How can i find routes in Crete - websites etc?

straggleyway

hey all,

im heading to crete in summer and will get some biking done - but i'd like to get some routes sorted before i leave. Anyone got any advice or websites which could help?

I've tried gpsies.com but they dont have much for crete...

cheers

daverey

Just booked a week in Crete myself for June and am also looking for some routes.

I know the hotel I'm staying at advertisese mountain bike hire & I'm hoping that they can also provide routes, but other than that I haven't been able to find much.

Let us know if you have any joy.

straggleyway

hey daverey,

well check out gpsies.com - there a couple of hiking routes on the crete map.

also, ill probably use http://www.olympicbike.com/ for a tour and maybe meet a few bikers.

Other than that - im still looking.

daverey

Cheers for that. I'll give gpsies.com a look.

I've already seen the olympic bikes page - unfortunatelY I don't think I can use them as I'm looking more for day rides rather than tours, and where we are staying is a little far from where they are based.

daverey

Just to let you know that I've just come back from my week in Crete, and we did manage to get a bit of biking done.

We were staying in the East, near to Aghios Nikolaos. This is far too far away to be able to use Olympic Bikes for trips (which I think is based in Rethimnon, kind of centre-west of the island).

However, if anyone is going over to the side we went to, I'd suggest trying a company we found called Martinbike (www.martinbike.com). They are situated high on the road between Ag Nik and Elounda, and appear to be a very professional setup (and also a Scott test centre). We didn't use them in the end - every time we passed by they were all out on tours, and they appear to be predominently German, so it was hard to get any information. However, we did see a couple of their tours and the bikes looked very good quality, and the photos on their website look awesome.

In the end we hired a couple of Focus bikes from a shop in Ag Nik - 10 Euros each for the day, and whilst the bikes were not well maintained, they worked perfectly (aside from a small repair job needed on my missus' chain using 2 rocks...). We then had a cracking 40km ride along the Bay of Elounda and up into the mountains on dirt tracks, including lunch at a sea-front restaurant and the whole thing was followed by a dip in the pool and a beer at the pool bar.

Be warned though - wherever in Crete you are staying - it is a VERY mountainous island and some of the biking can be very tough. However, the views more than make up for the climbs...

Jamey

I haven't ridden in Crete but having been there on holiday I'd echo what daverey just said about the mountains and add that drivers (and driving in general) out there are pretty different to what we get here. Take some time to read up on the way they drive and be very careful while you're there as they have a mix of local peculiarities mixed with general speed/danger.

Fully

I'd also be careful about where you ride. People have been known to fall victim to bandits around the Samaria Gorge area (Not BMX or A*** bandits either ).

Having said that, id' love to go riding in Crete, beautiful place with lots of biking potential.

straggleyway

Hi all,

I'll based based in Rethimnon - does anyone know of any way to get some good routes? gpsies.com doesnt have anything.....

Is the any other site - maybe a hiking one that could help?

Cheers

daverey

I'd contact Olympicbike if you are staying there - you could either join them on a tour or I'm sure they will be able to rent you a bike and give you a few routes to try.

I don't know of anyone who's used them so can't say for certain, but by the looks of their website they appear to be a reasonably professional organisation

Cretan Road Biker

Some mates of mine recommended Olympic Bike (just google them) as they have used their services all over Crete several times now, for mountain biking tours and bike hire. They always have spanking new SCOTT Sports mountain bikes and road bikes in their biking centres.