The first gyros we order on our trip is vegan. Fabian picks at the deceptively real-looking mound of meat on his plate and is the first to put his fork in his mouth. He chews away cautiously. And? Fabian takes his time. Chews, looks up at the sky, grins, continues to chew extensively ... Okay, he hasn't spit it out, that's enough. After a long day in the saddle, the other four of us are simply too hungry to wait for his judgement, so we scoop it up ourselves. Yummy!
The vegan gyros fits in perfectly with the experiences we have had here in this country so far, because: Nothing is as we had imagined our trip to Greece would be. Konstantin, Fabian, Max, Bebo and I just didn't want to follow the tyre tracks of the typical bike holidaymakers. We didn't want to hop from island to island like everyone else or shred down from the summit of Mount Olympus. No, we wanted to explore the mainland in the very north of Greece. Just let ourselves drift along on a road trip and pick up the odd bike spot along the way. We had already heard that there are very active trail crews here too. There is even supposed to be a national downhill/enduro series, and these races have to take place on some kind of trail. So we collected a few good addresses of biking locals in advance and soon had a rough itinerary together.
Five mountain bike spots in twelve days
From the ferry harbour in Igoumenitsa on the west coast, we now want to make our way via the three spots Anilio, Meteora and Velventos over to Thessaloniki on the east coast and finally make a detour to the south, namely to the Parnassus Mountains near Delphi. Five spots in twelve days. That was all the plan we had in our luggage when we chugged into the harbour of Igoumenitsa yesterday after a 30-hour ferry journey from Italy.
Anilio, our first stop, is a small mountain village at an altitude of 1000 metres. From here, a gravel track continues up the mountain flanks. We had just cycled through sparse coniferous forest, but now the track heads straight up a meadow. We pass a few large signs along the way. Not that we can read the Greek writing, but the icons are international: we are clearly pedalling up a Greek ski slope. A fresh, gusty wind is blowing from the side, and not even the grass at the edge of the path smells Mediterranean. With my pulse pounding in my throat, all I can think of to describe this scenery is: "High alpine. Just like home." We are even more surprised when we reach the start of the mountain bike trail after 700 metres in altitude: Wide and flowing, the trail curves around damp, moss-covered oak trees down into the valley. "Somehow I had imagined this to be completely different," says Konsti later at the car park, echoing what everyone else is thinking.
UNESCO World Heritage Site Meteora
"We have real trails here." This is how the two locals Vasilis and Dimitri welcome us when we arrive at our second spot. We want to believe them, but at first glance, the famous monastery rocks of Meteora don't look like a trail paradise. There are vertical sandstone walls with their UNESCO World Heritage Site at the top and tourist buses whizzing around them.
But Vasilis is a passionate mountain biker and has already visited many European bike meccas, as his sun-bleached Val-di-Sole shirt reveals. Although he mostly leads tourist groups on city bikes around the monasteries here, every now and then a mountain biker gets lost. And today there are five at once. "That's about the same as the number of active bikers on site ...", chuckles the Greek, but here we go. Just a few metres behind the parked coaches is the entrance to the advertised trail: a narrow strip of path, painstakingly optimised for mountain biking. Vasilis elegantly circles through the tight bends, flies over short climbs and never misses an opportunity to play with the terrain. He really does seem to have personally placed every stone here. His smooth riding style and enormous speed bear witness to his past as a downhill racer, and we struggle to keep up, partly because our gaze keeps wandering off into the rock face scenery.
"Ola kala?" - everything okay?, Dimitri asks us at the end of this really fun trail day. More than that, we assure him. We even save the Meteora bike spot as an unforgettable experience. Even if we still miss the typical Greek landscape with olive groves, stony ground and the scent of herbs. But at least we are getting closer to our expectations with our dinner. The amount of olive oil and feta on our plates is already very Hellenic, and that alone makes us look forward to the coming days even more.
Up into the Greek hinterland by mountain bike
For us, it's time to get away from the coaches and head deeper into the Greek hinterland to Velventos. The small village is located in the Pieria Mountains to the north-west of Mount Olympus and boasts a perfect trail centre and a large reservoir. We were particularly taken with one trail: three kilometres long and 550 metres deep, it offers everything an enduro rider's heart could desire. A steep, muddy start is followed by a mixture of roots and needles, a short adrenaline rush in the stone field, then the whole thing leads into easily rideable hairpin bends. Only occasionally does your gaze wander up the misty embankment, as there are rumoured to be some brown bears living in this area. After crossing a stream, the landscape and the mountain bike trail suddenly change: our tyres now skid through sandy, dry ground, spiky undergrowth grows to the right and left, and there is a hint of rosemary in the air. While the last wisps of mist are still dissipating in the forest, a large lake glistens in the sun in front of us. Almost kitschy.
Lively Thessaloniki
Less kitschy, more classic big city: Thessaloniki. With its 326,000 inhabitants, Greece's second largest city is a real change of scenery. We have an appointment with Tasos, the co-founder of Outline Adventures. As an instructor, he has trained all the MTB guides in Greece and also leads guests along the trails himself. Although he is in the middle of completing his distance learning degree in trail building and planning, he wants to show us the hills behind the big city. After just a 30-minute drive, we are immersed in a trail park labyrinth that we would never have found our way out of without Tasos. His description "Rocks, loose rocks, broken berms, flat turns, and it gets steeper at the end" was no exaggeration. Our verdict: What a ride!
Finally down to the sea
The last highlight of our trip is on the western side of Mount Parnassus, a 2455 metre high mountain range in central Greece. Here lies the small town of Delphi, which is famous for its legendary oracle. However, we are again amazed by the misty mountain coniferous forest, rock slabs covered in moss and turtles along the way! A quick stop for lunch in the alleyways of Delphi, then it's off through wildflower meadows with crickets chirping in our ears until, at the very end of the wild ride, gravel crunches under the tyres and we are actually standing on the beach of the deep blue Aegean. Ah, Greece, here you are at last!
Info Greece
Arrival
The ferry trip from Italy (Ancona) to Igoumenitsa is offered by two shipping companies and ideally takes between 16 and 20 hours (469 miles), but depending on the weather and swell, it can take considerably longer. Although the tickets are not exactly a bargain at an average of almost 400 euros (including car), you should book as early as possible. Especially in the high season, the ships are quickly fully booked.
Camping
Wild camping is prohibited in Greece, but is tolerated almost everywhere, at least out of season. Those who act sensibly and heed the little camper etiquette will be welcomed with open arms everywhere.
Trail info
The Trailforks tour platform offers good pointers to the individual spots. However, you always have to be prepared for surprises. For example, we couldn't find some trails because they were probably overgrown or derelict. It's always best to ask the locals on site. Our info addresses that we can recommend with a clear conscience:
- Outline Adventures
- Meteora/Vasilis Tsiantikos
- True Wheels Parnassos
Further articles:
