James in Greece: Day 13: Delphi- Ag Nikolaos

View Day 13: Delphi- Ag Nikolaos in a larger map

Distance - 80 km
Total Distance - 909 km
Altitide Gain - 958 m

Last night I learned that my family were in Lefkáda - which they reckoned was about two hundred kms from Delphi (but which is, in fact, more like three hundred kms). So this was to be my ultimate destination. According to the map the going should be flat so the cycling should be a lot easier than what I have done so far. However, I wasn't so sure that it would be flat, and I was concerned that the prevailing wind would be against me. In short, I was pretty certain that what looks like an easy route would turn out to be really hard. In the event, my previous experiences of such roads served me well and I was right. But more of that later.
However, before I turned my bicycle to head to Lefáda, I wanted to visit Delphi. To go to Delphi on a bicycle means a twelve kilometre climb on a good quality road. The steepest part is for the first two kilometres or so, when the gradient often goes beyond 10 % (it never gets to 39% as my route planner indicates - that's just silly!); the rest of the road climbs steadily with gradients mostly between 4 and 6 %. It certainly wasn't the hardest climb I've done on this tour - and it was made easier by the fact that the campsite had agreed for me to leave all my bags with them, which meant that my bike was unloaded. But, nevertheless, for someone who is new to cycling or who doesn't like hills, this road could be a serious undertaking. and shouldn't be taken lightly. A lot of cars in the campsite were carrying bicycles - but I saw no-one actually attempt the climb! Maybe they'd lost their appitite for it on the way to the campsite!
The town of Delphi itself looked very pleasant and had a good number of shops and cafés. But I had come here to see the archeological site and it was very impressive. To do the visit, you have to walk up a lot of steps. The visit in itself is quite strenuous, and today it was very hot, and there wasn't much shade. I could see that a lot of people were finding the tour hard going - but it was worth the effort. There were a lot of water taps installed all over the site so it would have been a good idea to bring a bottle. I didn't and went to the café on the site. I shouldn't have. It was very expensive, it was quite simply a rip off, and the guy who served me was rude. Better to go to one of the cafés in the town.
After I'd finished the tour, I cycled back down to the campsite, picked up my stuff and set off for Itea. Here I ate two giros - which is the Greek equivalant of kebab (a cyclist's appetite!) and then started my ride on the E65 towards Patra. Right from the start I found this road to be unpleasant. The views were nice, there's no denying it, but it's about the only good thing I can say about the road. For one thing, some of the motorists drive very fast - and many do not hesitate to overtake on a solid line straight towards you at terrifying speed. When I see people driving in that way, it makes me long for the day when cars will be controlled by GPS. Sorry to the freedom-to-drive brigade, but it's not just my life that these people put at risk, it's also the lives of the other motorists and their families. The second reason why the lovely views towards the Peloponese could not make me like this road is that, as I expected, it is very hard work. For one thing, it involves a lot of climbing. Now, how can someone who's crossed the most mountainous country in Europe on a fully loaded bike and loved every minute of it complain about climbing? Because this is the sort of climbing I hate. You climb just one hundred metres, maybe less, you descend, then you go back up. You get all the pains of climbing a mountain, but none of the rewards (ie, cooler weather, stunning panoramic views, thrilling descents...). Note that there really was a surprising amount of climbing on this road: from Itea to here the distance is 45 kms; the altitude gain during this section of the ride was 700 metres. The other reason why this road was hard was the fact that these 700 metres were climbed in a very strong head wind. Well, not always a head wind actually, it blew unpredictably in many directions (except behind you) which not only slows you down, but makes you wobble uncontrollably on an already dangerous road. Of course, had I been going the other way, the wind would have helped me climb the hills, but it didn't - it just made them harder. In a word the E65 is probably great in a car (so long as you're not of a nervous disposition) but on a bike I think it's a road to avoid if at all possible.
I spent the rest of the evening sitting at a table looking to the Peloponnese and watching the villagers. This is a lovely place. Such a shame that the road here is so bad.