To Athens - Personal project
27 August - 27 September 2022
To Athens - Personal project
27 August - 27 September 2022
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27 August - 27 September 2022
I’ve thought a lot about what to take with me and what not to; today I definitely wouldn’t just pack everything on the back of the bike, and I might choose a hostel/guesthouse instead of camping, because the prices are similar and it’s much more comfortable to carry less luggage.
Lángos (worth to try if you are in Romania) on the way to Transalpina – I was hungry on the road much more often than I had expected.
Near the top of the Transalpina – there were a few bends where I could barely even push the bike.
As an ecologist, my heart always aches when I see many sheep in one place – I would much prefer more responsible sheep farming, which would mean not grazing in protected areas, training the dogs so they don’t attack people, and stopping winter grazing.
First puncture.
The previous puncture actually turned out to be useful, because that’s how I noticed that the rim had cracked and the outer tire also needed to be replaced, and I happened to be close to Craiova, where Bogdan from Decathlon fixed my bike completely free of charge — thank you again!
In Bulgaria, many people’s gardens appear on Google Maps as camping spots; one of these is Camping Green, located at the edge of a small village called Urovene.
I just managed to set up my tent before the storm, but the lightning was so intense that I decided to go inside the house instead. That day the owner wasn’t there, but his kind neighbour invited me for a coffee, then for lunch, then for dinner as well, and even accompanied me to the shop. I spent the whole day talking with her using Google Translate, as she only spoke Bulgarian.
This photo was taken for those who think that only Romania is dirty — unfortunately, garbage is everywhere.
My favourite type of roads: there is stil asphalt, but with very few cars.
I ate a lot of apples from the trees by the roadside.
When I arrived to Sofia, I realized—maybe for the first time—that if I had made it that far, then I would really make it to Athens, as well.
I met some German cyclists — one big advantage of bike tours is that you can very easily spot people like you in a crowd. They had started from Germany and were heading to China, and they even had a cooking pot with them.
A café that looked fancy — I didn’t go in, but I did stop to take a photo.
Another garden campsite in Bulgaria, here.
I arrived there outside the tourist season, and the owner took pity on me because I was eating instant soup, so he offered me something similar to vodka and water, brought me ćevapi and salad, and had me to cook everything one by one. It was really funny — he didn’t speak a single word of English either.
Melnik — beautiful view — I ended up here because I had stayed with acquaintances in Pastra, and they recommended that I look around the area.
I did such a good job ‘looking around’ that I ended up following a hiking trail with my fully loaded bike, which then turned into a really steep path. I had to unload my bags many times and somehow lower the bike — and then myself — down the slope. It was quite an adventurous route, all for the classic old reason that I didn’t want to go back the same way.
This was already a Greek thorny path. After crossing the border, I got completely lost in the macchia because I didn’t want to take the highway. In the end, I still chose the highway, since it wasn’t busy at all.
Another patching session, this time in the courtyard of a guesthouse in Greece.
One of my favorite campsites —
I even spent two days here. I was patching my bike again. I arrived very late in the evening, got lost, and had a flat tire, so I was really happy to find a clean campsite and good food. Here’s the place. I had planned to sleep in Thessaloniki without booking accommodation in advance, and when I got there, I found out that all the cheap places were fully booked because the Prime Minister was visiting at the same time and there was some celebration going on.
How many cats are in the picture?
I cycled into Thessaloniki for the second time.
Then, after a bit of map studying, I realized I would go under Mount Olympus, so I decided to ride up it instead — cycling from 0 to 1,000 meters.
Then on foot, and after a short sleep in a mountain hut, continuing on foot.
The view was absolutely stunning, completely different from the mountains I’m used to.
Then, once I was up there, I realized that the highest peak is called Mytikas, and Olympus refers to the entire mountain range.
The gas stove was sometimes useful, but I wouldn’t have starved if I hadn’t brought it.
Racing along.
I really liked this campsite because it had these cute little private spots, separated by bushes. You can find them here.
I decided to set off at dawn and try to reach Athens the same day, which was 180 km away according to the map, but I figured it would fit into the last day.
In the end, I cycled 200 km that day, with 1,830 meters of elevation, fully loaded with bags — my absolute record so far. In the picture, you can see a highway crossing. I got a bit lost a few times between the upper and lower roads.
Athens.
On the way back, I took the train and bus. Unfortunately, on the bus, the bike could only be transported as luggage, and since I didn’t have a bike bag and didn’t have money to buy one, I quickly scavenged a few cardboard boxes, packed it in them, and hoped they wouldn’t throw me off the bus.
Bucharest.
Then came the reality of Eastern Europe: Bucharest–Cluj by train — same time, same cost as the Athens–Thessaloniki section, only about half the distance in km-s, and I had to sneak the bike on because they wouldn’t sell a ticket for it.
The hardest part of the whole trip was the decision that in September I wasn’t working and had no responsibilities; once that was settled and I set off, somehow every flat tire and obstacle got resolved.
The trip didn’t go according to plan at all, because on the way back I had intended to go through Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia, but I had to admit that would have been a much longer route.
Cheers to everyone who cycles!
Route in Romania – see the details on Strava.
Route in Bulgaria – see the details on Strava.
Route in Greece – see the details on Strava.
Cluj - Athens, just by bike, statistics
Athens - Cluj: train, bus, jus 222 km biking
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