Cycling In Cyprus

markos1963

Just back from a fortnight in Cyprus and whilst I might be prejudiced(mother is Cypriot) I thought I would bang the drum for Cyprus as a cycling destination(unfortunatly SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED wouldn't let me take the bike)
Most roads are well surfaced, road signs are in english and out of towns the roads are pretty deserted. But the best part is the number and variety of climbs available.
We drove out of Paphos on the B6 and took the F616 and followed the signs to Troodos. In all about 60km rising from sea level to over 6000ft at the top. Gradients ranging from 6-20% and in about 11/2 hours we saw only 10 cars on the road!!

This is typical of the roads in the interior:-

whyamihere

I went to Cyprus in April, and was wishing every day that I had my bike. Next time I go, I'll have it with me, most definitely.

shazzz

I'm off in four weeks time, avec bicyclette! Will also have Mrs in tow so probably won;t be able to do monster rides, but still looking forward to it.

Any other recommended routes will be most welcome, ta muchly...

DavidBelcher

Went to Cyprus one July about 5 years ago; frankly the last thing I could've imagined doing was getting out on the bike as the heat was absolutely stifling that summer!

David

markos1963

shazzz wrote:

I'm off in four weeks time, avec bicyclette! Will also have Mrs in tow so probably won;t be able to do monster rides, but still looking forward to it.

Any other recommended routes will be most welcome, ta muchly...

If you are in the Paphos area take the road from Paphos up through Tsada/Stroumpi to Polis around 39km in length with climbs up to 9%. Its quite busy so you might want to branch off and explore the side roads.
Heat at the moment is around 34-39c but should start cooling down in a couple weeks.

another jacko

Cyprus drivers appear scary at first and have a fairly relaxed approach to the rules of the road, but they are not aggressive like UK drivers and are courteous to cyclists. Cypriots generally think cyclists are just plain weird!

Best times to go for cycling are spring and autumn. It can be too hot over summer and a bit wet and windy over winter, with snow on Troodos.

Inland the roads are very quiet, but the surfaces can be quite rough at times. Cyprus is basically a mountain sticking out of the Med, so be prepared for plenty of climbing.

On a road bike I think the climb to the top of Mount Olympus (Troodos) ranks up there with an ascent of Mont Ventoux. I did it from Limassol, starting at sea level so it was the full 1900m climb in about 50 km, the last 20 or so at 9-11%.

I would also recommend Cyprus for mountain biking. I've been twice with these guys -http://www.mountainbikecyprus.com/ - and they are brilliant. The business is run by Al and Kirsty Yates, nice people, their bikes are really good and they will fit around your skill and bottle level. Cycle round the Akamas peninsula if you just want to get off the beaten track without anything too technically challenging (long rather than steep hills) or around Troodos if you like challenging singletrack. Pics of me in Gallery 3 - the man in black.

Martin

daniel_b

Martin,

that cyprus mtb website looks awesome, especially as they use Marins 8)

What are the guided tours like, and how many people on average are on an outing?

Cheers

Dan

another jacko

I've been on 3 of their guided tours. I've also been round Akamas a year earlier with another company which is now defunct, who were OK but not as good as this crew.

In February I did downhilling twice. I had booked to do another tour of the Akamas as there was still too much snow on Troodos at that time of year. Just before my booking they got a deal with the Canadian Army, whose soldiers stop off in Cyprus for 'decompression' after tours of duty in Afghanistan. As a brand new business I guess it was worth a lot more money to them than I was (the only other customer that day) and the Canadian squaddies wanted to do downhilling, so that's what they got. I was invited to join in and really glad I did - they were a real hoot. Imagine (if you need to) how you would feel on your first day off after 7 months in the desert having pot shots taken at you. They had no fear, no skill and no sense. I enjoyed it so much I went back and did it again 2 days later. There were about 8 of us first time and 4 (officers) the next. There should have been more but the other officers got too drunk the night before! We did two different runs each time dropping about 5000ft over 10 or so km, all on loose or rocky tracks.

In May it was just me and Joe, a colleague. We did a tour of Troodos - a whole day of rocky rooty twisty singletrack high up in the mountain often clinging precariously to the sides of steep cliffs and sheer drops. Awesome. Joe was fit but a mountain bike novice. I'm not bad for an old fella, but no expert. They looked after both of us with alternative routes for Joe round the trickier stuff. He particularly liked the way they unobtrusively looked after his safety without limiting the thrills, so he could relax and enjoy it. He was so gobsmacked with the whole MTB experience he went and bought himself a Marin just like theirs when he got home!

I have no connection with Al and Kirsty, except as a satisfied customer. I go to Cyprus a couple of times a year for work and I will definitely go back to them again next time (too long ).