May 15, 2009
Githio to Sparta
From Githio we cycled north and away from the sea to Sparta, our base for the next two nights. By the most direct route along the main highway, Sparta is quite close by - about 15 miles to the north, and about 1000 feet uphill. We of course worked our way there the long way, staying on much quieter roads that felt safe and let us see more of the countryside without watching over our shoulders for trucks the whole way.
The route we picked, for those wondering about this stretch, started out along the coast to the northeast from Trinisa to Scala; cut back to the northwest to Dafni, and crossed the main highway at Potamia; and followed a minor road through Xirokambi into Sparta. We were pleased with the choice - it was paved the whole way, and didn't become busy until the outskirts of Sparta.
Sparta itself though is a mess - traffic through the center of the city is very congested, and no place for bikes. We were glad to pull into our hotel and leave them off so we could explore on foot. As it turns out though, Sparta's not such a great place for exploring by foot either; there's not that much here for the tourist. For that, we had to wait for the next day and our outing to Mystras.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 636 miles (1,024 km)
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