Therissos Gorge

April 28, 2018

We both got a good night’s sleep last night and awoke refreshed. By late afternoon though jet lag will catch up with us and we’ll feel drugged again. I enjoyed waking to the cooing of a dove and the bells of a nearby church; and eating breakfast in the open-air atrium we hear Swift’s keening as they crisscross the sky above us. We’re in Europe again!

Breakfast isn’t served until eight, so I go downstairs and get a jump on reassembling the bikes. It takes a bit longer than in the past because there are a few things to learn about our new Bike Fridays, as well as a few features that will take a bit more reassembly time than before. Everything goes well though.

We leave our hotel at about 10:30, and case out the nearby storefronts for something suitable for lunch before starting on the day’s ride - a 30 mile loop through the interior south of Chania.

A pleasant spot for bike assembly - with a second cup of coffee and a spot to sit while I work

The first mile through Chania is busy, not too pleasant. We’re soon out or town though, and climbing on a very quiet road up the thousand foot ridge bordering the city to the south. It is pretty amazing -two miles out of town and we leave all the traffic behind and start hearing the sounds of roadside sheep and goats. After a steady four or five mile climb we crest the ridge and enjoy views of the White Mountains.

About two miles out of Chania, climbing to Malaxa

We’ll see many scenes like this in the coming weeks.

Once over the top, we enjoy a mile-long descent before climbing once more to the final summit of the day, at about 1,300’. About a mile from the top I have a mild racing heartbeat episode, which does not surprise me. Any more, these seem to be a regular occurrence at the start of a tour. Maybe it’s the stress of the time zone shift, or maybe it’s the abrupt transition to biking in the heat.

It passes quickly, once I lie down; but when I start biking again I’m distressed to discover that my front shifter is essentially nonfunctional. I have no explanation for this, because I was very careful in the way I laid my bike on its side when I laid down. I nowonly have two semifunctional gears to work with, and neither of them really works that well or is suitable for climbing. Discouraging, but fortunately I’m near the summit and can just walk the remaining mile.

Which way to Chania? We have two good choices to pick from.

Dracunculis vulgarisms, or dragon arum (credit: Andrea Brown). What anwhat this amazing plant

I agree with Emily Sharp - always take the squiggly roads.

From the top, we coast nearly all of the remaining 12 miles back to the hotel. It’s a glorious ride, dropping through dramatic Tharissos Gorge. I’d like to take credit for picking this great route, but it’s dumb luck. I wasn’t even aware of this gorge before, and was just looking for a natural route that seemed likely to be quiet and scenic.

Halfway down the gorge we stop for a minute to take in the views, when Rachael gives me a funny look and tells me to look at my glasses. My new glasses, that I just picked up five days ago. They’re missing the right lens. I haven’t noticed it because I’m not that observant in the first place, and I have a very mild prescription anyway. Rachael noticed because the lenses darken in the sun, and so I have one dark lens and one very clear one.

The lens must have fallen out at one of the rest stops, but we’ll never know - we’re far enough down the gorge that going back makes no sense since we have no idea where it was lost anyway. And besides, we’re hoping to get back to town early enough to find a bike store and service for my ailing bike.

We get back to Chania at four, early enough to find a bike store. If only it weren’t Saturday, and if most stores didn’t close on Saturday afternoon. And on Sunday. It looks like we’ll be dead in the water tomorrow.

Is this going to be one of those trips? It’s sure looking like it at this point.

Three miles of biking bliss - the Tharissos Gorge

A quiz for my readers -what’s wrong with this picture?

We return to the room, and I doze off while Rachael walks out to find a new sweater. Did I mention that she left her sweater on the plane yesterday? See? I’m not the only one.

A bit later, we walk out together to mill through the town, checking out sights and menus. Chania is beautiful, but quite touristy. Its old town has a typically confusing street structure, and we lose our way a bit. It’s no big deal - it’s easy to relocate yourself here by just heading downhill to the harbor. Pretty difficult though if you want to backtrack to revisit a menu you particularly like. We weren’t successful, but fortunately there’s no shortage of places to get a meal in Chania. We end up going to one near our hotel that we noticed last night, and we’re quite happy with it. Over a delicious meal we discuss options for how to spend tomorrow, since it doesn’t look like there will be much biking happening. Drat.

We decided we’d like to come back here for dinner, but later couldn’t find it again. Maybe tomorrow night.

I almost missed what was happening here. These scamps were deliberately photobombing my shot of the church.

Mission accomplished - I took a shot like this back in 2012, but I wanted to take a fresh one as the feature photo for this journal.

Relax - I won’t be showing you a photo of every dinner on the tour, but the first one is always special.

I love this fig beneath the stairwell to our hotel room.

Stats for the day: 30 miles, 3,800’ of climbing

Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 72 miles (116 km)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesIs the new pair of glasses the only pair you have with you? Cannot wait to hear the next installment of the story. Did Rachael find a sweater? Can Scott see out of one eye? Is the BF ready to roll again? Did the missed restaurant put in a second appearance? Inquiring minds want to know?
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6 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesNope, to the first question. I have a backup but sont care for them so much. I scarcely need them anyway, and may just pickup some shades foe eye protection.

Yes, to the second question. Documentation to follow.

Yes to the third question. He can see out of Theo their one as well. See above.

Answers to four and five are unknown at this time, stay tuned.
Reply to this comment
6 years ago