Feeling fresh i had a good feeling about today. I wanted to do a few more miles than 60 to catch up some of what i was behind due to staying an extra day. The monster was still there but i wasn't letting him have another day. I had quite a comical morning conversation outside the toilet block with a man from Belgium about my bike and when i told him where i was going, a half shaving foam covered Greek man swung his head around the door frame and exclaimed "South Africaaaaa!" Sort of like a funny/foamy Jack Nicholson-esque "Here's Johnny"
I said my goodbyes and made the clever decision to take the highway route instead of the "A-road" scenic route. I say clever because it was. The a-roads are terrible, narrow, busy and the scenes I'm used to now so I don't mind a couple of hours of boring motorway view. The motorways are quiet, well tarmaced and there is a whole lane kept empty like our hard shoulder for broken down Fords and cyclists.
The first few hours I was flying, I maybe saw a car every minute at tops whereas I could almost guarantee I would've already had about 5 near misses, hit a few potholes and stopped at around 10 traffic lights if I were on an A road. I saw a live snake for the first time in Greece, this one was actually big enough to make an "S" position unlike the Croatian worm but luckily not as big as the dead one I've pictured.
After around 3.5 hours of really good safe cycling I noticed a highway patrol van ahead and I could see off the motorway that there were 2 fire engines and a few police attending a grass fire on a wooden cart, talk about over kill! Anyway the man on the hard shoulder slowed me down to a stop, "Where are you going?" He asked, "To my next stop" I replied. I like to play dumb sometimes because in my defence, there were no signs saying I couldn't be there when I entered onto the motorway. "This road is very dangerous, you must get off" he said. I looked around, there wasn't car to be seen on either side for miles and then I looked down to the side at the A road which was currently blocked by a burning cart and 5 emergency service vehicles. "Oh I see, I thought this lane was for cycling because there are no cars to be seen!!!" I said. I think he got my point but I still had to get off at the next exit. I didn't mind, the next exit was a toll and I was getting hungry so I had timed it well. Getting off the motorway involved lifting Nigel up and over a fence because my off ramp was the other side of the toll so it was easier said than done. After I managed that, I cycled through a few tiny villages that probably see a man like myself once in a lifetime judging by the stares I got from the men that stopped their game of backgammon to watch me go by. I think I may take up backgammon, it seems like my kind of game. Dominoes involves too much of a crowd and the pace can get out of control!
At one of the shops there were a few kids hanging around, I think they wanted a race. They couldn't speak much English and I have really struggled to grasp Greek so the chat was pretty preschool-esque. I added to the confusing conversation by using some of the few words they understood without even thinking about it. "Shouldn't you be in school?" I said, like a grumpy old man annoyed that there were kids hanging around his bike. No of course they shouldn't, it was Saturday! Days don't mean a thing anymore. The one day I need to know is Sunday so I don't get stung without food but I'm not in France anymore so I could probably get away with it.
As I cycled away from a very unsuccessful conversation a couple of them thought they could keep up. No chance, Nigel is not built for speed but he loves a challenge! After leaving the kids in my dust I then had to endure just that, dust and tiredness were on the cards for the remainder of the day unfortunately. The motorway looked over at me laughing but my legs and my body were too tired to care.
I had cycled around 80 miles by 4:30 and I was looking around for somewhere to chill out. I entered a town called Sabes and as I cycled along the main road I noticed through a gap in a wall some guys playing football/warming up. There were two men at the gap and I asked if there was a match. One said yes the other was absolutely hammered and looked at me with one eye and at Nigel with the other and shouted out "3 euros" "3 euros!, are Olympiakos playing then?" I joked. "No, Sabes and Yazhu" I'm certain that's not how you spell the other team but that's what it sounded like. (Which incidentally is how you say "hello" and "goodbye" so the kebab man in Kastoria wasn't telling me porkies after all...although he was about the camping!) The man at the door didn't really speak much english and the drunk guy was no good at all but the manager of Sabes was walking by at the time and they called him over. I told him what I was doing and he welcomed me in. "One photo, ok." He said. Perfect I thought, another football team to add to the list. Next thing I know, he comes back and takes a picture of me, "for team magazine" he said and then he shot off into the changing room. I thought he meant picture for me, but instead it was picture of me, in all my glory - stained shirt and dirty face.
I sat and watched the game surrounded by the noise of a hundred or so people eating sunflower seeds and nuts. To the side a few kids had a drum and the whole crowd was very civilised. Everybody but the drunk guy that chose to sit next to me! Why do I always attract the drunk guy? And why does that drunk guy never have any clue when it comes to personal space? I could smell him and I was trying to work what alcohol he had been drinking, he smelt fruity but in an alcoholic way. If you combine a homeless person with the smell "bodyshop" or "lush" kick out then you get the idea. The truth is he made me fancy a beer but I continued with my chocolate biscuits and water and watched the whole game. I had a chat with a couple of lads sat behind and the drunk man soon got bored of me and left.
The game finished 2-1 to the away team from a last minute winner as well so I felt a bit bad going up to them after to get a photo as they had just chucked a lead away against the top of the table side. I left feeling a little refreshed but with no light I was on the hunt for a quick pitch up, quick pasta then bed.
It wasn't too hard trying to find a place. There were fields everywhere and I managed to stop a farmer in his tractor as he pulled out of one field. He nodded after I mimed "sleep" and "tent" and then pointed at the grass. That was good enough for me I thought, I was knackered! Tent up, dinner on, thank you very much!
A productive day today, a few more of them on the road to South Africa please, and i'll be a happy man!
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