| Homepage | About Us | Trails | Other Activities | Getting Here |
Epic MTB Greece
Mountain Biking Holidays in Greece
Epic MTB Greece Blog
Published by Alaric on Saturday 10th May 2008
The Big Adventure
Emily & Alaric take Vangelis and Rena on their first kayak trip - 10th May 2008
|
I can't stress enough how well Vangelis and Rena did! As Vangelis said the whole thing started with a bit of a misunderstanding, and by the time we realised this, and realised that we might have been a bit optimistic, we were already committed. |
|
We paddled nearly 18 km in total, the first 6-7 of the outward journey was pretty calm and easy, but as we neared the Evvian side the wind started to pick up, blowing straight along the length of the gulf and making for some pretty rough water. . |
We made it across and stopped for a sandwich on the beach (a bit of luck that I put those in the boat, I nearly didn't)!
The return journey was much tougher, as the wind had picked up and the rough water continued pretty much the whole way across.
|
To add to this Vangelis and Rena were struggling to make progress into the wind - they were doing okay across, so we finally hit land a kilometer or so from where we had set off. We put Rena ashore and Vangelis hoisted sail to try to sail back to the start point. |
|
As he went racing off toward Evvia again, it became clear that these were not the conditions for learning to sail his kayak...Luckily he realised this too, and dropped sails for us to catch up and help him back to shore. |
Em and I had a great day, sometimes the tribulations just add to the adventure and enjoyment, I hope Rena and Vangelis can take away a sense of acheivement, as I know they found it difficult toward the end - they did exceptionaly well!
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Sunday 4th May 2008
Schiniathlon's 1st Birthday
| The Schiniathlon is a multi sport event. Alaric and I were marshalling. The weather was great of course. Loads of people turned out for the various events. Well done to Marie, Leonidas and Dimitris for great organisation. Schinias Bay Triathlon. |
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Saturday 3rd May 2008
We just got a tandem sea kayak - Part II
Well, the paddles and wheels arrived the other day and we managed to get out on a proper trip yesterday. We had the vague plan that we might paddle to Sesi, but that seemed a bit far after we didn't manage to leave Marathon Bay. Instead rather sedately we paddled over to Schinias and had lunch in one of the beach tavernas. The way back wasn't so sedate as the wind had picked up somewhat and we had waves crashing over the bow. We await the waterproof case for the camera so we can take some more exciting photos.
More photos: Kayak to Schinias
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Monday 14th April 2008
Picasa Web Albums
I now declare the Epic MTB Greece 
open!
Click on the logo to see our latest photos.
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Thursday 3rd April 2008
We just got a tandem sea kayak
It's a Perception Horizon (made in the UK). And we bought it here: 
Great Service from Stavros. We hope to get a bit of use out of our new boat fairly soon! Keep an eye out on here for the photos.
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Sunday 23rd March 2008
24 hours in the old Pueblo
Favourite customers of ours, Roy and Judy were in the states while we were! They were partaking in a 24 hour race in Arizona. Photos here. What do you mean, 'Hope you don't mind, we put your logo on our race shirts' - of course not guys!
...well the weather was the main issue - Weds sunny & 80' - Thurs 40mph winds followed by 24 hours of rain and the snow overnight on the Fri - race day was cold but improving, race night very, very cold - Sun lovely & sunny. We finished 17th out of 27 in class - not as good as we hoped but hey we some problems and there is always next year, and we be going again for sure. Otherwise it was awesome with mile after mile of smooth flowing singletrack, after that the UK is 'c**p'!
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Tuesday 11th March 2008
Back in Greece
Well, we got back to Greece on Sunday night/Monday morning. Thanks Nikos for picking us up from the airport at such a silly hour. While we were in the UK, Alaric took some nice photos:
London - January 2008
Epping ride with Kenny - January 2008
Trip to the USA
We spent 4 weeks in the USA. The first was on the Garden Island of Kauai in Hawaii. The wettest place on Earth lived up to its reputation the first couple of days, but it soon sorted itself out and was beautifully warm and sunny for the wedding.
So we arrived on Kauai after 11 hours flight from Heathrow to LAX, then 6 hours from LAX to Lihue airport. Monday morning we are up bright and early and hanging out at Poipu shopping village organising activities. We booked ATV riding for Tuesday and a kayak/hike to the secret falls for Wednesday. Its the wedding on Thursday.Wednesday morning we also managed to visit the mini Grand canyon at Waimea. Friday we went to a Nature Reserve to the north of the island and saturday we spend the day on a catermaran Whale watching trip - fantastic!
Sunday we said goodbye to the family and set off for LA (we arrived on Monday). We picked up our hire car at the airport and we were on our way. First night was unremarkable, a travel lodge in Santa Maria. The next morning we decided to go to Sequoia National Forest and found oursleves in Camp Nelson. What a friendly place. We stayed at the Pierpoint Motel and discovered it was family night in the restaurant, where all the residents turn out to meet for a drink and/or dinner. We were invited to join Joe and Donna and their friends. A lovely Beef Bourginion was cooked for everyone. We enjoyed it so much, we stayed in the bar after everyone had gone chatting to the barmaid and the chef until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer.
Wednesday, we set of for Deb's in Redwood City. She was a great sport and took us mountain biking pretty much as soon as we turned up. A couple of hours before dark for a scags ride in the local woods, followed by a trip to the local bike shop and Zee to replace Alaric's mech hanger (Alaric had also pre-ordered a gravity dropper seatpost from Zee before we got there). That night we went to a Blues open mike night at Foxes Theatre in Redwood City - Cool.
The next couple of days were spent being tourists in San Francisco, the Duck Tour, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge and the Aquarium of the Bay were on the list of sights.
Weekend! - Saturday, Deb had organised a bike ride in Marin County for us to join in with. About 20 of us set out from Fairfax, lead by Russell. What a fantastic ride, singletrack climbs and descents, beautiful weather, great company and fantastic views. Sunday we rode Demo at Santa Cruz. A big fire road climb followed by a big singletrack descent - how I wish I had had the inclination to ride it again! That evening we went to a friends BBQ. Monday was a holiday day, so we could ride with Deb again. We started with a big breakfast at 'Stackers' with Deb & Jonas and then we went off to Wilder Ranch for some waymarked singletrack trails. The weather wasn't so good and we had our fair share of mechanicals, but the riding was great. Deb and I attempted to take to short cut back (I had no back brake), but managed to find a really great, long singletrack back to the cars. When we got back we thought the boys might have got there before us, but they were nowhere to be seen. 10 minutes later and we saw them in the distance, Alaric giving Jonas a push after he bust his rear mech!
Tuesday - after some obligatory shopping at REI we set off for Yosemite. Yosemite was spectacular, so beautiful in the snow. The accommodation/food was a bit overpriced, but we survived. The 10 mile hike around Mirror Lake was georgeous...
...from here we drove up and over the Sierra Nevada mountains to Reno. We drove in and we drove out. We got my brakes fixed in Victory Velo in Auburn and stayed in Fernley. After Dinner and Breakfast at the Wigwam Diner and Indian Museum, we set off for Boulder City.
By now it's Saturday again and we took another ATV trip in the Valley of Fire with Adrenaline ATV what excellent tour! Sunday we drove to the Grand Canyon and stayed at Bright Angel Lodge. What excellent value for money, we had our own ilttle cabin and the restaurant was really good. Monday we walked to Bright Angel Trail down as far as Indian Gardens. It was a metre deep of snow at the top and after I fell over on the ice a metre in to the trail we went back to the store and bought some Yak Trax. How great are they, I walked up a 45 degree icy slope in them with no problem. When we got down to Indian Gardens it must have been 25 degrees C. We had our lunch and walked back up, overtaking the mules! We stayed another night at Bright Angel Lodge and in the morning set off for Las Vegas.
Tuesday we rocked up at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. We booked a room with a Jacuzzi for 5 nights. The next morning we had room service breakfast. While in Vegas we saw the 'Blue Man Group' at the Venitian (really good), ate at Wolfgang Puck's Postiria, Went to the Gun Store on Tropicana where Alaric tried a Glock, went on 'Speed' the ride at the Sahara, went to the Titanic Exhibition and saw the film Vantage Point at a Digital Screen at Rave Motion Pictures in the Town Square - so new I can't find Internet lisings for it.
On the 2nd March we flew back to Heathrow. We arrived at lunchtime on 3rd. Andrew picked us up in the van and we went for lunch in Detling.
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Tuesday 13th November 2007
Winter Plans
Well, we are flying back to the UK tomorrrow to get proper jobs for a few months. We'll be in Kent and obviously trying to get as much mountain biking in as possible. A few trips to Bedgebury will probably be in order. Boars on Bikes MTB Club
During February we will be travelling to the United States. I am grateful to my cousin who is getting married in Hawaii, giving us a really good reason to get our bikes across the pond for some MTB American style. So, one week in Hawaii and three weeks travelling around California and nearby states - woo hoo!
We'll be back to our favourite trails again in March! See you then!
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Saturday 20th October 2007
Change in Seasons
Well I think it might officially be Autumn now. The temperatures are in the low 20's (deg. C) now and we've had a few rain storms over nights. The air is clear and we have excellent views of Evia and our local mountains from the apartment. The sun is shining!
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Tuesday 18th September 2007
We met the x-king and queen yesterday!
Greece's King and Queen were deported to the UK in 1973 and there is (as you would expect) plenty of controversy about them. One of our riding areas, Tatoi, used to belong to the King and Queen of Greece until a few years ago. We usually cycle around the old summer palace, farm buildings, mausoleum and tombs. Yesterday, whilst outside the old royal palace a bloke came up to me and said hello and asked how I was (in Greek) I responded until the questions got tricky and then I told him I was English. He shook my hand and asked me if we knew where we were going and I said we been riding the trails for quite a while now. We all said how nice it was there. He asked if I lived in Greece and his wife said she used to live in Greece.
I didn't know at the time that it was the Greek King and Queen I was talking to. Michelle suggested it would be great if it was them! So I looked them up on the internet when I got home and lo and behold it was them.
The Greek Royal Family - Official Website
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Wednesday 29th August 2007
2nd Schinias Bay Triathlon - 22nd September 2007
| The next Schinathlon is to be held on 22nd September 2007 - You can register online here www.schiniathlon.gr. It is a sprint triathlon - 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run. Click the link for more details! |
<< Back to top >>
Published by Emily on Tuesday 28th August 2007
Weekend in Delphi/Mt. Parnassos - Friday 24th - Monday 27th August 2007
We decided to go for a bit of a holiday and Parnassos, we thought required our attention. I chose the famous town of Delphi for our stay.
We drove to the Apollon campsite, just outside of town and set up our site - with fantastic views of Kirfi and Anthimos mountains to the South and Itea bay to the South West. The town of Delphi itself is mainly hotels and not hugely interesting. The archaeological site (the Sanctuary of Apollo) however, is pretty spectacular!
The next town of Arahova, was much more happening with cafes and tavernas.
We tested our legs on the mountain roads!
Not being skiers, we didn't really know, but the ski villages looked very interesting with ski-lifts and chalets, snowboard hire etc. The best mountain biking looked to be at the very top - a fair distance from Delphi - we will be back for more discovery on that front!
<< Back to top >>
- About Us
- Accommodation
- The Local Area
- FAQs
- How to Book
- Online Booking Form
- Day riding
- Prices
- Blog
- Gallery
- Links
Read or write reviews of our holidays here:
Terms and Conditions · Home · Links · FAQ · Trails · Contact us · Getting Here