• James Gilbert
  • Elubia Gilbert
Semasa
  • James Gilbert
  • Elubia Gilbert

Athens to Copenhagen

Cycling from Athens to Copenhagen — solo to Vienna, then finishing the ride with Elubia to Copenhagen Baca lagi
  • Rest day in Meteora

    11 September, Greece ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Breakfast at the hotel, then a bus tour through the monasteries and those incredible rock formations. I enjoyed the scenery, but I may have been happiest sitting in the shade just looking at it all. Back in Kastraki, I had a simple dinner. Most important lesson of the day: feta and goat cheese are not the same thing, and I definitely do not like goat cheese. I finished planning the next leg north, and called it an early night. Tomorrow the Honey Badger gets back on the bike. Long hard day and more remote.Baca lagi

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

    10 September, Greece ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    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.
    Baca lagi

  • Lamia to Kardista , Meteora tomorrow.

    9 September, Greece ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    Lamia → Karditsa: A demanding day, a strong finish

    55.4 miles • 3,560 feet of climbing

    The helpful hotel clerk brought me coffee, then watched me pack. Why was he staring? I’d left the coffee on the ground. He probably wondered what the hell I was doing. Really liked that guy.

    Big climb out of Lamia, then a steep, rough descent. My Great Divide experience came in handy. Love my Koga.

    Beautiful views, endless hot hills, and stops for cold drinks. A kind lady at a gas station gave me water and cookies and wouldn’t take payment.

    Rolled into Karditsa tired but strong. Bikes everywhere—and apparently I was the only one wearing a helmet!

    A comfortable apartment, laundry, and the puzzle of a Greek washing machine. Then a great dinner and a walk home among families and bicycles.

    Karditsa is one of my favorite towns in all my touring. Everyday Greek life. Loved it.

    Bicycle touring can really suck. Today I wondered what the hell I was doing. Tonight, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Another great day.
    Baca lagi

  • Day 3 Livanates to Lamia

    8 September, Greece ⋅ 🌙 68 °F

    Day 3 — Livanates to Lamia

    45.2 miles · 1,447 ft climbing

    Glad I stopped early yesterday. Today was much more enjoyable.

    Beautiful morning riding along the coast with a cool sea breeze, quiet roads and small Greek towns. Not overrun with tourists, traffic or hotels. I’ve ridden the West Maui loop twice and love it, but this was pretty special.

    Met Eli from Maine, the first bicycle tourist I’ve seen on this trip. This is his first tour and he’s riding from Norway to Athens. Nice to stop and have a longer conversation in English.

    Stopped for lunch near Thermopylae, then visited the monument to Leonidas. Very cool to actually ride through a place I’ve heard about my whole life.

    Lamia was hot and busy when I arrived. Somehow I accidentally navigated to the dentist instead of my hotel. 😄 My crown had come off a couple days ago, so that turned out to be useful. Found a wonderful dentist who saw me this evening, and €80 later the crown is safely back on.

    Finished with a great vegetarian meal at a little local cookhouse. The lady told me, “I need to show you how we cook.” Fava with onions and capers was the winner.
    Baca lagi

  • Day 2 — Thiva to Livanates 44.7 miles · 1,309 ft

    7 September, Greece ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Legs were a little sore from yesterday, but what a nice morning. After about 8 miles on a busy road, I got onto quiet country roads through the fields. This is why I’m here.

    Had several encounters with dogs, including a pack that came at me from both sides of the road. Thank goodness it was flat. Adrenaline kicked in and I outran them. 😄

    Stopped in a small town for coffee, water and a peach, then continued toward the coast. By midday it was getting hot and very windy and my legs started cramping. I stopped for some salty fries and water. Amazing—salty fries gave me new legs. 😄

    I felt good enough to keep going, but decided to stop in Livanates. The old Honey Badger would have kept going. The older, experienced one said nope. I remember my hospital stay in Portugal.

    Found a nice little hotel across from the beach, room has a great view. Glad I stopped early.
    Baca lagi

  • Day 1 — 47 miles, 3,474 feet climbing.

    6 September, Greece ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    I successfully navigated downtown Athens this morning, viewing the Acropolis on my way out. Hard to believe what I was looking at as I left town.

    After navigating downtown Athens and the suburbs, I had a greater than 2,000-foot climb through a very desolate area. I pulled over near the top to rest next to a parked car. I glanced in and there were two people cuddling in the back seat. 😄 I think I disturbed some sort of private moment and left pretty quickly.

    I finally made it to Thivas. The last few miles were a slight climb into a headwind. Hot, very tired, and lots of traffic. I was sure glad when I finally turned downhill into town.

    When I arrived downtown, instead of the plaza being full of old men drinking beer in the afternoon, there were about 50 18-year-olds with the same haircut. Turns out there’s a military training base nearby and they had leave today and descended on downtown Thivas.

    Overall, successful day. Very hard and very hot. My Koga did great. I have everything balanced and running, the electronics are operational, and I’m glad to have the first day of my tour under my belt. Looking forward to what’s next. 🚲🇬🇷
    Baca lagi

  • Last day in Athens

    5 September, Greece ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    My last day in Athens started with Greek Mass at St. Dionysius. Afterward, a friendly local pointed me to Acts 17—the story of Paul preaching here in Athens nearly 2,000 years ago to Dionysius.

    Then the National Archaeological Museum. It finally clicked when I stopped trying to remember every god and hero and started asking: Who was myth, who was legend, and who were the real people who lived here?

    By afternoon I’d had enough of museums and tourist crowds. A gyro for lunch, some rest and packing, then a quiet neighborhood dinner away from the Acropolis crowds.

    The Koga is packed. Garmin is finally cooperating. Tomorrow morning the sightseeing ends and the real journey begins: Athens → Thiva. 🚲🇬🇷
    Baca lagi

  • Day 2 — Athens: Bike, Beach & Acropolis

    4 September, Greece ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Day With the Acropolis

    A great day in Athens. I navigated the Koga through the middle of this big city and made my way out to the coast. Spent a little time at the beach, had a swim in the Aegean, and then rode back through Athens. Tested out the bike , few tweaks, ready to go 😄

    This afternoon I took a guided tour of the Acropolis. My guide was Greek, enthusiastic, and clearly loved sharing the history of her country. Standing among ruins that have been here for more than 2,000 years is hard to put into words.

    Finished the day with dinner with a great view of the Acropolis. There was a weeding at tbe fancy restaurant, would have crashed it except I was underdressed. 😄

    Safe and sound back at the hotel and calling it an early night. Greek Mass in the morning, one more easy day in Athens, and then Sunday the real bicycle journey north begins.
    Baca lagi

  • Spata-Loutsa Municipal Unit

    3–6 Sep, Greece ⋅ 🌬 84 °F

    Made it to Athens! 🇬🇷🚲

    After a long travel day, both the bike box survived the trip. I put my bike back together and it’s ready to go.

    Sat next to a really nice Greek-American airline pilot on the flight who is back in Greece for a couple weeks. We exchanged numbers —he gave my some tips and it’s nice to know I have a local contact if needed.

    My cab driver was waiting at the airport with my name on a sign and gave me a few Athens suggestions on the way into town. Hotel is great and just what I needed.

    First order of business after putting the bike together was food. Marinated anchovies, an excellent moussaka, and my first Mastiha Spritz. Apparently I was hungrier than I thought after being awake about 24 hours. 😄

    Two days to explore Athens, then early Sunday morning I point I bike north. Temps in the mid nineties.
    Baca lagi

  • We’re off

    2 September, Amerika Syarikat ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    And we’re off…

    Well, I’m off. 😄 Today I fly to Athens, Greece. On Sunday I’ll get on my bicycle and start heading north toward Copenhagen — about 2,000 miles through Europe.

    I’ll ride solo to Vienna, where Gigi will join me for the rest of the journey to Denmark.

    The boxes are packed, the house is buttoned up, and there’s nothing left to do but go.

    As usual, the plan will probably change along the way. That’s part of the fun.

    Athens → Copenhagen. Here we go. 🚲🇬🇷➡️🇩🇰
    Baca lagi

    Permulaan perjalanan
    2 September 2026