Crete Archive

Dirt road touring / bike-packing Crete

I thought that, for once, I could perhaps make myself useful and scribble a general info flavoured post with info on maps and stuff  – especially given that Crete is such an accessible destination  with some absolutely fantastic riding that doesn’t require a big investment in time, messing with visas and so on. So..on that basis here it is.. Maps Crete is absolutely stuffed with dirt tracks and trails.. some harder to navigate than others but …

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Archanes etc

I could quite happily have spent a week on the Lasithi Plateau… however with a flight on Wednesday it seemed like quite a good idea to arrive back in Heraklion (or rather the western beach suburb of Amoudara) on Tuesday afternoon leaving time for packing bikes, enjoying a post-ride beer etc… so that is where we are now, bikes are packed (something of a race against an approaching thunderstorm) and we can reflect on what …

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Lasithi

After 9 days of riding without a break a rest day was in order…I’m lucky in that the temperatures have to be to closer to 40 degrees before I’m affected too much but even so the relentless climbing was beginning to take a toll. I would have liked one last high mountain camp but I’m not here alone so can’t have everything my way.. ;-) Instead a highly agreeable solution of one last big mountain …

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To the east…

It’s warm… as I rolled up my tarp at 8am this morning on the little patch of sand on which we spent the night my thermometer was already showing 30 degs C… and by 2pm this afternoon it was above 34 degs in the shade… about 10 degs warmer than normal for this time of year… it makes riding a sweaty business but I’ve endured much hotter so really just a case of slowing down …

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Psiloritis Traverse

Got some late afternoon shade and a mug of tea here in Zaros so time for a quick blog post I think.. it’s been a terrific couple of days, albeit hard ones, crossing the Psiloritis mountains. Legs were really quite stuffed this morning so basing ourselves in the quiet little village of Zaros at the foot of the range on the south side it’s been a day of local exploration… quietly spinning along fragrant dirt …

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A quick post beer post…

Oh it’s so good to be on the road again, albeit just for a quick trip. Having arrived quite late last night into Heraklion today was reserved for things like getting up late, drinking beer in the sun while looking at maps, putting bikes together, finding supplies and so on. Easy. It is rather fun to be on the road in a modern European country for a change with well stocked supermarkets full of good …

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