Part 19: Going the Distance on the Aegean Sea

Well, we admit it: the last few days in Athens and Crete were rather… decelerated by our standards. So it’s clear that we’re going to cover a lot of ground now.

And what a route it was! Our meeting with Mike from the Riders of Crete put us on the right track. He is an experienced touring rider and had some real insider tips on where we could really push our bikes to the limit. Spoiler alert: the Crete veteran from Cologne hadn’t promised too much!

Fresh off the ferry in the port of Piraeus, we fired up our BMWs – and I almost forgot my favorite accessory. If my head weren’t skrewed on. Well, for today, at least my butt is glued to the saddle. So I’m not going to lose it. 😉

Nevertheless, we sometimes noticed on the road that some things on the bike were not ideally positioned or aligned. We always had to check the protruding equipment on our BMWs before driving on the highway. Safety first.

Island Hopping via the Euripos Strait

And then we finally hit the road. In the morning, whizzing past the lapping sea and lush green plains, we reached the first town: Chalkida, the capital of the island of Euboea.

Island?

Yes, you read that right, we had to cross a bridge that spans the Euripos Strait at its narrowest point. A beautiful city, but our schedule didn’t allow us more than a quick snack. We soon set off again, along the sea, heading straight north-west. Then we turned to the mountains of the island. It smelled of lush pine forest. The buzzing of beehives could be heard everywhere, where the industrious insects toiled for their honey.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Konstantinopoleus, the port of Néos Pírgos. It was located on a lively sandy beach, lined with private boats gently swaying at anchor. Fortunately, there was still time for an ice-cold Coke in the shade – the midday sun was beating down on the earth at 35 degrees celsius. The ferry to Gylfa took its time.

300 km? That Must Be Faster!

Standing by the railing for a while – it was nice to take a deep breath. You can taste the salt of the sea breeze on your tongue. As soon as we were back on land, we were back on asphalt.

Another two hours on the road, then we reached the town of Volos, our last stop of the day, before sunset. We put up at the Volos Palace Hotel and treated ourselves to a great dinner.

The result: just over 300 kilometers a day. The ferry trips had slowed us down a little. But we wanted to improve. Because the very next day we tackled the centerpiece of Mike’s route plan: The Olympos National Park with its winding downhill sections. And finally, Thessaloniki on the Thermaic Gulf.

Can we count on your presence again?

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We ride from the Rhine in Germany to the Ganges in India – and all for a good cause. Help us with a donation and give the Aktionsgruppe Kinder in Not e.V. the means to give disadvantaged children in India a future.

Berthold and I want to collect at least 1 euro in donations for every kilometer ridden – in the end this would be around 50,000 euros. The money will be used by the action group Kinder in Not e.V. to set up educational opportunities that will benefit children from poor population groups in India. We look forward to your donation!

Donation account: DE40 5745 0120 0030 5199 46
BIC: MALADE51NWD
Purpose: Rhein2Ganges

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