Day 1 & 2: getting adjusted (to being chased by dogs)

Day 1. Athens – Isthmia beach camp ground

77.85km 🚴‍♀️ 4.12.50 ⏱ 16.8km/hr 533m ⬆️ 485 ⬇️

Due to our ‘first night fever’ we had a shitty sleep and left a little later than planned. Still, we were ready to go at 7.52am so not too bad. A little scared of the sun that may rise upon us and will turn us into cold water and shade seeking addicts, we decided to make use of the cooler early hours. Originally we planned to leave on Monday but since Sunday’s have fewer traffic we skipped one day in Athens. 

Cycling out of the city was pretty convenient, with most people having their Sunday-morning sleep-in 😴. At least, it was until Pocket Earth (our beloved routing app) send us up this scary steep hill within the first 10km. Suuz was not happy 😓. Little flashback to Japan and one of the things on the list we did not want but it wasn’t very long, so we made it in one piece.

Before we knew it we had left Athens behind us and hit the first ferry of the day, pretty sweet ride for about fifteen minutes. On the other side we cycled across the island. Some more climbing (not so steep), sometimes on concrete, sometimes gravel, and sometimes turtoise 🐢!! This big turtle just crossed the road in front of us, a lot faster then you would expect of a turtle. Other then turtles we saw quite some couches, toilets, and a nice table Suuz wanted to take. Greek roadsides have lots and lots of garbage. Also a few cyclists, orange and lemon trees everywhere and very stinky dead animals. We didn’t see them a lot, we did smell them a lot, a lot.

The second ferry took a bit longer. The ride itself was brief, the waiting however, was much longer. No turtles here, lots of turds 💩 though, if a toilet only had something to flush it! Once both of our wheels hit land we followed the same road for almost the rest of the day. For lunch we found this really ‘charming’ place where we made ourselves comfortable on a little stone wall by the side of the road with our feet in a pile of garbage eating stale bread 🥖 with vache qui rit, oh what a treat.

A little later we did find a nice little bakery with super friendly owners who gave us cold bottles of water to go with our slice of pizza 🍕, Fanta, and espresso fredos ☕️, we probably looked a little overheated.

With about 20km to go, we survived temptation street and managed to not go into any of the numerous beach bars for a dip in the clear blue water 💦. We also passed an insanely smelly oil refinery 🛢 that took our breath and our view away. 

With only 6km to go we met two Dutch ladies waiting in front of an open bridge. Or was it? For sure it was ‘open’ because there was no bridge and there was water to cross. After about twenty minutes we found out where the bridge had gone. Apparently in Greece bridges don’t open but they dive 15 meters down and disappear into the water so boats can pass. I’d be surprised if that is an efficient design for a bridge. When it came back up it brought along loads of water and piles of small 🐠, which Suuz felt compelled to save by picking them up one by one and throwing them back in the water. All in all that little endeavor took us about 45 minutes. 

Back on the bike we killed the last few kilometers and arrived at the campground. We put up the tent ⛺️ in world record time, threw on our bikinis 👙 and jumped into the ice cold ocean 🌊 we still don’t know the name of. 

After a good long shower we were all clean and ready for our arrival beer and some food. We went for a great dinner in a nearby seafood restaurant with a beautiful garden overlooking the ocean. We had our ‘tzatziki a day that keeps everyone away’, fried eggplant, grilled dorade sprinkled with sea salt and lemon, and a minty tabouleh salad 🥗.

At around 9:30pm the sun went down and we had to go down as well. ‘Living with the light’ also means bedtime when the light is turned off. We spent our first night in our tiny tent where you can lie in one position (on your back like a mummy), and one only. Day one: ✅ Let’s see what tomorrow has in store for us! 

Day 2: Isthmia Beach Camping – Akrata Beach Camping

76.27km 🚴‍♀️ 4.20.26 ⏱ 17.6km/hr 185m ⬆️ 180m ⬇️

On day two a howling dog 🐕 concert woke us up at six in the morning. Not that we planned to sleep in, if that’s even possible sleeping in a tiny tent. The barking, howling creatures just gave a little pre-show of what would happen a few hours later. 

After our delicious breakfast of dry bread with ‘the laughing 🐮 ’ and a freshly cut 🍅, we were on our bikes just before eight o’clock. Our routine of wrapping up all the camping gear is still a little rusty, so it took a bit longer.

We started on a beautiful deserted back road crossing the island to the other coast. While we were enjoying the winding road and surrounding vineyards, we had unknowingly entered dog territory, and were about to find out where the early morning dog-orchestra had come from. Several times we were chased by barking, snarling packs of wild dogs, about four dogs per pack, some coming really close. We slowly peddled on trying to stay calm and ignore those hairy bastards, especially the alpha male who took particular offense of Mas and came frighteningly close to her calves. In the end the dogs got bored and dropped their chase, but we got a good scare and Suuz found a new project in finding as much info as she can get about protecting yourself against dog attacks. So far, the consensus amongst cyclists seems to be: you need to slow down, get off your bike, continue slowly on foot while you yell at your loudest 😡 to show the dog(s) who’s boss 😎. Kind of counterintuitive because all you want to do is scream like a girl and get the hell out of there.

Once we hit the coast we were on a busier road and we didn’t have to deal with the dogs anymore. The road was awesome and the view was amazing. We cycled along the ocean for the rest of the day. Stopped for a well deserved espresso fredo on the beach at one of the beach bars. Seems like it’s a very lively area but for now they’re just ghost 👻 towns. Lots of parasols ☂️ and beach chairs but just nobody there to enjoy it but us.

In the mean time the wind got stronger and stronger. Sadly it was a headwind, meaning wind 💨 in your bek 👄 not in the back. Around lunch time, it took us forever to find a place because Mas is reluctant going into places where the only guests are old Greek men playing with a necklace of beads drinking their local poison. (What’s up with those beads?) Eventually we found a place and had a great local lunch that also could have been dinner.

Our last 25 kilometers were tough. The wind 💨 was really strong and the legs still adjusting. As well as the buttocks. Those still need to get a little saddle-proof, but until that happens, long live the butt cream!

We arrived at the campground ⛺️ around 3pm, checked in, put up the tent, jumped in the 🌊 , and then raced out since it was cold and windy. 

The showers however were strong and hot, and the beer 🍺 cold 👌🏻 . We met some fellow cyclists at the campsite. A British/Canadian couple and an American guy. Both cycling in the opposite direction. The rest of the evening we spend exchanging cycling stories with them, and shared a dinner of simple spaghetti 🍝, grilled fish 🐟, fries 🍟 and some drinks. When the light went out we went to bed. Also because the temperature dropped and Suuz was turning blue. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 for a good night sleep without wild dog 🐺 nightmares 😴.