I had to get up at 05:00 to let Fido out to go to the loo. Pity he couldn’t have waited a little while longer until getting up time. I took the opportunity to plug in my bike battery as I wanted it to be fully charged ready for a ride I’d planned after the Early Walk.
Suffice to say, the Walk went well so we were back in the camping around 07:30 to feed the cats and all those other little tasks including Isabella’s bucket of food. The other dogs were confined to the inside of the van and I set off for Sklavopoula for a circular trip via Voutas and a detour to Sarakina. It’s a long climb all the way to Sklavopoula which I completed using only assistance level 2 which is Eco. I wanted to see how far I could get using minimal support and how hard it is to ride with this level of support. I did use level 3 for a short, steep climb through Voutas. I didn’t stop at any of these places as my mission was to go as far as possible and I was mindful of the dogs being locked inside the van on such a wonderful day.
I completed the 44km ride in 2 hours 50 minutes with an average speed of 15.5km/h and a maximum speed of 49.9km/h. Following a long, slow climb, most of the remainder is downhill although there was a gentle climb to Sarakina. The road back to Grammeno was a mere nothing by comparison to the rest even though the wind was against me. The weather was superb, the views wonderful and I’d definitely do it all again but the other way around. There is scope for other rides of a circular nature. A 40km ride through the mountains might sound like a lot of hard work but half of it was down.
The dogs were pleased to be let out to enjoy the sunshine. Isabella was the only one outside and there are no indications she ate anything of value. She’s becoming more reliable and contents herself with ripping up paper or cardboard boxes which the desolation under the awning testifies.
I wandered the camping unlocking the cabins as it seemed a great day to give them an airing. Some are developing floor problems resulting from moisture from all the rain so far this winter. The doors are a bit sticky too. At least Z1+Z2 are reasonable as my recommendations were heeded and the soil was dragged out from underneath. All of the small cabins require lifting up out of the ground to allow sand and water to pass harmlessly by. Xanthippos and I are in accord with this. I showed him other little maintenance items including the flooded shower. He says he’ll deal with the flood tomorrow. We don’t have any punters so it’s not that urgent at present. The next-door shower is working now anyway although the door lock isn’t.
I attended to a number of IT tasks during the remainder of the day then toured the camping to close up all of the buildings I’d opened earlier. It was time for the Evening Walk but I wanted to prepare my food beforehand. A lack of water I’d discovered earlier when I tried to get a shower, prevented this. The work on the water mains is a common cause of supply cuts.
The Evening Walk was pleasant and uneventful. The dogs are quiet and my food is cooking following the resumption of water. Georgia’s dogs are being quite vocal but only the neighbours will be bothered by this.
GOODBYE EU after 47 years…
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