onto the ground. None of us saw it, we just saw the aftermath of the sliding door strapped in to keep it shut. Orlin sheepishly told me that this is not the first time that this happened…

We were all a little tired of Greek food, so elective for a pizza stop tonight. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great. But it definitely was pizza! 

It was a long day…

The next day will be:

Day 5 On this day we start exploring Sithonia peninsula, famous for its beautiful coniferous forests, olive gardens and hidden caves. We follow mainly isolated roads very near the sea, passing by secluded beaches and small sea villages set in rich green vegetation. We enjoy the splendid views of the small islands nearby, the rocky coast and the dense green coniferous forests, while we you cycle or swim and sunbathe on one of the many lonely beaches en-route. There is an option to visit the secluded mountain village of Parthenonas. We stay in the picturesque bay of Porto Kofu village famous for the scuba diving. 

Cycling: 50km, ascend/descend: 500/500m 

THESSALONIKI

Everything is a blur when I’m jet lagged.

After flying from Portland to Denver to Newark to Frankfurt to Thessaloniki, I got to the Orestias Kastorias hotel just fine, a small hotel in the center of the lower city.

Next morning I headed up from sea level on a sweaty hike uphill for a mile or two, then rewarded with a great view of the entire city. And now the first tour bus let out just after I got here. So interesting to hear complainers, “wish it was clearer” and such. Reminds me very quickly that I’m thankful that I’m not limited to traveling in that manner. I’m glad I’m able to hang out with cyclists instead… We are sooooo superior… 😊

A group of whales is called a pod. A group of buzzards is called a wake.
A group of porcupines is called a prickle. A group of ptarmigans is called a covey. Wallaby in a group are called a mob. A group of unicorns is called a blessing. What would you call a group of seniors getting off the tour bus? Hmmm…. Will ponder that one a few days but would also entertain suggestions for a little contest! Best new group name wins a bottle of Ouzo (aka anise flavored lighter fluid) from Greece!

Walked up to the byzantine Acropolis of Thessaloniki, parts dating back to fourth century. Fantastic place, was converted to a prison called Eptapyrgio in the late 1800s and much of the original fortress was severely neglected. The prison was moved in 1989. Thessaloniki had a long fortress wall added in the 12th century which housed most of the city at that time, half of which has been torn down over the years through lack of recognition of its value, about half of it remains visible in various states of disrepair, intermingled with modern construction.

Just below Trogono Tower, I stopped at a cafe overlooking the city for a Greek Coffee, a thick rich full bodied coffee, made unfiltered from ground coffee cooked in a Briki. Kinda like what I would think of as boiled ground coffee served with a healthy layer of sediment in the bottom. Powerful stuff! From here heading to Pasha’s Garden.

Note to self: Tatziki and Soutzouki apparently sound very much the same when my gringo voice says them, but they are certainly not similar! One is a yogurt cucumber sauce, the other is Greek sausage and peppers. Now I know to speak more clearly!

Next to the Rotunda; first built in mid 4th century as a mausoleum for members of an imperial Roman family. Somewhere in the fifth century, it was converted to a Christian church. Somewhere in the 1500s, it’s converted to a mosque. Somewhere before the 1900s, I was converted back to a Christian church. Now a museum.

Yada yada yada…

Back to the hotel, took a nap…

Yada yada yada…

Somewhere in the evening when I was walking around I came across a place with a huge slice of pizza and a cold beer, that was my late dinner. The pizza was spectacularly good, super thin crunchy crust, and the cheese was probably all feta, none of that heavy tasteless mozzarella like in the United States.

Next morning woke up and wasn’t sure what I would do, but on a whim after coffee, decided to find a rental car place. Well I’m sure any of you who have traveled to realize that sometimes the places the Google says are there, actually aren’t. So after walking a couple of miles, finally came across a Hertz rental place. But no cars available until noon, so more walking, went to the white tower, you can look it up, got a great view of the port and water area. Also a great view of where I hiked yesterday, quite the elevation from sea level!

After a great early lunch gyro, I got my car and headed to Vergina, a UN world heritage site. This was the discovery in 1973 of the tomb of King Philip, much of it was unearthed but now covered by a large mound and museum, was actually pretty amazing to see the condition of the tombs, dating from the mid 4th century. Glad I came out here. No photos allowed, so maybe I’ll steal one from the web. The internet has everything!

The 60k drive out was peaceful, Google routing me on some very quiet narrow old farm roads versus the larger roads, through beautiful farmlands and hills and such, dominated by fig trees, olive trees, and a smattering of corn and sunflowers.

But how noisy the city is, you don’t notice until you get out in the peaceful quiet. Very nice peaceful small town out here surrounding the site.

After visiting the tombs, and before I head back, I stopped here in Vergina for a refreshing Greek salad, a fantastic mix of onions and yellow peppers and tomatoes and feta cheese and what I think is oregano. Just very very simple and tasty!

Returning to town, big city rather, I needed to fill up with gas before I returned the car. What an ordeal that turned out to be, I must say that my years of driving have paid off well in terms of the ability to navigate these narrow streets and social driving rules versus actual rules…. Finally found a gas station, it was literately a single pump on the side of the road, not actually station to drive into, you just pull up to the street curb and the guy pumps gas. Crazy. But I got my gas!

Then I am now on the pirate boat for the 630 departure, leaving from right next to the white tower. The ride is free, you just have to buy drinks. Five euro for a pint of beer, not so bad really… not very many people on the boat, definitely is not the main part of tourist season. They do a 30 minute ride out in the harbor, least I’ll get some pictures of the city from out there.

Techno rock and bad beer on the boat. Enough of that nonsense!

Gave me the opportunity to stop at the Hoppy Pub nearby, only four people here but their tap beer selection is good. Having a Brewdog Punk IPA from Scotland, very happy to have a beer that has a bite!

Back to the hotel, did laundry and then went out to the same place as the other night for a slice of tasty feta pizza. Delicious!

Next morning down at hotel coffee, I talked to a couple who look like they might be 90 years old, still traveling. Didn’t sound like they were originally married to each other, sounded more like each of their spouses are no longer around, they connect and travel together periodically. They spent some time in Paris before Greece, then she will be going back and he will going be going to the male only monastery at Mount Athos. It is built on top of the rock and the photos I have seen are spectacular. I’m not sure but we may see or get near it on our cycling trip. Anyway, he is converted Russian orthodox now. Dave and Emily were real nice folks, Emily terminated the conversation when Dave started talking about his sciatica. Apparently they must’ve agreed that anytime he starts talking about body pain or organ dysfunction, they needed to move on and go do something else. Very funny…

Paul and Rebecca and Swati and Sheri will arrive today, later this afternoon.

All is well…