Road Cycling in Cyprus

chubby chud

Hi I'm hoping somebody may be able to help me. Basically Me and two mates are off to Cyprus in mid April and are looking for rides/advice for road cycling over there, ie are the back roads fit for roadbikes, spares backup, hire of roadbikes etc ? Plus advice on air travel with bikes would be great too.
Any advice or experience will be gratefully recieved.
Ta,
Chubby.

APIII

There was a pretty good article on cycling in Cyprus in C+ an issue or two ago. Maybe you can order a back copy?

chubby chud

Thanks APII, I've read the article so much the prints worn off ! I'm hoping that someone wiith "hands on experience" may be able to add a little to what I've read.

Regards,
Chubby.

Simon Notley

Which part of Cyprus are you going to? If you get your hands on some decent maps, you'll be able to tell which roads are surfaced and unsurfaced. Whether they are passable of a road bike depends rather on how fast you want to ride. ther are some awesome roads out there though, I'd suggest heading towards the Troodos mountains for the best riding I saw.

Simon

chubby chud

Thanks Simon,
my mates appartment is in Protaras ( S E corner, 10 km from agia napa ). One option is to use the hire car to get to somewhere interesting/hilly. Again if anybody knows anything of interest/advice keep it coming ! As Reg Holdsworth used to say "knowledge is power "

Gypsies

Just got back mate,folks live out there..there some great riding...it was 17oc and sunny..perfect..i did a ride from paphos to the summit of mt olympus,which is nearly 2000m,incredible temperature change,there was snow laying at the top and it was very cold,especially with shorts and jersey on :shock: made the descent a bit painful...Just take a map and go for it

UncleFred

I lived in Agia Napa for a couple if years in 2000/2001 used to spend a lot if time in Protaras to escape the Brits on the Piss....

From what I remember the road from Protaras to Napa would be pretty good cycling and then through agia napa you can go along the coast road pretty much all the way to Larnaca without getting on the Highway. If your up for a long ride, Limmasol via the coast road would also be good riding and if you're feeling adventurous Paphos would also be doable on the coast road, and I think the climbing around Episkopi would be challenging although riding through downtown Limmassol might be a bit crazy.

You could also do a loop down to Larnaca on the Coast and then up to Pyla on the Border and then back to Protaras on the back roads, from memory that's got to be a good Century at least. Nice rolling hilly route.

All the above roads were in pretty good condition and once the highway to Paphos was finished in 2001 most of the traffic moved onto that.

Trodos would give you some good climbing as well, but the traffic used to a little bit crazy on the way up from Paphos.

1 word of caution though Cypriot Drivers(especially Taxi Drivers) aren't known for their tolerance of other road users so keep your eyes and ears open.

Anything that I know about BIke rental would be out of date by now, but I should imagine that they'll be some shops in Larnaca and Limassol and definetly in Nicosia. Paralimni (the major town in the south east) might have one.

If you can rent an MTB the area around Cape Creco should give you some fun riding and I'm sure there's other areas as well expecially in Trodos that would be equally fun.

jimmythecuckoo

I am off at the end of April, are there bike hire shops?

UncleFred

Google's a wonderful thing

http://www.cyprusvillages.de/cyprus-holidays-vacations-uk/cyprus-cycling-biking-bicycling-bike-tours/cyprus-bike-rental-mountainbike-rentals-race-bike-rental/cyprus-bike-rental-mountainbike-rentals-race-bike-rental-rl.php[/url

]http://www.enjoycyprus.com/bikerental.htm

http://www.gekkomountainsport.com/

http://www.cyprusholidayguide.com/details/wheelie_cyprus.cfm

chubby chud

Thanks to all who've contributed so far, it's much appreciated, if anybody else has any info' feel free to "chip" in as it all helps. Chubby.

jocksyboy

had a training camp there last March excellent mainly traffic free side roads good climbs and generally cycle friendly.

Enjoy

Special K

There are some good general road maps available. The cycling promotion is a little thin on the ground.

There is one local map/guide you'll come across in the tourist information office which is really aimed at people pootling about. The hardcore off road stuff in that cycling guide cannot be followed easily - be wary. The coastal road south west of Protaras is pretty good.

Also the Troodos and north of Paphos is good. There are lots of people offering guidig in that part of the workand I would take them up on that to get the most out of the time there.

the roads are very quiet compared to the UK - even the expressway (though I don't advise cycling on it!)

don't be surprised if in April it turns out to be quiet hot during the day. my advice is to go out and enjoy the morning air...

are you there during Greek Easter with your mate?

chubby chud

Special K, thanks for the info, we will be there for a week starting 16th April. What's this Greek Easter ? I take it it's at a different time to ours, is there anything to watch out for ? It looks like we'll have to get sorted out with a good map and take it from there. Thanks again.

Special K

the Greek Orthodox Chruch calendar runs slightly different to the Catholic or Anglican
calendar so Easter is often a different date.
This year it is the 27th April, so I think you will be missing it which is a shame, but the weather should be good and there's lots of good seasonal produce available at that time so the food should be good - look out for super spicy rocket leaf salads fort example.
Protaras has it's share of football shirt wearing Brits on tour, and so a lot of the restaurants are pitched at this crowd which is great if you like pizza etc. There are some good restaurants though, and I am sure your friend will have favourites and recommendations. I also advise you head over to Paralimni and the main square opposite the church for some very chilled out and cool cafes. It's much more Cypriot and the crowd is pretty friendly. Paralimini is just a small quiet town, but there's a couple of good restaurants and curiously lots of lingeries shops... There's also a cracking kebab shop on the road up to Paralimni on the right...

chubby chud

S K, thanks again for the info, I can feel a plan forming...

UncleFred

Is the wagon still there in the square that sells those batter balls and honey? Lokmardi's or something???

reyserf

Do'nt think I'll get any cycling done (will have to take wife) but what is the weather like at the end of March. My wife has to take a week holiday before the end of March and we really enjoyed Paphos a couple of years ago so if I can find a cheap holiday...

Rey

lugster77

i'm off to cyprus in june for 3 weeks, taking my bike, get the sun on my back. think i'll be riding in the mornings!

markos1963

As a half Greek Cypriot I can recommend the roads to the north and west of Pafos. Especially good is the area around Polis/Latchi if you are looking for a quieter area more like the Cyprus of old both for cycling and relaxing on the beach.

neilwragg

I'm off to Cyprus for Oct half term. Mountain bike or road bike? And does anyone have any maps for sale they dont need anymore?
Wheelie Cyprus will guide for €90 a day, anyone used them?

bornagaincycler

Well, the Christmas break is nearly over. Time to start looking ahead. I'm in Cyprus (Coral Bay near Paphos) for 10 days from 1st April 2009. Thinking of taking my bike (road bike). Sounds like there's some decent roads to cycle on, but thought I'd put his thread BTTT in case anyone else has any good tips/advice about this part of Cyprus. I have been to this area before, but was injured at the time & could not do any biking. Cycling up Mt Olympus looks like the sort of challenge that I might take up, I'll look into that. Any further tips, always appreciated.

Cheers & Happy New Year

neilwragg

I took the mtb in October and had a great week. Contact Wheelie Cyprus to show you around for the best places to ride. The best places for off roadin' are just to the north of you around the Akamas peninsular and Lara Bay. There are no roads that way and you'll have a massive area just to yourself. I rode up and into the Troodos Mountains by road then took the E4 long distnace path off road all the way back to the coast, a 22kms hairpin filled descent! Some roads are good, most arent and it's better to be away from the quarry trucks if possible.
Obviously you'll see more of the island on a road bike but dont take your race wheels! Off road you'll explore less mileage but you'll get to some great remote areas.
I'll be doing a write up for our club magazine this Spring.
See http://www.thesprocket.co.uk
Raggy

CumbrianMan

Chubby

Click on this link and there's a link below that will bring up a PDF of a host of road and mtb routes.

http://kypros.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/ ... in-cyprus/

Cheers
Alan

neilwragg

or pick it up in a local tourist office, there's a few cycling publications plus maps that'll help.

daniel_b

Hello all,

thought I would resurrect this thread and see if anyone had anything else to add.

aside form our first mini tour away from home we are doing this coming weekend, we are very excited to be going to Cyprus for 10 days later this year, to predominantly cycle.

We've gone with http://www.mountainbikecyprus.com, who are sorting out our transfers from the airport (We're not staying that far away from Aphrodite)

We're hiring road bikes (Reasonable spec, Shimano 105 etc) and taking our own spd pedals and shoes.
We've also gone for 3 guided tours with the company, and they provide full suspension Marin mountain bikes (I'm a big Marin fan so that's a big plus point for me, though I have warned my girlfriend that the inherent risk is that I may need to buy one on my return!)

So the MTB tours are all sorted, not sure where one goes, but the other two are on the Akamas peninsula and into the Troodos mountains.

We have roadbikes for the whole 10 days, and plan on exploring from the studio apartment we are renting.

I'll try and find out a more specific location for where we are staying and add to this post if that would help.

So what am I asking??

Well, the MTB side of it is all tied up, so I was just wondering if any of you had been over there before, and whether you had any suggested road routes, I guess we are after some relatively quiet roads if at all possible, and maybe a bit of mountain climbing also, wouldn't go amiss.

We have Garmin's, so can plot some routes before hand, and use them for navigation whilst we are out there, the apartment also has wifi, and I expect I will take a laptop, so we can always create new routes whilst we are over there as well.

many thanks in advance

Dan

CumbrianMan

Dan

Best I could find was on the link that I put on here earlier this year (see above).

There's a mix of road and MTB rides, so just scan through it and see what looks good.

Can the company your going with not provide anything ? Or ask them if they have any contacts in the local clubs (e-mail address and website would be good). As ever, the locals know the best routes !

Cheers
Al

daniel_b

Hi Al,

yep cheers for that, I have printed off a copy of the route guide thingy, and that's a good diea to speak to the MTB company, they may well have some contacts we can get in touch with.

Have you cycled over there yourself?

Cheers

Dan

CumbrianMan

No, never had chance to cycle there Dan, as I couldn't find anywhere to hire a road bike, and recalled having issues trying to get bike on plane.

Think things are easier to sort with the airlines nowadays, as I've taken my bike to Lanzarote the past 3 years.

We stayed in Paphos, and so we would have been close enough to go for a ride into the Troodos mountains, and over to Polis.

Looks like a good place to go though.

Mate of mine is getting a place built in Northern Cyprus, so hopefully soon we'll be making use of that, and at minimal cost (he's a good lad !).

Hope you enjoy it.

Cheers
Al

PS. It'll be bloomin hot ! :!:

sergios

Hi all,
i've started an effort to collect some road cycling routes in Cyprus.
the idea is whenever i ride a new route i upload all the data from my
garmin watch on my blog, together with some directions for the route:
http://sergios-cy.tumblr.com
I hope you find it useful,
Sergios

Bigonabianchi

http://cyprusonabianchi.blogspot.com/

For those interested in what it's like to ride here in Northern Cyprus, take a read through this blog.