I am so excited! Gold, silver, Monza Orange. Round,square, flip lid, push lid,wheeled, dragged. Hiding in the corner, just a little wheel showing, full on....... Oh calm my beating heart.
Well me Duc, am off to Athens in the morning to view the Monster at last! If I buy it I'll be riding it back home on the Tuesday in sunny 30c+ weather .....a nice 280 mile ride to bed meself in with her! Due to Covid it was difficult to get a now necessary appointment .....all vehicle transfers in Greece are done in person at a designated local Transport Ministry office and not by post as in the UK !
OK Gar.....just ridden the 330km back from warm (32c) Athens with my new (2004) steed! Sun must have gone to me 'ead as somehow I managed to get bins in the background! There follows a selection of terrible photos one of which I managed to get out of focus (intentional naturally)..some are 'spot the bin' for added interest....the sign said "STOP' so I did as instructed at the designated bin spot... onlookers muttered...'what a malaka'
A superb selection of bins you are definitely up there with the best of them. If you moved that bike I could have seen so much more
Yeah but Greeks call each other malaka like Brits say "awright mate" so they were prolly just admiring your bike awesome steed! Me geia buddy
yeh Keti probably right! Its part on buddy to buddy talk like 're'......I didn't realise this and used it when talking to our village priest....he just laughed and shook his head!! Ive had it explained to me that its best to say 'mo re' to folk you know but not real close...never stop learning eh?
First proper ride out on the bike since i brought her down from Athens last week. Rode with a mate down to Aereopoli which is an historic town further south down the coast... on return back home I just had to get a pic of our fine village bins!!
Hey Maniot64. I missed large part of your story. Gongrats for the new bike. I hope you enjoy it in the roads of Mani and of the Taygetous ( if the English conversion is right ) mountain. Is that picture taken in Kardamyli? Congrats for the bike again. And ride safely
Thanks Stelbo...yes am at an altitude of 350m below the Profitis Ilias summit of 2407m in the Tayegetos range. The picture was Aereopoli the town where as you may know the womenfolk fought off the occupying Ottoman Turks. Kardamyli is nearby below and also has much history! The Mani roads aren't easy on a quick road bike with irregular and slippery surfaces which can be very challenging! Often they are easier on a small bike or an adventure type bike such as Ducati, Triumph, BMW and KTM produce...
I know the place quite well. I have been on holidays for a number of years in Kardamyli, but i have ridden all over the place. I have friends in Oitylo and favourite place is Agios Nikolaos. Looking forward to ride to your place with my buddy some time. The sliperry roads is the main characteristic of all Greek B roads. Check what type of tyres the Greek riders use and you will be amazed, Personally I am using Bridgestone BT016 and the rear makes appx 8-10 K Km, the front makes more than 12-14 K Km, go figure.
I was in all 3 villages you mention today! In the past I have found Metzeler ME77 very good on the roads here....also, playing around with tyre pressures...lowering by 2-3 psi /0.2 bar seems to give a bit more grip. Will take a look at the BT016s...a fiend in Athens swears by them....
I've also ridden that road from Isthmya to Kalamata and through a lot of the B roads in the Mani. Stelbo is correct, years of neglect and lack of maintenance has resulted in the wearing course being worn smooth. Rideble in summer but absolutely lethal after a downpour when the rain combines with the road dust to form something more slippery than PTFE. Opa!!!
One of the main problems is that it's difficult in Greece to source the type of rock that's best used in asphalt mixes. Limestone is abundant but the trouble is is gets highly polished and slippery even if dry! I believe that many of the new toll highways built in recent years have used imported stone... I have ridden to Athens and back on wet roads a few times and had no problems especially on the new section from Corinth to Kalamata...
