Day 5 — Karditsa to Meteora | 31.2 miles | 866 ft

Day 5. An easy 31 miles today—flat roads, comfortable pace, and one of those days when I felt like I could have kept riding forever.

I finally mounted the Honey Badger on the bike today.

I rode through Trikala, ancient Trikka, traditional home of Asclepius—the Greek god whose snake-wrapped staff became the symbol of medicine. Had to stop for lunch there.

The road into Meteora, beautiful giant rocks. A little reminiscent of Nm Navajo country.

Five days, 238 miles and almost 25 hours on the bike. Tonight was lamb souvlaki, tzatziki and ouzo. The ouzo tastes like a cold, liquid biscochito. No wonder I like it so much—it reminds me of New Mexico.

I watched a spectacular sunset over the mountains and brought my first Greek baklava back to the hotel. It was good, although I think I’ve had better baklava in America. 😄

Tomorrow: monasteries in the morning. The bike gets the day off. And so do I.Read more