Riding in Paphos, Cyprus?

Rich-Ti

Can anyone here help me out?

My family are planning a holiday to Paphos in Cyprus in June '09. They're there for 2 weeks. I was planning to go out and join them for one of the weekends they're there for and take my bike with me.

Does anyone here know what the riding is like? Can anyone recommend any routes or suggest a map etc?

Any help would be much appreciated - I don't want to book my flights and add the cost of bike carriage if the riding is really bad or difficult to find!

Ta 8)

shazzz

I don't know about routes around Paphos but I went to Cyprus earlier this year and the cycling was great. Head into the centre to the Troodos mountains. It's 'rolling' territory so you can easily plan some good routes. Road surfaces are good but I did end up on one road that was marked as paved on the map and rapidly became anything but. Good fun until I shredded my tyre .

The roads are quiet if you stay off the main arteries and the drivers seemed OK.

Take your spares with you.

It could be rather hot in June, though.

GavH

Spent a few months in Cyprus last year and to be honest, I wouldn't want to ride a road bike out there, the drivers had little regard for each other let alone cyclists!

I did do a 'Summit to Sea' ride from near the Top of Mt Olympus to Pissouri which was great but was mostly off road and thus definately not suited to a road bike. If you're brave enough though, you should find some quieter roads up in the Troodos which will present you with some decent climbs. The road from Paphos over to Polis is quite hilly as well.

Rich-Ti

GavH wrote:

I did do a 'Summit to Sea' ride from near the Top of Mt Olympus to Pissouri which was great but was mostly off road and thus definately not suited to a road bike

I did wonder if the MTB might be a better option, except that I'd rather take the roadie, and I wouldn't feel safe venturing off road without a guide somewhere so unknown to me :?

GavH

Take an MTB upto Troodos and you are spoiled for choice, including Ski runs which in the summer are seriously devoid of snow!

Ricardo H

My honest opinion is if you have'nt commited going, then dont go.
I love travelling and try to get away 3 times a year. Everyone raved about cyprus, saying that it's got it all, but i thought that Paphos was a dump (not been anywhere else on the island though)
Loads of ex pats out there, and i am sure alot of them did'nt go there for the sun and golf courses.Plus you get the usual Magaluf crowd there. Up the road in Coral bay it looked ok, but not much there apart from a nice beach and a few bars.

Would'nt ride on the road out there, i would describe there driving style as "greek" plus its bloody hot in summer

markos1963

Try to avoid the better known resorts and try places like Polis/Latchi/Argaka, much quieter and more like the Cyprus of old. Or you could go and stay in the mountains, Platres is very nice if a bit cramped but is good if you like riding in the hills.

Have a look at my previous post:-

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... ght=cyprus

barrybridges

I'll second Latchi as a great place to go, although that side of the island can be quite windy at times (great for fitness, but a buggar if you hate cycling into wind)

Paphos itself is a bit of a dive and not really a great place to go, but along the coast towards Pissouri there are plenty of excellent places.

Cypriot drivers are generally ok, and the level of traffic is surprisingly low. Their main 'motorway' is about 1/10th as busy as the A23.

What time of year are you going though? Did you say June? It can be incredibly roasting in the Cyprus summer and I don't think I'd want to be cycling at that time of year (far better to adopt beer-drinking, golf, swimming as a hobby in that heat!)

CumbrianMan

Rich

Try this :- http://www.turismocipro.it/file/Cipro%2 ... %20inglese).pdf


Describes routes in Cyprus, and has basic maps with it and profiles. It's a mix of road and mtb.

Cheers

CumbrianMan

Rich

I notice it's missed of highlighting the whole of the link, so copy it and dump into Interenet Explorer address bar.

This is the site the link came from - http://kypros.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/ ... in-cyprus/

Cheers

Rich-Ti

Thanks CM

fosst

I spent a week in Argaka in the early part of November, hired Mountain bikes out there and rode on and off road in the Akamas/Argaka area. Didn't make it into the Troodos hills but had a good time riding as far as Stavros and a really great time on the 25 km descent back to the coast..getting lost would be a problem but the mobile had a signal for most of the time and the "off road" sections are the major routes in some cases, the biggest problem would be loosing track of the time having fun in the hills and valleys.
I'd happily go again but the comments about the heat and what a dump Paphos is are worth bearing in mind.
You could have a decent time on a road bike but check out Google Earth and take a close look at the areas you want to go riding in, when the tarmac stops you have no chance of riding a road bike on the surface that is left. And these can be shown as main roads on the maps.
Basically though, a weekend in June. It wouldn't be worth it, I would recommend a week or so in the cooler months for riding (daytime temperatures were still very high 20s in November)

Gekkoman

If you are comming to Cyprus and want to ride some good routes etc drop me a line at info@mountainbikecyprus.com.
I will help you any way I can.

jards666

Spent 6months in cyprus and its a dump all round and the drivers are crazy

huggy

Drivers around Pahpos are crazy, but there is Cerveloist who cycles around there and Coral Bay, would be roasting that time of year though. Off road is better, but watch out for the (seriously) nasty snakes.

In the actual mountains just outside of Paphos there are quieter roads with nice tavernas to stop off at though.