It was warm in the night as I woke up all hot and bothered so had to remove some covers. I was up early so we left even before the alarm went off. I was struggling to turn off the alarm as we walked up towards the camping main gate. It was dark and my torch was on red. Enough for the reflective objects to shine back and not for me to walk into the barrier or fall down a hole in the road. The dogs wouldn’t lead me into a hole in the road however they’d pass easily under the barrier and I’d walk into it!
We followed Ursula and Heidi, accompanied by IZO, up the Promontory. I guessed there was something extraordinary by the way my dogs were behaving. There was an advanced level of excitement, which, in its own way was welcome as we made very good progress. IZO probably sensed the impending peril so I saw him pass by us going the other direction only briefly. I passed Luis and Oscar to Ursula and continued with the first lap. Again, this was very quickly accomplished. Luis and Oskar were also brisk although things were less active on the third lap. I received an alert that I’d accomplished my Exercise Goal at the end of the first lap. Normally this might be at the beginning of the third.
We stood for a little while looking at the sky and the departing stars. There was a wind and I’d stopped moving, so I left with the dogs over the rocks whilst Heidi and Ursula went to the collection point to wait for us. The dogs returned as expected however Skinny and Obi were with me anyway.
Back at the camping, I turned on the water heater and fed the cats who’d eaten nearly all of their food so were pleased to see me. Skinny and I went for an apple pie from the bakery and returned around forty-minutes later whereupon I indulged in a shower before preparing breakfast and dropping off the pie. I remembered the bins were filling up so pushed three rubbish bags-worth of garbage into to two which I put into the Ferarri for an eventual trip to the wheely-bins.
Breakfast followed and then a busy morning with a computer installation over the phone and a router unpacking. I need to configure the router later once Sue and Sophie go home.
I collected the money from the German couple near to the central kitchen who did their washing yesterday. They have the ginger cat. I asked if I might take a look at one of their E-Bikes so they obliged by removing one from the carrying rack and setting it up. They then invited me to have a go and suggested I go off and give it a try. I headed towards Paleochora to see how it went over the bumpy road but the water truck had just passed and I didn’t want to get their bike covered in mud so turned around. I headed back westwards towards Kountoura and then went up the mountain a little way. It’s easy to keep a good speed even when you’re going into the wind and, as for hills, these are also easy to climb. With the Bosch system, there are five levels of assistance from ECO to Turbo. The higher the assistance, the easier it gets and the battery is more quickly exhausted. I went quite a long way during the time I was out and worked up a sweat as well. Their bikes are commuting or city bikes so the ride was a little hard on the bumpy road. A trekking bike would be more appropriate around here as it would handle off and on-road as well as the gradients in the mountains. I can see that it’s still possible to get plenty of exercise by using the assistance levels wisely but at the same time hills and punching into the wind is no longer such a struggle and a disincentive to using a bike. I should imagine an e-bike would encourage longer and more frequent journies. I understand that some older people, who have little cycling experience, purchase an e-bike then end up in the hospital as they do not have the skills to manage the ease of use and the speed. Motor assistance is limited to 25km/h but it’s possible to go much faster if you pedal harder especially downhill. It’s quite exciting when you pull away for the first time but you soon get the hang of the assistance. Riding the bike with the motor turned off is quite easy and the range improves dramatically!
The remainder of the day involved more IT work and relaxing after my cycling workout. My activity level is quite good today. I went for tea and chocolate brownie with Ursula and Tony and we were joined by IZO. The Evening Walk followed and ALL dogs were released at the end of the Promontory. Skinny came rushing back as we were heading northwards up the Promontory however Obi is still at large so has missed out on supper. Perhaps Skinny was mindful of this as he rushed back.
There is now quiet other than the waves on Alonáki Beach chased by the easterly wind. The weather is forecast to be a little unsettled on Friday and the beginning of next week. There may be some more scattered thunderstorms. This is the storm season so is to be expected.
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