Page 8 - RADC Bulletin 2022

Day 3 – Tue 23 Nov
Quote of the day – “Let’s see how this pans out”
The Karpaz peninsula AKA ‘The Pan Handle’ was one of the big unknowns of
the trip. Google satellite recces were all we had to go off when assessing the terrain, especially the Northern shore. I hadn’t met anyone who had cycled this route yet so we were into uncharted territory. We had bikes which we hoped were up to the challenge with wider and more grippy tires, but still no suspension! Our average speed was much slower today due to the hillier terrain and off-road aspects which really started to kick in after the last main town, Dipkarpaz. We suspected this might be our last chance
to resupply until tomorrow, so stashed some Couscous and tuna in our packs and topped up our precious water supplies. The cycling was stunning, this seems to be the most un-spoilt region in all of Cyprus. Wild donkeys wander the tracks and beautiful sandy beaches stretch for miles before
the trail sweeps inland to negotiate steep outcrops which fall away into the clear blue sea. The very tip of the Karpaz was an epic place to stand, the very most Northerly and Eastern part of Cyprus and we’d ridden almost 300km to get here. Not a soul was
in sight. We clipped back in and headed West for what was psychologically a long stretch of Cypriot coastline. The ground was unforgiving, sand made for a few tumbles and sharp rocks led to punctures. We pitched up as the sun went down, 106 hard kilometers banked hoping for a good night sleep under the stars in our bivvie bags, we wouldn’t need the tent tonight would we?
Day 4 – Wed 24 Nov
A crack and a flash woke us, the first drops of rain started to ping off our bivvy bags. The dilemma in our sleepy brains as to whether we could ride this one out was real. Soon enough we crumbled and jumped up to assemble the tent, Maj K had his classic confused face on as I fumbled about. We cosied into the tight 2 man for the rest of
the night. Dawn broke and started with a super fun gravel ride back to civilisation for Turkish breakfast at Oasis, an absolute gem of a find. The task for the rest of the day was straightforward: keep the sea to our right
and pedal. A small kink in the route early
on allowed us to drop onto the North side
of the Kyrenia mountain range ending in an epic descent to the sea. We made Kyrenia by nightfall negotiating the busy city slowly and picking up an essential bike pump
as we’d lost ours on the Karpaz. Stopping
at a fish restaurant for the night we were subject once again to the excellent Turkish hospitality, we were offered fire-wood and a place to sleep under their wooden terrace on the beach as another thunderstorm was due that night.
Day 5 – Thu 25 Nov
A hilly day lay ahead of us to cross back
over to the Republic of Cyprus. Our first obstacle was a 3km pebble track out to the Eastern most tip that would challenge the finest Paris Roubaix riders. We decided to leave our packs at the out and back point
to lighten the load, impressed with our ingenuity we later cursed when Maj K got
a puncture at the turnaround point, now realising our tools were 3km away. If you’ve ever walked more than 100m in cycling shoes you’ll feel the pain. Recovering from this we pushed on through an undulating section with dwindling energy levels, and seeping morale. We dropped onto the flat plain between the mountain ranges of central and Northern Cyprus, linking up with the coast for a beach shack lunch and bike spray down. Frustratingly, a small section of coastline is still under UN Control meaning the only route past is now a 13km ascent into Paphos forest and back down to the coast. This was a testing but incredible section of the ride, with strawberry lace like switch back roads and views back over to the North. There was a very strong military presence in this area from both the UN and Turkish, with pillar boxes dotted across the high ground. All seemed calm as we huffed and puffed our way passed, but the reminder of what had been and what could come
was ever present. We struggled into Polis in the dark running on empty after our longest day in the saddle yet, almost 7 hours. We celebrated appropriately in the beach side resort town of Polis and found ourselves around a campfire with some other nomads until pulling out our roll mats and passing out.
Day 6 – Fri 26 Nov
We’d made the big mistake of assuming
the hard work was done once we’d made
it back over to the South. In reality, we had the biggest climbing day yet to come. A
dry pasty and a sore head wasn’t a great start to the day. Poor route selection from myself led to more woes as we ascended the horribly steep old road parallel to a perfectly well laid new highway. You may wonder
why we chopped off a corner of the island. This peninsula is the Akamas, one of the most lush and beautiful parts of the island but it’s coastal track is very unforgiving, so much so if you rent a car you have to sign a clause that you won’t take it on these tracks. Basically, we bottled it. Instead, we climbed over the hills back into Paphos, where we ate like kings at the harbour and again made the mistake of thinking we were home and dry. The final obstacle which we had planned for was a road closure around Aphrodite’s rock due to subsidence into the sea, a risk we didn’t fancy taking. Instead, we turned inland for a massive diversion that ended
in 3 punctures in as many hours for Maj K. Miraculously the gent who had lent us the bike drove past us and replenished our inner tubes just in time before the puncture repair patch failed. A massive stroke of luck. We made it home totally drained and grateful to have completed our 6 day, 700km, 7000m
of ascent epic. Truly the best way to see this stunning island and uncover its hidden gems whilst bumping into the true Cypriots which breath the relaxed way of life into the Island, all at a leisurely pace. “Siga Siga”.
6 RADC BULLETIN 2022
SPORT & AT