CyclistBig Ride: Ride of the Gods in GreeceA couple of millennia ago, Epidavros is where stressed-out Greeks would come to get away from it all. Dedicated to Asclepius, god of healing, this little enclave on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese was the original spa resort, offering a chance to escape the pressures of everyday Greek life in 3rd century BC and enjoy a more relaxed pace. Today, nothing much seems to have changed.The harbour town has its share of seafront restaurants and yachts bobbing on their moorings, but theres a sense that this is a million miles from the bars and resorts of the Greek islands. There are no sunburnt tourists or two-for-one cocktails, and the roads in the vicinity are completely devoid of tour buses. In fact, theyre seemingly free from any traffic at all, whether buses, cars or bicycles. Its part of what attracted Chris Ward to this area in the first place.Ive always taken a couple of cycling trips each year, just to escape to somewhere else, and I was riding through this part of Greece and thought, This is paradise. I was in my late fifties and had reached a plateau with work. I told myself, This is a dream. I could do this. I could make it happen.Its a familiar fantasy among cyclists: ditch the nine-to-five, buy a villa somewhere sunny, set up a cycle touring business and spend your days riding with clients. Only in this case, Chris actually did it.Having built up his own marketing agency, he sold up, stuck the money in the bank and then took a role as creative director at Comic Relief, which was followed by overseeing big global cause campaigns, working with the UN and hanging out with the likes of Desmond Tutu and Lewis Hamilton.It was an intense job, and within a few years Chris felt the need to shift down a gear and so set up Breakaway Greece with the aim of introducing cyclists to the region that he now calls home. Which is how Cyclist comes to be sweating up a hill behind Epidavros with increasingly expansive views out over the Saronic Gulf towards Athens.Chris reassures me that things will get easier once we descend to the coast road that will take us towards the Methana volcano.Then Ill tell you the story of how I found the house.Grand designsFor about 20km the road from Epidavros traces the coastline southeast, climbing gently at first before dropping down more sharply to the village of Kalloni. To our left a blue sea is dotted with islands and misty outlines of far-off mountains, while to our right the landscape is a mix of rocky escarpments and scrubby bushes. The road itself is wide and smooth as though designed to accommodate fast-moving traffic, only there are barely any other vehicles here even though its officially morning rush hour on a Tuesday.At a rare junction we turn off the main highway to head northwards on roads that are, remarkably, even quieter. A 3km climb brings us to a small church with whitewashed walls and a blue domed roof from where we can look back over the coast road weve just ridden down, stretching all the way back to Epidavros. From this viewpoint, if we had a strong enough telescope, wed be able to see the house that Chris bought a house, he says, he would never have found without some special help.My background is marketing, so naturally I thought that if Im going to run a cycle holiday company, I need people to know about it; what could I do to get it noticed on day one?Having decided that this part of the Peloponnese was where he wanted to be based, Chris and his wife put themselves forward for Channel 4 series A Place In The Sun, where couples are presented with properties they might be interested in, and viewers can enjoy watching them struggle to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives.Buying the property on a TV show means we sort of paid for it with our credibility, Chris says, but I have to say the service was phenomenal. You assume these things are faked for TV, but they genuinely found five amazing houses for us to look at that we would never have found ourselves, for a price way lower than wed been seeing when we were doing our own research. So it was a really good experience.Good enough that Chris went back for more and recorded an episode of A New Life In The Sun following the first six months of the couple setting up Breakaway Greece, which aired in 2023 (its series eight, episode 20 if you want to find it online).As we make our way back down to sea level, I think ahead to writing this feature for Cyclist and come to a realisation: no wonder Chris built a successful marketing agency; he really does have this self-promotion thing nailed.Article continues belowAfter an initial climb, the ride follows the coast southeast on a long, straight stretch that looks like it should be a busy highway except there are hardly any cars.Patrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinHaving crossed a narrow strip of land onto Methana peninsula, we begin an anticlockwise loop skirting the Methana volcano.Patrik LundinPatrik LundinThis blue-domed church offers the perfect viewing point to look back down the coast to our start point in Epidavros.Patrik LundinFor much of the loop around Methana were clinging to the coast on roads that see little in the way of traffic.Patrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinThe grand, but now sadly defunct, Methana spa, where thousands once flocked to take in the healing water.Patrik LundinThe picture postcard port of Vathi, which would be a tourist hotspot if there were any tourists.Patrik LundinOn the return leg we head inland on climbs that prove harder than the topography suggests. It may not be the Alps, but its far from flat.Patrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinRush hour Peloponnese-style.Patrik LundinPatrik LundinThis part of Greece has a wonderfully undiscovered feeling to it, although Christopher Nolans movie version of The Odyssey may have alerted people to its charms.Patrik LundinThe odyssey may be over, but in this case it ends with calamari in Mike restaurant on Epidavross harbourside.Patrik LundinPatrik LundinPatrik LundinGreeks bearing whiffsMethana isnt an island but feels like it should be. Its a peninsula that is attached to the mainland by a narrow umbilical cord of land just wide enough to include a road. At the peninsulas centre is a volcano that thankfully hasnt erupted since the third century BC, but the area is still home to thermal springs, meaning it has been a place to take the waters for centuries.Having crossed the causeway, we begin an anticlockwise loop around the coastline, following the contours of the land until we arrive at Methana town. We can smell it before we see it. The air is laden with the whiff of sulphur the town of Methana was around long before the word methane was in use and as we roll past the harbour we see the grand edifice of the Methana Spa. Built in 1917 it made the town one of Greeces most popular destinations, attracting tens of thousands of visitors seeking relief from their various ailments or just looking to relax in opulence. However, after its heyday in the 1960s the spa became less fashionable, eventually closing down in 2000. As we drift past the shuttered building, it looks somewhat shabby and sad, but its possible to imagine a time when it teamed with people, soaking in the sulphurous waters.Methana is quiet today. We stop at a harbourside cafe for coffees and pastries before carrying on around the loop that takes us upwards and across the peninsula, hugging the slopes of the volcano. The roads are narrow and deserted and the landscape barren, although there isnt a point where you cant look over your shoulder and see the sparkling sea in the distance. As we near the other side of the peninsula we stop to greet some goats in the village of Megalochori before descending to the coast where a barely signposted side-road takes us to the harbour of Vathi.My first reaction is that something strange is going on. Vathi is a picture-postcard harbour village a horseshoe of cobbled pavement fringed by terracotta-roofed cafes, with colourful fishing boats rocking gently in the crystal water but theres hardly anyone here. True, its not peak season, but anywhere else this harbour would be thick with tourists and gift shops. The only people we see are actual fishermen and a guy selling fruit from a van. So we buy some bananas, take a last look around and continue on our way.The journey homeAfter completing our loop of Methana we cross back to the mainland and retrace our route along the coast towards Epidavros. But rather than head straight home, at around the 80km mark we turn off the main road near the village of Dryopi and take on the biggest climb of the day. Or rather its not a climb, its just that the road keeps going up.Thats the thing about Greece. Its not like the Alps or Dolomites where the climbs are well defined, its just a rugged, rolling landscape where one minute youre cruising by the coast, and the next youre looking down on the sea from a great height and your legs dont work anymore.As we head further inland, the road starts to twist and turn, and Im feeling the effort of all those climbs that arent really climbs. Therefore it comes as a relief when were brought to a halt by a tortoise crossing the road. Its doing so very slowly, as tortoises are inclined to do, so were a bit worried it will be squashed if a car comes along.At first we stop next to it, acting as a sort of barrier to any oncoming drivers, however our presence merely encourages it to disappear inside its shell and sit motionless in the middle of the road.Eventually we just pick it up and move it to the verge. It doesnt look particularly impressed by our intervention, but as far as Im concerned it owes us its life. Not that weve seen any cars while all this has been going on.It has been the same all ride. As we make our final descent back towards Epidavros, the traffic is non-existent and we havent seen another cyclist all day. Which seems odd considering this part of Greece is actually very cyclist-friendly. Its easy to get to a couple of hours from Athens airport and it has the combination of year-round warm weather, good climbs, good roads, great views and plenty of places to stop for a plate of calamari and a slice of spinach and feta pie.Perhaps the recent release of Christopher Nolans The Odyssey movie will make it more popular much of the action takes place in these parts and several sites around the Peloponnese were used as filming locations. And who doesnt want to take a selfie at the cave where the Cyclops lived? Or perhaps it just needs someone to do a decent job of promoting the Peloponnese as a must-visit region for road cyclists. If only we knew someone who was really good at marketing.Putting on a showEpidavros is home to an amphitheatre still in use after two millenniaIf you were an ancient Greek in need of a bit of R&R, you might be tempted to make the journey to Epidaurus the original name of Epidavros to visit the Sanctuary of Asclepius, god of medicine. Here you could relax, take in the healing waters, find a treatment for your ailments and, best of all, enjoy a show at the 13,000-seater amphitheatre. It was generally believed that music and drama were good for mental and physical health.Almost two and half millennia later, there may be no more spa baths but there are still the architectural remains, and the Theatre of Epidaurus (about a 20-minute drive from the town of Epidavros) is still in use, hosting plays and music think Sophocles more than Lloyd Webber. Now a Unesco World Heritage site, the amphitheatre is in remarkably good nick and is famed not just for its beauty but for the quality of its acoustics. Apparently a whisper on stage is audible in the cheap seats at the back.If youd like to find out for yourself, we suggest booking early. By all accounts getting hold of a ticket can be an epic of Homeric proportions. Go to aefestival.gr to find out more.How we did itTravelCyclist flew from London to Athens, which is well served from UK airports including London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Bristol, depending on time of year. From the airport the only real option is to drive (car hire is plentiful and reasonably cheap), and its about a two-hour drive to the base at Breakaway Greece in the town of Epidavros.AccommodationWe stayed at Chris Wards house Villa Rosa in Epidavros, which doubles as the HQ for Breakaway Greece and enjoys the most amazing views across the sea to Athens. No wonder the balcony is so huge. With only a couple of guest bedrooms in the house, larger groups are booked into one of the nearby hotels in Epidavros, with evening meals taken at local restaurants, most of which serve authentic Greek food to authentic Greeks tourists are mercifully low in numbers.ThanksThanks to Chris Ward, owner of Breakaway Greece, for hosting us, planning the ride, pointing out the best restaurants, and not dropping us too noticeably on the climbs. Breakaway Greece offers the option of guided or unguided rides, either daily from the same base or multi-day tours around the Peloponnese, including The Odyssey for those whod like to ride the sites of the legend (and get home in less than ten years). For prices and details go to breakawaygreece.com.Thanks also to Dimitris Ginis, who took time out from his role as deputy mayor of Epidavros to drive our photographer and act as historical tour guide.The post Big Ride: Ride of the Gods in Greece appeared first on Cyclist.