Muğla to Köyceğiz

Climbed another pass this morning past lizards scrambling in the rocks by the side of the road. These were not the usual tiddlers we've seen before in hot countries, but were fat as a babies arm and looked like the sort of thing you'd see in a reptile house. The top of the pass gained us spectacular views down to the sea, a plain beside it and more hills beyond. Ended the day at a sleepy town by a lake, separated from the sea by a small strip of land and a swampy creek. It's a very pleasant spot, the still water of the lake ringed by mountains hazy in the distance.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5486m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 67km
Ascent : 386m
Time Cycling : 4h 15
Journey Time : 6h 30
Average Speed : 15.6 km/h
Campsite : N 36°57'34.5" E 28°40'33.2"
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Yatağan to Muğla

A less arduous day, as we continued south east sticking a bit inland so as to avoid the package holiday destinations of Bodrum and Mamaris. Our route through rolling countryside took us to Mugla a sizeable authentically Turkish town. Unlike the last couple of places we've stayed at Mugla has an interesting old quarter with narrow streets and crumbling stone buildings. We treated ourselves to a visit to the local hamam and had our first Turkish bath and massage. With some trepidation we had chosen a mixed bathing place so we could experience it together. Luckily we had the place to ourselves. We were ushered into the sauna area after changing into cloth towels and borrowed clogs. We sat and sweated for as long as we could manage and then hovered in the bathing room admiring the domed ceiling and marble washing basins of the mediaeval building. The attendant returned and the washing began. Laid out on a marble slab we were scrubbed vigorously with a rough flannel until we had been exfoliated and our top layer of skin made dirty black strings. Then came the soaping, a pillowcase was filled with suds and air and then rubbed over our bodies. This felt velvety soft after the flannel, and left a blanket of foam to envelop us. More soap was applied by hand accompanied by a bit of massaging, fortunately not as vigorous as we'd feared. After being sluiced off we were wrapped up in layers of towel from head to toe including a fetching turban. We were then guided upstairs to lounge on pillows and drink tea. A very pleasant way to remove the grime of a days cycling. After dinner we almost made it back to the hotel, but were dragged into the bar opposite by the owner who used to live in England. We were fed raki and Turkish coffee while he made us learn some Turkish phrases, to amusement of the regulars.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5419m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 29km
Ascent : 373m
Time Cycling : 2h 15
Journey Time : 3h 30
Average Speed : 12.6 km/h
Hotel : N 37°13'03.1" E 28°21'56.1"
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Milas to Yatağan

Continued south and eastwards a little inland from the Mediterranean Coast. The day consisted of a lot of uphill as we battled through the mountains. Ended the day in a normal Turkish town in a rather shabby hotel. Later in the evening when we stepped out to look for food we were accosted by one of the many blokes that hang around in the hotel lobby. He insisted that we follow him rather than eat next door. He proceeded to lead us down many dark alleys to a brightly lit self service canteen. He got us trays and hovered about as we selected our dishes. Having thought he was going to take us for a ride it turned out to be quite the opposite and he paid for our dinner and refused to be reimbursed. Back at the hotel we had a mime and stunted English conversation with all the hotel guys about our trip and Turkey in general.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5390m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 43km
Ascent : 724m
Time Cycling : 3h 50
Journey Time : 6h
Average Speed : 11.1 km/h
Hotel : N 37°20'26.5" E 28°08'21.6"
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Çamici Gölü to Milas

Continued on the undulating road to the end of the lake with misty mountains rising up from the opposite shore, the crags looking indistinct and smuged in the morning light. As we left the lake behind our way wound through a maze of conical hills, and rows of olive trees. We passed the occasional strip town, no more than a few cafes existing to serve the dolmus buses which plie the highways. Made an early stop before lunch as there are scant places to stay now we've headed inland. Milas is a busy market town which few other tourists visit, a slice of real Turkish life. We wandered around in the afternoon buying essential snack supplies, having become addicted to honey and sesame coated roasted peanuts and mixed bags of roasted chickpeas, sweetcorn and pumpkin seeds.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5347m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 41km
Ascent : 303m
Time Cycling : 3h
Journey Time : 3h 30
Average Speed : 13.5 km/h
Campsite : N 37°18'49.5" E 27°46'45.5"
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Güllübahçe to Çamici Gölü

After yesterdays mountainbiking epic we were glad to be in one of the only flat areas in Turkey. The first 10km were marred by a headwind,but as we turned onto the highway the wind was on our backs so we were able to speed along foe a while. Our route then took into the hills and we climbed up to skirt around a lake. Half way along the enormous lake we happened across a campsite in an idyllic setting. As the price was about 80p each we felt unable to turn the opportunity down and after yesterdays excertions we felt we deserved some lounging time.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5306m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 47km
Ascent : 197m
Time Cycling : 2h 54
Journey Time : 4h 30
Average Speed : 16.1 km/h
Campsite : N 37°28'30.6" E 27°26'52.2"
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Güzelçamli to Güllübahçe

This morning we realised that our chosen route would take us over a ridge of hills that had been looming in the distance yesterday. We've only managed to get a basic large scale map of Turkey so far, with no contours or spot heights to help us when selectiong routes. Having already had to backtrack yesterday, we decided not to return 10km to the highway, and opted to tackle the hills instead. The scant information on our map showed our route would take 12km to cross the ridge, assuming half would be up and the rest down we set forth thinking we would be at the top in an hour, how wrong we were The road gradually deteriorated into a dirt track, and progress was slow going over the loose rocks and sand. There were more animal tracks than human and we spotted wild boar and snake prints in the sand. It soon became apparent that the road was not following a direct route. What had looked like a straight path instead wound its way up the hillside and then began to follow the line of the ridge of hills. We kept climbing bluff after bluff believing each one to be the way over the pass, only to find yet another false summit, and the road snaking off ahead of us. In the afternoon we were surprised to encounter a pair of German cyclists on the otherwise deserted road. They accompanied us for awhile until we reached the top of the road, and they headed back the way we'd come. We set off down hill thinking the worst was behind us, but soon came to a junction with a choice of four routes. After much deliberation we chose to go straight ahead, but after about a kilometer the path just vanished into nothing. Incredulous we returned to the crossroads and chose the next most likely route. This dropped off steeply before again turning into nothing leaving us to battle back up once more to the now familiar crossroads. We almost decided to retrace our steps completely before taking the plunge and following yet another path. We were soon rewarded with a view towards the plain we were heading to all day. We proceeded to race the sunset as we plunged down the hillside with tremendous vistas around each torturous bend in the path. We ended the day only a few km from where we started but nonetheless glad to have a roof over our haeds rather than sleeping in the woods.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5259m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 39km
Ascent : 1041m
Time Cycling : 5h 23
Journey Time : 9h
Average Speed : 8.8 km/h
Campsite : N 37°39'43.8" E 27°18'19.5"
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Selçuk to Güzelçamli

Spent a day off in Selçuk visiting the nearby ruined Roman city of Ephesus. This is the most well preserved site we've visited so far. As well as the usual temple and amphitheatre remains, here there are also some remarkably intact roman houses. The houses even retain several stories and many mosaics and frescos still adorn them. We were enthralled. Soaked up some more atmosphere in the afternoon at the town's weekly market. Headed off the next day, retraced our route to Kusadasi and quickly cycled onwards. Passed seemingly endless swathes of large concrete hotels, and slopes bristling with identical concrete houses. Managed to find a small campsite at the end of the day, and did our first bout of haggling to knock 25% off the price.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5220m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 46km
Ascent : 236m
Time Cycling : 3h 10
Journey Time : 4h 20
Average Speed : 14.5 km/h
Campsite : N 37°42'54.6" E 27°13'06.3"
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Samos to Selçuk

Arrived in Samos feeling battered and not very rested at around seven in the morning. On leaving the boat we were pleased to discover we could get a ferry to Kusadasi, Turkey that very morning, rather than wait 24 hours whilst our passports were registered as the guide book implied. More waiting and more sailing later we arrived in Kusadasi at ten am. With Kusadasi being a huge package tourist resort we had an English breakfast. We were also immediately surprised by the friendliness and affability of the Turks. When we were fully fuelled we headed the short way up the coast to Selçuk where we checked into a hotel which was cheaper than most campsites we've stayed at. After a nap we wandered into town and had our first mouth wateringly good Turkish meal.

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Total Distance Cycled : 5174m

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Daily Distance Cycled : 20km

Ascent : 136m

Time Cycling : 1h 16

Journey Time : 1h 16

Average Speed : 16 km/h

Campsite : N 37°57'26.1" E 27°22'07.8"

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Athens to Samos

Spent a few days in Athens seeing the obligatory sites. The Acropolis was typically covered in scaffolding, as any self respecting major monument is apt to be, but was still an impressive sight. It also provided good views of the whole of Athens stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. All the more impressive as only 80years ago all that existed was the small old town just below the Acropolis. Today we crossed the city to Pireas, the port of Athens. Ferries leave from here to every Greek Island, and some beyond, so the sea front is a confusing melee. Finally found our ferry and managed to bag a slightly less uncomfortable option in economy class of some broken seats that reclined further than they were supposed to. Tried to convince ourselves they resembled the bed chairs on first class airlines, and settled in for our long haul of 13hours.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5152m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 11km
Ascent : 23m
Time Cycling : 52min
Journey Time : 52min
Average Speed : 11.9 km/h
Campsite : N 37°45'28.3" E 26°58'16.3"
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Kineta to Athens

Set off again on the last leg to Athens. Spotted a nifty shortcut, caught a ferry to Salamina Island in the Saronik gulf, the bay outside Athens, and cycled across the Island to another ferry that took us to Perana just south of Athens. This cut out a large section of the bay which we would have had to follow all the way round and also meant we avoided entering Athens on the major arteries. Traffic was still heavy though and we were glad of the gps to guide us seamlessly to the campsite in the outskirts of the city.

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Total Distance Cycled : 5142m

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Daily Distance Cycled : 51km

Ascent : 423m

Time Cycling : 3h 38

Journey Time : 5h 4,

Average Speed : 13.9 km/h

Campsite : N 38°00'32.4" E 23°40'20.4"

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Corinthos to Kineta

Spent a couple of days camped at Corith next to an English cycle tourist who arrived after us on a recumbent tricycle having also cycled from home but via France and Itlay, a more direct route than ours. Crossed over the Corinth canal in the morning, with a brief stop to watch the boats passing beneath us. Stopped after a short day at the last campsite before Athens.
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Total Distance Cycled : 5091m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 33km
Ascent : 119m
Time Cycling : 2h 15
Journey Time : 3h 10
Average Speed : 14.8 km/h
Campsite : N 37°57'09.9" E 23°10'51.7"
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Arkato Beach to Corinthos

The terrain and conditions continued as they have done for the past few days. As we neared Corinth the Gulf started to close in with the north coast only a short distance away across the water. Yet again a campsite marked on the map was not to be found on the ground. We took this in our stride as we now expect this to happen and only believe in the mirages when we have booked in and put up the tent. The benign riding conditions meant the extra miles to the alternative campsite were covered without problem.

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Total Distance Cycled : 4954m

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Daily Distance Cycled : 62km

Ascent : 90m

Time Cycling : 4h 40

Journey Time : 7h 15

Average Speed : 13.1 km/h

Campsite : N 37°56'07.4" E 22°51'56.6"

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Lambiri to Arkato Beach

Continued along the Gulf of Corinth, heading east along the Peleponese. As opposed to the mainland coast the road here is more forgiving for cyclists. The road here parrallels a motorway so only carries light local traffic. The hills are also much less pronounced with good sections of flat. As the road hugs the coast we are treated to marvelous views of the inviting azure sea with only a headwind to put a dampener on things.

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Total Distance Cycled : 4995m

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Daily Distance Cycled : 41km

Ascent : 187m

Time Cycling : 2h 40

Journey Time : 3h

Average Speed : 15.5 km/h

Campsite : N 38°10'25.1" E 22°20'15.8"

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Sami to Lambiri

Back to business today with an early rise to get the ferry back to the mainland, our week of R&R now over. The trauma of an early start was made even worse after a week of lazy mornings lounging by the pool and delicious over sized dinners. After docking in Patras in the Peleponese we pointed ourselves east once more on the road to Athens.

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Total Distance Cycled : 4954m

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Daily Distance Cycled : 30km

Ascent : 150m

Time Cycling : 2h

Journey Time : 2h 30

Average Speed : 15 km/h

Campsite : N 38°19'15.2" E 21°58'18.2"

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Neo Hori to 1 Emilja Villas, Sami, Kefallonia

We were up early again to be away from our campsite before we were noticed by who ever owned the grove of trees. This meant we made it to Astakos and the ferry to Cephalonia in time to sail today. We met Luke's parents at the dockside and followed the car the short distance to the villa looking forward to a week off.

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Total Distance Cycled : 4924m

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Daily Distance Cycled : 38km

Ascent : 200m

Time Cycling : 3h

Journey Time : 3h 30

Average Speed : 12.7 km/h

Villa : N 38°14'30.0" E 20°38'11.6"

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Dounis Beach to Neo Hori

The pattern of a coastal road rolling along steep hillsides continued today untill we reached a flat marshly landscape near the town of Messolongi. There were still no campsites and the few hotels were all full. As there was no room at the inn we cycled onwards and as evening came we discreetly ducked into a lemon grove and waited for dusk before making camp.
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Total Distance Cycled : 4887m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 60km
Ascent : 203m
Time Cycling : 4h 16
Journey Time : 6h
Average Speed : 14.1 km/h
Campsite : N 38°25'47.3" E 21°16'52.9"
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