Biking in Troodos

After years and years of becoming a slave to public transport and the comfort of my car, I lost the feeling of thrill and excitement in going only where two wheels will take you.

In my city there are few opportunities to grasp a breath of solidarity in nature so this weekend I took a trip to the mountains, conveniently sitting bang in the centre of Cyprus. The trip started off with the drive up to Troodos Square, losing a few degrees celsius on the way up, and passing through some of the more established villages, which we can talk about another time. Troodos is scattered with attractions, as simple as horse back rides and mountain bike rentals. I was a lot more interested in the latter, having spent my childhood biking around the neighbourhood always looking for jumps and tricky terrain to triumph over. Hey, at the age of 13, with a bike bigger than you, it's quite an achievement to hop up onto a pavement. At least it used to be, before my bike became another dust-and-rust-ridden machine in the basement, along with the rest of our mechanical equipment that struggled to stay relevant.

The rental bikes were equipped with decent disc brakes and suspension, but in poor overall condition, given that my back brakes were very weak - and another bike was completely flat. I just needed to watch my speed a little, something that soon after became a very tiny issue.

The plan at first was to take a taxi up to the/a peak, and catch a trail down again. That didn't work out, as taxi drivers were having their afternoon kip. So we had to battle it up the mountain. A ride that would normally take about 10 minutes in a car, set us back about half an hour. The sun beaming down, and laughable looks of drivers passing by, meant nothing as the air was fresh and the feeling of being on a bike was sensational. I was in my element.

Reaching the top, we chilled for a little, had a quick (long) gaze at a map, and found an appropriate (it was a hiking trail) and safe (sharp boulders and thin paths) trail down. Needless to say it was amazing, and a rush, and so much more. Already planning my next trip and servicing my bike. It's really old. Like really old, so I'm even considering investing in a new one!

I gathered up so much footage as I was recording throughout, but here's a short video of the trip: