This sounds very very familiar!

Finally reading this journal and really enjoying it. Al and I got laughed at in Sicily when we needed to buy sunscreen this past March, especially since were all bundled up against the evening chill and our sunburns from the day's ride weren't visible. The farmacia clerk finally found us some in a back storeroom.

Hello! (And thanks for reading...)

I now live in Durham, which is in the north-east of England (just south of Newcastle upon Tyne); but I'm originally from Buxton, which is on the edge of the Peak District National Park (the UK's first, and -- in my entirely unbiased opinion -- best, sandwiched between Manchester and Sheffield). Both my current and my former homes are great cycling country: the Peak District is (I think!) just beautiful, though the hills can be punishing. Northumberland is also amazing for cycling -- either by the coast or up in the (bleak) hills. I am, quite unfairly, biased against southern England, though I will concede it has nice bits -- your trips around Dover/Canterbury made me think I should probably visit one day!

I just started reading this journal, what a great opportunity! By the way, you’ve given us a lot of advice on UK and it’s greatly appreciated. What part of UK do you live in out out of curiosity and what are your favorite areas?

Thank you! (I have to say, the experience of writing this one up has left me even more in awe of anyone who manages to combine cycling with journalling in real-time...)

I want to chime in with my thanks for this journal. I’ve also enjoyed following along!

Thanks, both!

I really enjoyed following along, and I hope you go exploring in your attic again soon!

Thanks for taking us along and for the practical information, Polly. It’s definitely gotten us blowing the dust off our map of Greece again.

That's the most hilarious caption I've ever read on CycleBlaze!

Thanks! There are definitely more spectacular bits of Greece, but this part isn't bad -- and it always amazes me how quickly you can completely escape the city...

This is great. We’ve never seen this part of the country.

Thanks, Scott! (It was re-reading your account of your ride through Northern Greece -- and using it to dream of a future ride up there -- which made me think I should write up some of my more mundane Greek rides, in fact... )

I’m so looking forward to this, Polly. I was hoping we’d get someone else’s perspective on Greece sometime.