Does anyone have any knowlegde of the tri or cycling scene in and around Athens. From Nov - March is there anything? I guess it’s too cold, or am I wrong? Is there cyclocross?
I may be going there for the winter and want to know if I just have to turn into a runner for that time.
I spent January and February there last year. It snowed, but it didn’t stay. I ran in shorts most of the time. Didn’t try to bike or swim, and didn’t see very many road bikes. Like most big cities, riding in Athens might be tough. Your best bet might be to take the subway/train out of town. Rural Greece, especially the Peloponnese, looks amazing. Check out the road in the background of this picture, taken near Sparta:
no knowledge of the tri scene, but beware of 2 things in athens: very poor air quality and insane drivers …
That what I thought. Thanks for the response.
Aside from training, how did you like a few months in Athens? Assumng you had any real time to explore.
This might be too late a response to be useful to you, but maybe others can benefit. I just returned from several month trip to Athens and did a fair bit of cycling. To summarize, I think the cycling can be quite rewarding or very frustrating, depending on where you’re staying in Athens and how easily you can exit the city. One of the subway lines (Kiffisia-Piraeous) allows bikes, but if you’re not close to it’s stations then getting out of the city can be difficult, as the traffic and pollution inside Athens is horrendous. However once outside there are several mountains nearby with decent roads and low to moderate traffic.
The best routes IMO are:
- Tatoiou Road to Avlona and back. 45 miles, climbs to about 2,100’, beautiful route through forests, mountains with nice views, and low junk mileage. On a weekend morning there is virtually zero traffic (!), and it’s only about 10 minutes of city riding from the Kiffisia train station.
- Climb Penteli mountain and go to Marathon, Schinia or beyond. There are several variations on this but this can easily become an all day ride. Good climbing up to 2,300’. Maybe 20-30 minutes city riding from Kiffisia station.
- Parnitha mountain. Very big climb (tops out at 4,220’). Low traffic and amazing views once you’re on the climb, but getting to the base involves a bit of city riding.
- Coastal route to Sounion and back. About 90 miles of mostly flat by-the-sea riding. Very beautiful in last part but first half of the ride is high traffic, but generally safe.
The LBS’s are good sources of info on other routes, I’d suggest Frederik Bikes, cyclist.gr, or Kiffisia Bike.