half a blog grrr technology. Greeks being helpful..part one

This was a varied day, blessed with the scent of wild marjoram, taste of a sweet spring and views of sea on both sides as I rode along the central mountain ridge of the island of Evvia.

I left Nea Styra, with a spurt to avoid an excited barking dog, and burbled through 5k.  It was a bit dodgy getting into the little ring for low gears, so I stopped to adjust the front derailleur when I saw a steep hill approaching. I am not the fastest bike mechanic but it is vital to have granny gears for these hills!

Disaster, as I accidentally undid the screw fully and scattered the washer, bolt and nut into the scrub. I had to work at the very edge of the small, fairly busy road. Having undone the nut it seemed impossible to do it up again. I fought it for an hour, with no choice but to keep trying. Eventually a helpful Greek stopped his car, grasped the issue and my pliers (ignoring the hex key I was correctly using) and forced the nut into position. He dashed off with my effusive thanks. Of course, I was now at the same point I had been at an hour and twenty minutes earlier...

A little later I got to theorist where the two Amal rings worked but I couldn't get top gear

Made it to Marathon and ended up off the map

It has been three days since I had Internet access, so some brief catching up needed.

Fitting a new derailleur got me on the road on Friday 26th.

I wimped out of reclimbing the Pendeli hills and headed off to Marathon at a good pace on the main road out from Athens, which is pretty flat. Small pause to tie mudguard on with string. Mid-morning snack overlooking the mound in Marathon where the Greeks buried their dead after the battle. Somehow very poignant still, and my first real experience this trip of Greek wildlife, the scent of the dry plants and the coloured flicker of butterflies. Occasionally bougainvillea sends out a lasso of scent to encircle me. Headed off down a tiny road to the museum... No distances on signs and the bumpy road went on and on... Almost turned back but glad I persisted. Stunning finds, you can look down into tombs that are 5000 years old, only found in the 70s, so untouched by time. The superb museum has beautiful finds from these and from later tombs and temples nearby. Amazing to see pots 5000 years old. The Marathon plain is clearly fertile, vines, cabbages and poly tunnels everywhere.

Pushed on on a whim to ruins well off the main route. Very hot and hilly. Really welcoming girls at the ticket counter. A beautiful site, overlooking a sparkling, intensely blue sea. This is where Helen was born to Nemesis, whose temple  still glitters in marble here. The story is that the statue of Nemeis was made from a lump of marble Persians brought with them to carve their victory monument, before the Greeks defeated them. You have to love the Greek sense of irony. The girls bring me a chair to sit in the shade while I eat my lunch. A kitten is so eager to join in, she jumps on my lap to grab bread. This kitten is not underfed, she is plump. Clearly the girls are kind to her as well! Kitten manages to beg bread and salami but draws the line at tomato.

Leaving at 3, I changed plan and headed for the ferry at Agia Marina to Evvia. The early sunset is a surprise, light is fading by 5.00 which doesn't leave much time for cycling in a day. This may affect plans. Fascinating old chap on the ferry talking about growing up on Evvia 70 years ago, and the famous Evvia winds and sea currents. Like most people I speak to, he is angry about what politicians have done to this country. People are having to work so hard for little, even for no money. Worse than the UK, tough for many ordinary people.

New Styra is pretty empty, set up for Germans, so a good breakfast is served before I head up into the hills. have no map but have managed to google a route on my phone. No idea of the hilliness, though, so expecting a tough day.

Two half Marathons don't amount to a hill of beans....

The two bike shops to which I wheeled my heavy bike (a 2-man-lift, according to British Airways) did not have a mechanic til noon. And neither had the part. Oh well, this gave me time to walk up and down the gutter of a dual carriageway, looking for the pieces that had fallen off. And I found all 5 bits (the largest is about 15mm across). The nearer shop fitted the jockey wheel back and by 1pm I was able to set off (after the usual unpack and repack twice to find bike computer, and then a single missing glove...

Hot it was by then, and jolly hard work with 26 kilos on the bike. I can't yet lift it up or even down stairs, though partly that is a knack which I am sure will come back to me. The plan was a steep, 8% climb km through a park out of Athens, reaching roughly 700m height,  and then on to Lake Marathon (which used to be Athens reservoir), the rest of the day to be a descent to the sea.

It was not to be. I huffed and puffed; the chain came off three times; he map was tricky and roadsigns rare, so I kept stopping to check each junction as I climbed. There is a paradox that if you are in a very low gear (yep, I was in the 1-1 ratio, one pedal turn to one wheel turn) it is hard to get going from a standing start. Several times I had to go downhill to restart.

Eventually I was sure of the route and starting to get good views back to Athens and out to the bay of Marathon. OK it was still on the bottom two gears, but it was fairly smooth. Suddenly crunch-graunch-boing the jockey wheel exploded again, the chain dived off the gears and everything came to a stop. I picked up all the bits again, and carried the panniers and bike one by one back to a shady tree I had just wistfully passed. The best bet seemed to eat and drink, so I enjoyed fresh bread, gorgeous tomatoes and salami as it should be (warmed by a hot sun), washed down with one of the four and a half litres of water I was carrying.

I reckoned I couldn't replace the jockey wheel, but I was halfway up a mountain... So I removed my chain and free-wheeled all the way back, which took 25 minutes ( I had to stop free-wheeling as I entered Athens, partly because the road flattened out and partly because freewheeling at traffic lights is peculiar and scary).

The slope stopped at Mary's house, so I borrowed the internet to check on good bike shops in Athens. No info. Mary. bless her, drove my bags back to the hotel (re-booked) and I pushed the bike a couple of miles through the traffic to the bike shop. They have now done a better repair, touch wood, and I am confident it will last.

So, tomorrow, back to climbing that hill. Planning on an early start to get a few miles in before the heat. 

Day one - parts of it were excellent!

Overall, a positive day. Sadly I shall lose my early start tomorrow since on my brief (but rapid) cycle to the hotel a jockey wheel fell off the rear derailleur. I shall have to wait til 9am tomorrow to get to a bike shop, and then hope they can help. Fingers crossed I just need a new jockey wheel. Worry about what BA did to my bike to achieve this but hey, it could just have fallen off from shuggeling in the hold.

Excellent parts of the day included my welcome by Mary, a friend's wife whom I had never met before. She was lovely, fed me home-made spinach pie and a lovely Turkish sweet that I'd never had before (started with Ekmek, which I thought meant 'bread' in Turkish). Seemed like pistachio-topped cheesecake on a base of baklava. Mary insisted on showing me the way to my hotel by car, which was a real help. The vast bike bag British Airways require is spending the month in her basement.

Getting the bike in the bag was a nightmare, it took two of us 4 hours. I was pleased to have rebuilt the bike on my own and replaced brake blocks in just an hour. Then of course the jockey wheel fell off.

On the whole, I have met several helpful and charming people today (at Heathrow especially) and have made it to Athens with an almost entire bike. So feels pretty good! Mary suggested a different route for tomorrow. 

First cut your soap in half...

First cut your soap into pieces and then (in my case) put the pieces in a sterile sample pot. Because any other soap container is too big and the little soap rattles annoyingly every time you go over a bump.

Then, cut the pages out of the guidebook that refer to places you don't plan to visit. In my case, most of the Greek islands.

My total tool kit with spares (tyre, tubes, spokes etc) weighs in at three and a half pounds, not much more than my bike lock (!). Have tried it all out and it fits, tent and all, with plenty of space into two Iberian panniers (bought on ebay cos the Karrimor replacements are nowhere near as good as the old ones, which sadly wore out after an estimated 20,000 miles).

This will be my heaviest trip ever. Quite apart from the extra pounds on me these days, when you travel with someone else the tent and tool weight is shared. Even when I'm carrying a heavier load than my companion, that's still less than I shall have for this solo tour. I did solo through Czechoslovakia a few years ago, but without a tent. Downhills will be fast!

My luxuries: moisturiser, skin toner and (I succumbed) a kindle. Wow, cycling with books to read, that really is a luxury and a first. Means I can have more than one guide book. And loads of free classic e-books (is that a contradiction in terms?). Still carrying the wonderful Richard's bicycle book which gives brilliant guidance that has enabled me to fix all kinds of things in the past. Plus he tells you how to kill a dog with a bike pump (this advice I have not tested, though I have been chased by dogs). Considered an e-book for the bike maintenance but just don't trust my ability to keep things charged or not to break the kindle.

Leaving tonight (by car), due at Heathrow around 6am tomorrow... I still prefer it when you just cycle down your own street and pedal a thousand miles.

Newsflash - planes are being delayed a few hours at Heathrow today. Not a good omen. My flight tomorrow is still on, for now...

70 miles a day in mountainous country for a month. Do or die really. Haven't cycled more than 50 miles in a day or more than 2 days in a row for 5 years. Experience suggests the first week will be tough and then it will get better. Or I'll crash. Fingers crossed, brow furrowed, determined pout in place.

Mad rush to get everything ready, about 36 hours to go .. in which I also need to agree and sign the contract for a new job, compose ultimatums and cajolings for my builder, make sure bike is up and running, choose and pack all the tools, clothes, first aid, camping stuff, guide books, maps and an amazing amount of electronic fripperies. Am still half tempted to ditch the gizmos and go naked of technology. What swung it was that the new bike lights only charge on a USB and once I admitted that need, why not take a camera, phone and kindle.

And indeed, why not blog about the trip. No idea what my connectivity will be but there seems to be free wifi even in campsites so it should be possible. May end up with merely the odd update on facebook or linkedin. All part of the unplannedness of long-distance touring.

Am pretty familiar with the maps by now. Checked that the ferries needed seem to be running, tho this is mainly mainland. Have a notebook in which to blog to myself, already full of useful info.

Figuring on the Carpet - will it all fit?

Once all the rush is over, the bike is rebuilt and I start pedalling, it all gets a lot simpler: water, food and shelter to be found each day, in that order of importance. I look forward to that point, for now.