Balkans Cycle Tour Vienna to Istanbul 2011

Balkans Cycle Tour, Vienna to Istanbul

April - June 2011


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Stage 8 - Greece

Macedonia, Mt Olympus and Thrace, 20-29 May 2011

I crossed the border from Macedonia into northern Greece on the morning of 20 May 2011. I rode to Mt Olympus, and then to the Aegean coast. I followed this coastline northwards to Thessaloniki and then eastwards to Alexandroupoli and into Turkey.

I found Greece a very pleasant country to cycle in, with a great variety of landscapes, interesting towns, cities and people, rugged mountains and picturesque coastime. My first day in Greece was the exception to this though, the journey south from Bitola to Kozani was through a valley full of power stations and coal mines.

Map of Stage 8 - Greece

	[Previous stage - Macedonia] On the morning of 20 May 2011 I rode from the Macedonian city of Bitola south into Greece at the border crossing of Niki. It was then solid riding through an industrial valley full of coal mines and power stations to finally reach the town of Kozani. This is the view out of my hotel window in central Kozani. There is nothing special in Kozani.
	After spending a night in a hotel in Kozani I rode from Kozani to the coast beneath Mt Olympus in a single day. This photo is of the countryside after leaving Kozani. The city of Kozani is visible on the slopes of the hills in the background 21 May 2011.
	Agricultural country south of Kozani. 21 May 2011.
	My route from Kozani to the coast crossed a bridge over the large lake in this photo and then climbed into a range of hills. 21 May 2011.
	Looking back towards Kozani after a long climb into the hills. After this long climb into the hills was a long descent into a valley north of Larissa. The next obstacle between me and the Aegean coast was the massif of Mt Olympus itself. 21 May 2011.
	Ahead lies the bulk of Mt Olympus and this road crosses this massif to the south of Mt Olympus and then drops steeply to the coast. 21 May 2011.
	After a long climb into the mountains I look back towards Kalithea and can see the road that I have been cycling along. 21 May 2011.
	Looking back the way I have come after a long climb into the hills. 21 May 2011.
	The little village of Kryovrysi, at an elevation of about 1100m to the south of Mt Olympus. 21 May 2011.
	The highest point on the road with views to the south.

	Finally after a long afternoon of arduous climbing the road snakes its way down to the coast. I stayed at a campground in the coastal town of Plaka Litochorou which is a few kilometres north of the town you can see in this photo. A long day today - 130km. 21 May 2011.
	A great downhill run ahead!
	A well earned downhill run.


	On 22 May 2011 I left my tent at the campground in Leptokarya and rode into the Mt Olympus National Park. I climbed from the coast to 1100m by bike, then hiked to an altitude of 2100m, and then returned all the way back to the coast again in the one day. This is the town of Litochoro, which is a very pleasant village below Mt Olympus. It serves as the gateway town to the Mt Olympus National Park, and maps and information about the national park and climbing Mt Olympus are available here, along with plenty of good accommodation.
	From Litochoro I followed the road up into the national park of Mt Olympus. There was a vantage point and picnic area on this road from which this photo was taken.
	View back down to Litochoro.

	The road ended at an altitude of 1100m at a place called Prionia, and this is where the hiking trail to Mt Olympus started. This little waterfall is not far from the car park.
	After some uphill hiking, these views are had from an altitude of about 1800m. I had lunch here.

	I reached a refuge "Spilios Aghanitos" at an altitude of 2100m.
	I met a nice group of Bulgarian hikers here.


	View towards the summit of Mt Olympus from refuge "Spilios Aghanitos". Unfortunately I had left my tent pitched down at the coast and had not brought enough equipment with me up the mountain to spend a night at the refuge and climb to the summit of Mt Olympus. So on the afternoon I bade farewell to the people I had met on the trail and returned to my bike and then rode back down to my coastal campsite "Camping Olympios Zeus".
	On 23 May 2011 I rode into the city of Thessaloniki from My Olympus. This was another long hard day of riding, and today was particularly challenging due to the difficulty of avoiding motorways. I had to choose a very indirect route using several different secondary roads, and avoiding motorways as I approached Thessaloniki became particularly difficult. Eventually I joined a motorway for the last 12km dash into Thessaloniki, and it was with great relief that I finally reached the cycleway along the waterfront after another long day of riding - 125km. "The White Tower", a famous historic landmark in the centre of Thessaloniki.
	The waterfront of Thessaloniki. An excellent cycleway along the waterfront allows rapid transit through the heart of the city. I found a nice backpacker refuge to stay in in Thessaloniki and spent 2 nights there. Thus the 24th of May was my first rest day on the entire trip.
	I spent my rest day on 24 May exploring Thessaloniki. Aristotelous Square, Thessaloniki. 24 May 2011.
	View of the city from the Kastra, the historic castle walls.

	Some historic alleyways.
	The Roman arch of Galerius.
	Roman ruins, Thessaloniki.
	Roman ruins, Thessaloniki. 24 May 2011.
	On 25 May 2011 I resumed my ride towards Istanbul. It took some time to escape the traffic and outer commercial districts of Thessaloniki but everntually I made it into the hills where scenic countryside resumed. My route was eastwards from Thessaloniki, through the hilltown of Arnea and to the coast again at Olymbiada. This is the lovely little town of Aghios Prodromos en route between Thessaloniki and the coast at Stavros.
	A lovely little forest road finally took me to this lookout over the town of Olymbiada (visible in the photo on the coast). From here it was a fast downhill run into Olymbiada. 25 May 2011.
	Down to the coast. Olymbiada is on the right.
	I rode north from Olymbiada along the coast to Stavros. I stayed in "Appartments Katarina Haus", a German run group of apartments in Asprovalta. This German family had me over to their apartment for tea. The giant croissant on the table was filled with cream and dripping with honey and terribly sweet. These people were delighted that I ate the whole thing along with about a litre of tea. It had been a very hard few days of riding and I was starvingly hungry.
	After the ingulgence of that giant croissant it was time for a beer and then my own dinner in my own apartment.
	On 26 May I rode around the coast, heading eastwards towards Turkey. I passed through the town of Kavala and stayed at a campsite a few kilometres further on at Nea Kavali. Here is the town of Kavala, reached after a steep climb over some coastal hills.
	Kavala. 26 May 2011.
	The aqueduct of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-66). Kavala, 26 May 2011.
	My typical dinner included large quantities of pasta. Here in northern Greece this could be accompanied by a little bottle of Ouzo.
	On the road between Nea Karvali and Xanthi I met Hiram, a pan global cycle tourer from Taiwan, who has been riding around the world for 6 years. He is hoping to break the world record for the longest ever bike ride. 27 May 2011.
	Hiram and myself. On 27 May 2011 I bypassed Xanthi and took minor roads through Thrace, making my way steadily towards Alexandroupoli. These little roads took me through a flat agricultural river delta. That night I reached the village of Fanari and I was able to camp on the coast near there. The campground was offically still closed, but they let me camp there anyway.
	28 May 2011.Following minor roads through an agricultural river delta south of Komotini.
	Crossed a river ford south of Komotini. 28 May 2011.
	Little coastal villages and minor roads before Maronia. 28 May 2011.
	I took this tiny dirt road around some coastal hills en route between Maronia and Alexandroupoli.
	This fascinating little road had historic ruins along the way, had no traffic, and I had this unspoiled section of coastline to myself.
	This was one of the most unspoiled and pristine sections of coastline in the Greek stage of my trip. 28 May 2011.
	Lovely unspoiled and clean beaches. On the afternoon of 28 May I reached Alexandroupoli and stayed in the municdipal campground. I had a great evening there, a Belgian family invited me to their campervan for dinner. On the 29th of May I rode across the border into Turkey, and the story of this cycle tour concludes in Stage 9 - Turkey.

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This web page created on 29 Jun 2011, last updated 29 Jun 2011.


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