Europe cycle touring trip - Greece-Ireland, July 2012

 

The journey through my first year of teaching successfully negotiated, I said a fond farewell to Wick in the far north of Scotland. I received kindness in many forms during the past 24 hours, from good friends to strangers. Thank-you to: 

• Alec and Megan - ram packed car left at Alec's brother Ian's for safekeeping, I was grateful for a lift into Edinburgh after a marathon flat packing session and drive from Wick to Edinburgh.

• Sister Karen - her flat was bike boxing central. Thanks to David Wray for the box and bubble wrap!

• Bus driver - for letting me on the 35 bus with my huge bike box.

• British Airways check in lady - for not charging me for going 6kg over my 23kg bag allowance!

• Airport pub waitress - accepted a few pennies less for my dinner.

• Dong and Maggie - for my London crash pad, tasty dinner, good company and lift to the airport.

Next stop Thessaloniki, Greece. Life is full of adventure, and variety is the spice of life!

Arrived in Thessaloniki safely, as did the bike box, with no buckled tires or nasty surprises. I assembled the bike with relative ease beside the taxi rank outside the airport terminal. Only annoyance was a burst inner tube beside the valve, which was something that happened worryingly often last year in hot countries. I enjoyed a leisurely 30 degrees C sunny 10 mile cycle into town along the waterfront and up a massive hill to my couchsurfing host's flat. This French guy spent 3 years cycling around Asia with his Russian girlfriend! I went out tonight for a large helping of Greek fast food before an early start tomorrow for the ambitious 100 mile push towards the Macedonian border. Good times!

Day 4 and I'm in Albania, having managed 100+ miles on day 1 to hit Macedonia from Thessaloniki in Greece. I encountered my first climb and thought it was a beast. Little did I know what was to come. It was all uphill into Macedonia and I felt goosed all morning. I loved visiting a random supermarket and the lassie asking "why are you here!?" I didn't really have an answer for that. I was rewarded with an awesome 10 miles downhill to beautiful but touristy Lake Ohrid for a refreshing evening dip. Day 3 started with stunning canyon downhilling in the cool dawn air before crossing into intriguing Albania. I had a choice of roads and a petrol station attendant strongly recommended not taking the one I planned to take. I still don't know why I didn't heed his advice, and I'm not sure whether I regret or am glad for the 'character building' experience! What followed was a hellish 30 or so miles on the worst imaginable roads ever! Up, down, up, down x100. Gravel, rocks, steep, hot, dusty, no shops or services (I had to knock on a remote door for water), 5 mph max speed. Boy was I glad to finally hit the asphalt again, as it was getting dark; I guzzled a coke and savoured an ice-cream. I hit civilisation again but finding a wild camping spot was tricky. I found one sufficient hiding place close to the road, made pasta and put up my tent once it got dark. I then got up at 4:30am just before the light of day to take down my home and hit the road. Day 4 has again included some epic climbs (four biggies, up to 1000+ metres), but thankfully on a good surface. On the upside the descents were the best, with incredible mountain vistas and multiple switchbacks on deserted roads. Montenegro tomorrow and Croatia on Sunday to join James for a week of Adriatic coastal cycling - happy days!

My camping spot in Albania looked like a cracker as I approached the top of a mountain pass at sunset. I was looking forward to a relaxing and uninterrupted sleep but was surprised to be woken in the middle of the night by a group of local men drunkenly singing nearby! I was confused what they were doing in the middle of nowhere and only discovered in the morning they had set up camp nearby for some remote partying, and perhaps thought they wouldn't disturb the neighbours! It was mostly awesome downhill cruising out of Albania into stunning Montenegro. Unfortunately it was tourist central, as the beautiful coastline was peppered with resorts. The traffic along the coast road was relentless and hardly relaxing, but the views were incredible and I would like to return to soak it up at a quieter time of the year. I have now arrived in Croatia and met my cycle buddy James for some Croatian touring.The campsite in Dubrovnik was an extortionate 20 Euros - crazy!! Roll on free wild camping again!

As I contemplate my upcoming ‘change of scene’ when I fly from Dublin to Dubai in a week's time to settle in the United Arab Emirates for the next couple of years, I happily reflect upon my life changing moments. I have the feeling of déjà vu comparing my life's recent twists and turns. When I was unsuccessful in my interview for one of Edinburgh's top private schools, George Heriot's, I was secretly excited about the random draw of ticking the ‘anywhere box’ and ending up in the Highlands of Scotland. I loved living in the far north and teaching at Wick High School, and I was initially gutted about my unsuccessful interview two days before the end of term and saying farewell to my happy life there. But disappointment threw up an opportunity and the perfect moment to teach in some far flung land. My registration with Teachanywhere hours after my Wick interview rejection culminated in a telephone interview with Fujairah Private Academy. I was told the job was mine if I wanted it, and that afternoon my flights were booked for 10 days later! Being nicely paid to live, work and explore a new and exciting part of the world, life doesn't get much better. 

I had a mad rush moving out of my Wick flat before flying to Greece to begin my summer ‘holiday’ cycle back to N. Ireland! I was grateful that my cycle companions from last summer booked flights to join me for bits of my journey; James for a week in Croatia, and Niall for the home-bound leg up the west coast of France and Ireland. My travel blog only lasted a week as freely available cheap internet dried up the moment I hit Western Europe! Hence, this is my attempt to summarise a few of the trials and tribulations from my adventure. 

From sea level at Thessaloniki in Northern Greece and some early fast miles (I achieved the top speed of my trip 48mph down one hill), I slowed to snail's pace on day two on my way up to an altitude of 1190 metres in Macedonia. My reward was ten miles of glorious downhill to the country's jewel, Lake Ohrid. I only allowed myself a quick dip in the refreshingly cool waters, as unfortunately tourist sights were not the priority on this cycle tour, where the miles had to be battered out without excuse. My immovable appointments were James' arrival in Dubrovnik, Niall's arrival in Bordeaux, and our ferry from Brittany to Ireland, before our final push for home. Failing in this uninterrupted route and taking a train part of the way was not an option!

I encountered the worst road EVER in Albania exploring the wild northeastern mountains. I will never complete 20 miles more slowly as I battled with a relentless mountain dirt road in baking heat. I must have averaged 3 mph, including downhills, as the bumpy road left my hands bruised! I will act upon a local's advice next time, as I stubbornly followed my original planned road; but this character building experience was a satisfying challenge to have overcome. Albania was one of the friendliest countries I cycled through and I would recommend the stunning ‘off the beaten track’ mountains to any adventurous cyclists. One day I encountered three massive climbs to over 1000 metres, each taking one hour from bottom to top. Again, I was rewarded with the best descents on good quiet roads, with multiple switchbacks and super views. The good times were back!

The mountainous Montenegrin coast road was stunning but touristy, with nonstop vehicles whizzing by me. I had my first failure finding a wild camping spot, but I was grateful for a first shower in five days as I booked into a Kotor hostel. This old city flanked by steep mountains is gorgeous, as was cycling around the heart shaped Bay of Kotor in the early morning cool air.

James and I celebrated meeting up in Dubrovnik with a pizza and a swim in the Adriatic Ocean at our extortionate campsite (€20 a night!). James then had a series of comedy calamities that only James could have! Upon assembling his bike, one pedal wouldn't screw on, but he eventually found a mechanic who managed it. On day 1 his pedal started clicking worryingly, which was a sign that something wasn't right. On day 2 his pedal fell off! His pedal had seized up and unscrewed itself. He then cycled one-legged in the midday heat for 30 miles, pushing his bike up some massive hills, after failing to hitch a lift to the next town. After a massive meal we went for a swim. James dived in a little too deep and hit his hand on a sea urchin! Cue a painful hospital visit where they removed the tiny black bits with tweezers from his fingertips.

Early the next day we hoped to catch a catamaran to Split from Korčula, only to be told that bikes were not allowed; no negotiating or begging helped. We chained our bikes up and lugged out pannier bags, tents and valuables on board, on a mission to find a bike shop and return in the evening with a new pedal. Finding one to match his cleats wasn't possible, but we happily arrived back at our bikes and fitted one outstandingly odd red pedal! Our technical hitches behind us, we finally enjoyed some drama free days of glorious cycling up the Croatian coast with plenty of cool dips in the sea.

As I bade farewell to my cycling companion James at our grassy hilltop wild camping spot in Slovenia, I knew I had some big miles ahead of me in order to catch up on lost time and make my date with Niall. Venice (bridge and steps galore; not designed for cycle tourers!), Nice (where I met friends Alec and Megan for coffee and croissants) and Monaco (country number 50 for me!) were quick stops across the flat Italian farmland and along the Mediterranean Coast. I found this solo leg of my journey pretty boring in foreign lands where communication with locals was limited. I was excited to hit France though, resurrect my GCSE French and practise my audio guide ‘Learn Conversational French’ skills. I loved my daily coffee and croissant amandes, and just the Frenchness of France, which is such a cycle friendly country. One evening I stumbled across the mighty Millau Viaduct, the impressive 1.5 mile long and 343 metre high bridge opened in Southern France in 2004. Sleeping under a bridge isn't usually seen as desirable, but this wasn't just any bridge! My wild camping spot on a bed of straw looking up at this almighty engineering feat was certainly memorable.

With a huff and a puff and tired legs I made it to Bordeaux to meet Niall after cycling 1000 miles in 10 solo days! I had also been hosted by friends of a tandem cycle touring couchsurfing couple I had hosted in Wick. My hosts lived at a countryside house with a swimming pool surrounded by vineyards near Bergerac. Laure and Jean Michel had themselves done a big cycle tour around S. America, so we shared stories in an amusing mixture of French, Spanish and English (their daughter was our translator). A massive feed, a soft bed, a swimming pool and home comforts were just the ticket!

Niall and his mate Ed were raring to go and I was knackered! You'd think three brains were better than one, but we managed to make a few too many directional blunders and on one occasion unwittingly went round in a circle! We followed in Lance Armstrong's bicycle tracks across the Passage du Gois, a causeway flooded twice daily to the island of Noirmouter. Our rather ancient 1 : 800 000 map indicated a convenient ferry crossing from the tip of the island, but upon arrival we were told the ferry hadn't run for 20 years!! I tried with my wingman Niall (his crazy idea) to ask some locals in my basic French if they knew anyone with a boat who we could pay to take us across to the mainland! Needless to say we didn't have a chance! Big backtrack later we were back on track going in the right direction with spirits still high.

Arriving into rainy Rosslare in Ireland from Brittany we were met by an outstanding tail wind and stormed to 120 miles, my biggest day's mileage of the trip. After an Ulster Fry in Newry I parted with Niall and Ed who headed for home in Ballinderry, and I doddled over the South Down hills homewards towards Ballyhaft Road. Such a relief to finally arrive at the local iconic sights of Scrabo Tower and Conway Square (obligatory photos), and arrive at the farm to a hero's welcome and the paparazzi - Daddy at the top of the hill! Mummy made me the best bicycle birthday cake ever with the numbers 2 7 2 5, my total mileage for my 34 day trip! Vital averages: total trip - 80 miles per day; last twenty days - 90 miles per day! Awesome adventure accomplished, with no crashes and no punctures! Full steam ahead to the next adventure!