The approach to Parnitha from Athens goes through the outlying suburbs which are dreary but once you start the climb traffic is light on weekdays and views are rewarding. A better way of going is to approach from the north, above Kifissia, via Varibobi (Varibombi) and Thrakomakedones, though the way is difficult to find and all the maps I have seen are inaccurate, so you will need to ask. Once you start the climb there are numerous hairpins as the road goes up the mountainside. The gradient on the climb is about 8% most of the way. There is a hotel on top and a cafe but the general atmosphere is rural, and it is possible to make a pleasant circuit of the mountain top.
Parnitha is part of a larger mountainous area and rough roads lead away down gorges from close to the summit. Another climb in the same mountain chain, a little to the west of Parnitha, goes via the village of Fili to Stefani and upwards to a quiet pass at about 500m. The road ends here despite what most maps say but it is possible to continue on roughstuff paths; eventually you reach quite reasonable unsurfaced roads and these afford an alternative route to Thebes, cutting out some fairly dull country to the E (see Diary of a Greek Tour).
I have some pictures of cycling in Attica.
West of the Thessalian plain you come to Delphi and also Mt. Parnassus, the home of the Muses, which is an excellent cycling area. Here's a description of the area which I wrote in 1989.
From just W of Aráchova (plenty of hotels), which is at 900m, you climb over a col at about 1100m and then emerge into a flat plain between mountains. You pass the turning to the ski centre on your right. After about 20 km the road rises through woods to a second pass at about 1200m, and then descends quite steeply, with fine views, through the village of Eptalophos to reach the plain. Here you join the main road for a few miles before turning off to Amphikleia, which is the starting point for the return crossing of Parnassus.Amphikleia is quite large and must have a restaurant, though I didn't look for one. There is a good spring just above the village. The road to the ski station goes through beautiful country and is very quiet (July 1989), but is probably the hardest sustained climb (18 km) I have encountered in Greece. The surface is fairly good apart from one section of corrugated concrete. Talk of a ski centre may suggest the kind of concrete horror you find in the Alps, but in fact there is nothing there at all apart from a car park (empty) and a road that spirals up a conical hill for about 100m. The ski centre is not the summit, but after this point the climb becomes easier. There is a distinctly Alpine feel to the mountain at this point. I estimate the height at about 1550m.
I passed a number of tavernas in the mountains but all were closed.
Unfortunately, to approach the Peloponnese from Athens you have to
traverse the unpleasant and fume-filled region of Elefsis (Eleusis), but
this can be avoided by taking the ferry from Piraius to Monemvasia, in
the south of the Peloponnese. Alternatively, there is a district
(suburban) railway to Corinth and stations along the way and this will
take bikes. (See the email from Judy Allfrey
in the General section (Athen Airport.)
A little to the N of Tripolis is the ancient Arcadia; see Map 1 and Map 2 for some routes around Stemnitsa
which I've enjoyed. This area is in the Mainolo mountains, at heights
of 1000 m or more. I have some pictures of the
area.
Stemnitsa is now being actively promoted within Greece as a good place
to visit. This is a mixed blessing, I suppose, but even so, the minor
roads in the region are still quiet even in August. The two roads into
the valley below Stemnitsa are now tarmac. So, too, are many other roads
in the area, and this is indicated on new roadside maps which seem to be
reliable. However, the road from Psari ('Fish') to Servos is still
roughstuff, though not demanding and all of it easily ridable on a
touring bike.
There is an attractive climb to the ski centre, or at least to the 1650m pass just below it, on the road S of Vitina. There is a false summit
just before the pass; the climb is moderately steep up to this point but
thereafter it is easy.
I found a peak at 1335m off the road to Vlongos, just W of Zatouna.
However this was steep and difficult roughstuff, not at all ridable
going up and only partly ridable coming down.
Pelion is quite different from most of Greece: densely wooded, at
least in the centre, and well watered. The road mostly follows the
contours but there is an 1159m pass above Khania. From the E. it is a
steady climb on a good surface; the W. approach, from Volos, is steeper.
There are beaches on the coast but you would have to lose a lot of
height to reach them. If you camp wild in Spring (strictly speaking,
illegal) you may be serenaded by nightingales.
Recommended routes here are the road from Ioannina to Kalambaka, which
includes the above-mentioned Katara pass; the minor roads to the east of
the main road between Agrinion and Ioannina, which are very quiet and scenic
and where I saw large snakes sunning themselves; and the road from
Karpenisi to Agrinion, which is scenic and has four passes at about
1400m. (See my Diary of a Greek
Tour for more details.)
You can reach the Pindos from the south (see my Diary of a Greek Tour for an account of this) or
alternatively you could fly to Corfu and take the ferry across to
Igoumenitsa.
A number of ferries connect the island with the mainland; most leave
from the fishing port of Rafina though there are also crossings at Ayia
Marina and Oropou. There are good rides to the south (Karystos), with a
400m col S of Kapsala. The area around Chalkis is heavily built-up and
carries a lot of traffic, but as you go further north things get much
better. At Ayiokambos there is a ferry to Glypha on the mainland.
I once took a roughstuff route from
Istiaia through the mountains to Rovies on the coast. It was especially
beautiful country, remote and wooded, but rough in places and the way
often difficult to find, with no one in sight to ask. From Rovies there
was a fairly good dirt road along the coast, on which there are fine
sandy beaches, empty too.
Southern Peloponnese
Here there is the Mani peninsula, which contains the famous towers that
were used as fortresses by feuding families until quite recently; these
are now being acquired by foreigners and converted into modern
residences. On the westernmost "prong" of the three peninsulas are
the attractive little towns of Methoni and Koroni. The road N along the
coast from Methoni through Pylos is also worth riding, with good views
of mountains and sea. Just below Gargaliani there is a place where I
have twice experienced one of those visual illusions where the road
looks as if it is climbing although you are actually freewheeling
downhill.
Central Peloponnese
This offers the fine Taigetos mountain range, just to the W of the
famous Byzantine city of Mystra, near Sparta. If you are approaching
this region from the north I recommend taking the minor road that goes
through Longanikos; it brings you through magnificent country with fine
views. When I did it many years ago it was roughstuff, but now it is
tarmac throughout.
Northern Peloponnese
To the north there are more fine roads, which are not too busy. You can
reach the coast here via several routes, including the road through
Kalavrita which follows the line of the little mountain railway for part
of its course. All these routes are recommended.
PELION
The Pelion peninsula, the home of the Centaurs, is a small but
attractive touring area on the eastern side of the Central area. Volos,
the provincial capital, makes a convenient starting point. A good way of
getting there, used by me in 1986 and Mary Sanderson in 1988, is to
travel N. through Evvia and cross from Ayiokambos to Glifa. The last 20
miles or so of the approach to Volos are dusty and well supplied with
heavy lorries but there is no alternative.
THE PINDOS AND THE NORTH-WEST
This is a remote and mountainous part of Greece, which constitutes the
southernmost reach of the Dinaric Alps. It is a fine cycling region,
though wetter than most of the country (you may encounter heavy rain
even in summer). It contains the Katara pass, which is the highest
surfaced road in the country (1705m.). (A tunnel now exists here, which
should make the road quieter than formerly.) In my opinion the Pindos
and the Peloponnese are the best two cycling areas in Greece.
THE ISLANDS
Greece is famous for its islands but most are too small for more than a
day's cycling. The main exceptions are Evvia (Euboea), Corfu, and Crete.
The Aegean islands are plagued by very strong winds in summer - the
dreaded Meltemi (a strong N wind, rather like the Mistral) can make
cycling almost impossible here at these times.
Evvia (Euboea)
This long narrow island off the coast of Attica affords some pleasant
cycling with plenty of climbing; it is also a good way of approaching
the scenic and mountainous region of Pelion. In common with the rest of
eastern Greece, it is often dogged by the Meltemi in July and August.
Andros
This is an attractive island SE of Evvia. I once spent a day and a half
there. Near the capital, also called Andros, I followed a stream inland
for a mile or so and saw turtles dropping into the water. A woman in a
house gave me so many cherries I couldn't carry them on the bike. She
told me Japanese people were buying up all the property in the region.
I have a few pictures of Andros.
Corfu can be approached by air or by ferry from Venice and is a good place from which to reach north-west Greece via the ferry to Igoumenitsa.