Today was a day of two halves like any good game of rugby league – sorry, I listened to Roy and HG’s Bludging on the Blind side podcast for the first part of the day. Too much sport really was barely enough.
It was a flat boring little ride into Lamia, and then it was uphill for the rest of the day. There was no hurry though, as I had to wild camp tonight and had two options thanks to the iOverlander app. The second option would put me at the top of the hills and would make tomorrow’s 100kms to Trikala more easily achievable.
I said goodbye to the nice people at the campsite, and made my way back to the main road which was pretty quiet. I stopped at a small village after 15kms for a coffee and a donut and continued on to Thermopylae – site of a famous battle between the Greeks and Persians. The Greek forces consisted of Spartans, Thebans and Thespians. (Beats me why you’d have actors in your army though).
I knew it was famous because of the tour buses.
There are also hot springs across the road, so I de-sandalled and dipped my feet in for a short time. I knew there was plenty of work to do, so I got going and stopped at a supermarket on the outskirts of Lamia. I got food for the rest of the day.
From there, it was all uphill. I went through the narrow lanes of Lamia to the main square and ate a couple of Pork Gyros for lunch. A lady and her son came up and asked about my trip, then wished me all the best. The same happened as I was leaving too. Very nice of them to talk to me.
It was uphill from the main square and a fairly busy road out of town was my best option. Having gained a fair amount of height, Komoot wanted me to go down and up again on a slightly more direct route. Just madness. I’ve no faith in Komoot for Greece, and I doubt things will improve until I’m much further north. I followed the gently sloped main road out of town and was happy I did.
Once on the outskirts I joined what looked like the old road to Trikala. It was perfect and there was little traffic. The morning sunshine gave way to clouds, and every metre I pedalled, seemed closer to rain. I got to the first camp option, near the turnoff to a monastery but it was too early to stop for the day, so I went to the nearby Shell station for a rest. I grabbed some health food too – a coke and a bag of chips then borrowed the manager’s chair and sat outside in the cooling air. I was ready to go when it started to drizzle.
That was ok though. The rain jacket kept me warm as I climbed, the temperature dropped and the drizzle was very light.
I met Romain from France – why is it mainly french cyclists I’ve met over the last few months ? He’s travelling for a few months and was enjoying the downhill towards Lamia.
It wasn’t too long before I’d reached the turnoff to the next camping option at the top of the big hill. I turned off, found the abandoned road I was looking for and searched for the best place to camp. That spot was out of the wind but in full view of any nosy motorists. There was a car every half hour or more, so it wasn’t an issue. One guy saw me, tooted, and have me a thumbs up.
More rain came as I quickly set up the tent and threw my gear inside before it got heavy. For the next hour, I waited and dozed inside the tent before getting organised to make dinner when the rain stopped.
This was a good spot – quiet, out of the wind, and with no insects. There had been other campers about a hundred metres away and they’d left their trash behind. I hate that.
Dinner was very simple – a packet of soup / pasta and Oreos for desert. I couldn’t be any more elaborate because of the threat of rain.
