Words & photos by Joe Mercer
When Desert Rose comes to town…
Today has been the first day on Desert Rose/BikeShed Greek Odyssey rally… We started this morning in the rainy paddock in Bucharest, Romania, and finished this afternoon, 330km later in the sunny hills of Veliko Tarnova, Bulgaria! The weather was not on our side today, with a chilly and wet start to the day as we left Romanias capital, yet all 21 riders have made it safely to this evenings paddock! Tomorrow we look forward to sunnier skies, and more amazing riding as we head towards Sofia… This will be our last full day in Bulgaria, so all riders are super excited to see what it has to offer! Day one of this epic adventure has been a, slightly soggy, success… Five more days to go!
From Shoreditch to Serres.
Day two on The Greek Odyssey was a chilly challenge for all. Slightly adverse weather made the challenge of riding 300+ km from Veliko Tarnovo to Sofia even more memorable, with a couple of mountain passes and technical rock climbs added in for good measure!
For day 3 and we crossed the border in to Greece, the most off road in a single day so far, saw us take in more mountain passes, some muddy climbs and long downhills making the most memorable day of riding so far… Three days down, three days to go on the BikeShed - DesertRose Rally.
Mountain of the gods.
As we head further south on day four of our balkan adventure, we ride into the warmer climate of Greece and the weather, along with the riding did not dissappoint. Hitting the dirt just outside Serres, we were treated to some long twisting and slightly muddy hillclimbs, along with some of the most amazing autumnal views as we climbed. A stint on the road had us at the bottom of Mount Olympus, and a specially arranged clearance, just for this event, meant that we had an awesome 60km off road loop up to 1500m, around the mountain of the gods, before back down to sea level. Tomorrow we head again southwards, on day five of the DesertRose/BikeShed Greek Odyssey. 21 Desert Rose supported riders started, 21 are starting day four.
Sea, Sky and Sunshine..
The penultimate day on the DesertRose - BikeShed did not disappoint! We were treated to a beautiful sunrise at breakfast on the coast in Platamanos where we (slightly reluctantly!) jumped on the bikes and headed South once again. The first off road section was a blast, climbing up through the forests with a mixture of slightly muddy climbs and faster sections before eventually we returned back to the coast for an unofficial regrouping and coffee stop! The day kept getting better from there, a tarmac and broken road section along one of the most stunning coastal roads most of us have ever ridden, exploring the recent devastation on the flood plains, before climbing up into the mountains once again, to over 1400m for some super fast WRC type tracks… A big day yesterday, but one that I’m sure for many of us will be remembered for a while yet. Final day today, 270km to go to Athens.
Six days, 1950km, Athens..
Day six of the DesertRose - BikeShed rally, would see us riding just under 300km, south from the coastal town of Kamena Vourla, to our final destination of Athens. This day had the highest percentage of off road of all days, and what a day it was… Fast flowing tracks, high mountain passes, mountain washouts, challenging muddy climbs and a dusty 40km final descent following a historic viaduct into the capital of Greece itself.
Twenty one riders started, and twenty one riders finished, over 1200 miles later after crossing virtually every terrain imaginable, three international borders, countless mountain passes and experiencing more weather than any of us expected! This was a fantastic adventure that none of the team will be forgetting in a hurry, although a few riders are already planning a return in 2024, just to keep things fresh in their memory… Interested in joining us?
