Day 56 Thesalonaki - 25.9.05 

We spent the morning exploring this wonderful city. Retail shopping, the old market restored and in use. 7th and 8th century churches integrated with the city an imposing castle on the hilltop and of course the white tower that is the symbol of Thesaloniki. This city really needs 3 or 4 days to exlore but we are on a mission and did the best we could in the time. Out first suovlaki in Greece was well received and at 1.00 we left town with a climb. We tried 4 times to get advice from locals on how to avoid the motorway but kept coming back to it. In the end we just rode the freeway and enjoyed the smooth road, 2 meters of lane to ourselves and made good time.

Gliding next to Lake Koroneia the road then crossed some flatlands and then the freeway disappeared. Daniel got his 4th flat in 2 days and I decided to put our spare thornproof tube in his front wheel to stop the problem once and for all. We then passed Lake Volvi and after a breif climb came down to rejoin the Mediteranean. This part is called the Gulf of Strymonikos.

During the ride I counted 6 snakes in the "bike lane" ranging from 30 to 50cm. The largest of them wasnt dead enough for my liking and I dont see why he had to be wriggling around in our lane with so much of the road at his disposal. This made us additionally cautious while on the side of the road working on Daniel's tyrea mongst the rocks and grass. A great night in the sleepy beach town of Asprovalta with a "home cooked" goulash and red wine ensured o sound night's sleep.

Stats Dist 83 Km, Average 20km/hr, Max 54km/hr, Climb 430 

  Email John at John@CycleOdyssey.com.au
 

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