CCG2401 from greece to croatia
There is not much to report today. Some of us went to see Athens, others spent the day on the plane. In the afternoon, we all meet for a briefing where we find out what we can look forward to over the next two weeks. And finally we get the keys to our bikes. After saddling our horses, we get to know each other better over dinner.
Finally, the time has come for our first day of driving. After a short briefing, we set off... our mission is to leave Athens. So things get off to an exciting start. Because the traffic here follows different rules than at home. Once we've left the city behind us, we can get used to our bikes on the highway. Our first stop is the world-famous Corinth Canal, which, technically speaking, turns the Peleponese into an island. A few pictures and a coffee later, we continue on country roads to the theater of Epidauros where we admire the sophisticated acoustics of this 2000-year-old building. Afterwards, some of us drive to Nafplio to enjoy the view from the Palamidi fortress.
The sun is still low and bathes the olive groves surrounding our hotel in an almost magical light. This is the start of day three of our tour. Today is about nothing less than pure riding pleasure spiced up with a bit of sightseeing. After a short briefing, we set off straight away. We leave Nafplio behind us and head south along the coast. The views along the route are breathtaking, you actually want to stop every 2 kilometers to take a picture.... but the driving is way too much fun. Along this coast there is curve after curve, there is hardly any traffic and the weather is a dream. Fittingly, we have our first coffee right on the beach, in keeping with the scenery. A brief downpour of rain throws a spanner in the works of our original plan and we leave the coast for the mountains for the time being. So we wind our way up through valleys and gorges to the Elona Monastery carved into the rocks. A little later we find a shady spot in a small village called Kosmas, where a traditional Greek lunch awaits us. In the afternoon, on the home stretch of the day, another highlight awaits us: the Laganda Pass. This varied mountain road with spectacular views leads us back to the coast. Our destination for today awaits us there...Kalamata.... Want an olive?
What a wonderful riding day. First we went in a hidden secret mountain section, discovered the power of water energy and finally have had the ancient competition of Olympia. Great ride great day.
Great riding day again … first we have had mountain curves on Peloponnes and in the afternoon on some really hidden backcountry roads with lots of curves. Ron surprised us with beautiful and yummy Picnic and finally we visited the Miracel at Delphi.
The day begins with a view from our balcony, high above the “modern” Delphi. The sun has a hard time penetrating the Sahara dust in the air today. After a short briefing, we set off. Our route takes us through the Parnassos Mountains, the home of the muses according to mythology. We have a day full of variety and challenges ahead of us, because as beautiful and diverse as the landscape is, the roads demand our full attention. The region was hit by severe storms in 2023, the after-effects of which we can still see. Nevertheless, we find our way to the hot springs of Thermopylae, the region in which the movie 300 is set. Nowadays, the passage at this point is nowhere near as narrow as it was 2500 years ago, but it's cool to have been here once. We keep heading north. On our way to Meteora there is of course a reservoir as well as many winding roads to experience.
METEORA, the world famous area of Monasteries starts its day a little foggy in the mountains but nice and with clean air in town and around the hotel. Everybody enjoyed a late breakfast, sitting around and chatting about the last days. On late morning one group headed off for a Free-Ride to explore the area on their own. Another group headed off to the Monasteries. On the way up they stopped for photo stops and re-supplied much needed personal goods and ice cream. Both rides were just awesome and everybody had the chance to visit the Monasteries and Nunneries. To see how and where these 600 years old constructions were built on top of mountains was impressing and because of the amount of stairs a good Cardio training. In the afternoon the group enjoyed the amenities of the hotel, like the sauna, pool and spa. What a great stop half way into the tour.
Albania is calling! Today we are heading to out first border, to Albania. After our second relaxing night in the Grand Meteora Hotel we headed North. The roads were small and the landscape were breathtaking. We had our first coffee stop in the old town center of Metsovo. For lunch we stopped right on the side of the road in the middle of the mountain before we headed to our highlight of the day, the Vikos Gorge. According to the Guinness book of records, the deepest gorge in the world. Shortly after that we crossed the border to Albania without problems and enjoyed our first 30 km in Albania into the old town of Gjirokasta, UNESCO World Heritage. Our hotel, located near the old fortress where just mind blowing. The rooms, the service and the views everything just perfect. We wrapped up the day together with some drinks and great talks.
Our day begins with a spectacular view from the terrace of our hotel in Gijrokastra. Today we will drive deeper into Albania, which is still unknown to us, and get a better overview of the country where we will spend the majority of the next part of our tour. First, we ride north on well-maintained main roads along an impressive mountain and hilly landscape. After a short coffee stop, we head into the hinterland, the backyard of Albania, if you will. There we get a real insight into the lives of the people and learn to better understand what makes this country special. Back on well-developed main roads, we reach Berat, the city of a thousand windows, a Unesco World Heritage Site and part of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. From the castle you have a great view over this place. After lunch, the tour continues with plenty of variety. We cross flat farmland and drive through gorges with buildings painted all over with ladybugs. We finally reach the border to North Macedonia. The border crossing happens so quickly that we can hardly believe it. We reach Ohrid late but with many new impressions in our luggage. Our destination for the day
Today we have one of the longest rides ahead of us and again one border crossing. Through smallest and winding mountain roads 330 km are a lot. The first 4 hours we barely had 100m straight roads. A road heaven for riders. After 1.5 hours we crossed the border back to Albania without problems. While we wait for everybody passing through, we enjoyed a very strong second morning coffee. We had another 3 hours to go to have our lunch at a very spectacular place. Right at a small dam an a terrasse over the lake. After the lunch the group decided to go straight to the today’s destination. Just to embrace the city of Shkodar. Overall, another awesome day on winding backcountry roads ends with a great get together in town with watching football and great talks.
Getting up in the morning, some of us had a nice morning walk. The hotel right in the city center made it easy to explore everything. First order of the day was refilling all bikes, before we headed off to the Thertor Pass. The road was narrow but in great condition. The pass and the valley we passed through were awesome. It was totally worth to do this 1.5 hours detour. Back on the main road we proceeded to the Vermosh Valley and the Vermosh Mountains. Lots of turns and views until lunch. After lunch we crossed the border to Montenegro. The border station was small but unexpected busy and quiet an experience. After another few hours, countless turns, several stops and coffee breaks we arrived in Kolasin. Getting to the hotel after riding through rain for the last 30 minutes were a great feeling.
Today is a rest day, the second on our tour. Rest day doesn't mean that we have to sit idle in the hotel, of course, because although Kolasin is small, it still has a lot to offer, so we can explore the town center, which is reminiscent of an Alpine village. And simply relax and, of course, go for a ride in the Durmitor National Park. Many kilometers of reasonably well-developed roads and countless bends are waiting to be discovered. One group takes Dieter on a long tour up to the highest bridge over the Tara Gorge. Those who stayed at home set off around midday for a “biker lunch” at a viewpoint, also at the Tara Gorge. Ron is waiting for us here with a picnic. The approaching thunderstorm in the neighboring valley kindly waits until we have eaten;-)
Despite the bad forecast, our last day starts with blue skies and a pleasant 22 degrees. The day greets us with the twittering of birds and the barking of wild dogs, good morning in the Balkans. And before you wonder why the people in the following pictures are all wearing the same shirt, well, that was a surprise for our birthday boy Jeff. After a short briefing, we set off. We drive another few kilometers through the Durmitor National Park until we turn off onto the Vojnik Pass. Those of us who know the Alps immediately feel at home. After an extended coffee stop in Savnik, we continue on well-maintained roads towards the Bosnian border. After EVERYONE;-) has their papers to hand, the crossing goes quite quickly and we drive our first kilometers through country number five on our tour. Our visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina is short but no less interesting. The drive along the Trebisnjica river in particular has some wonderful views to offer. An ice cream and a coffee later, we reach the border with country number six and thus our destination, Croatia. A spectacular view of the Adriatic opens up before us. Our destination of Dubrovnik is within our grasp.