The Starting Line - Day 1 - Delightful Graffiti, Motorways and Repairs

28/08/2014 - Thessaloniki

Finally after the 6-7 months I'm at the starting line!

Delightful graffiti spotted on my hunt for supplies

Favorite!

Thanks to the bastard grass, I had to use up my spare tubes and was in great need of a bike shop for some critical expedition equipment!

Got my supplies!

Spare tubes, bastard grass protection, puncture repair kit and some dry lube (hee hee)

It may surprise you but it is impossible to find a map of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, this is probably because of the mutual dislike they have for each other. Part of this is due to a dispute about the name Macedonia as it is historically a region of ancient Greece when the territorial borders where different. The Greeks call the modern country of Macedonia, Skopje after its capital city.

Anyway, to Macedonia/Skopje!

You wouldn't believe the trouble I had getting out of Thessaloniki, It was Motorway Madness! A little stressful I will admit but I kept going.

Working my way along the barrier to keep away from the traffic.

I get the feeling this was not intended to be a walk way, I had to take everything off my bike in order to squeeze though. After this I figured it was a waste of valuable time to be doing this and decided to hug the hard shoulder until I could get off the motorway.

Yup, you guessed it! Another puncture! If you are doing something like this in future, do not use cheap tires. It will cost you in the end. Lucky I only have one cheap tire on the front... its the one that keeps getting punctures, even with bastard grass protection.

Sunset on the motorway, sigh... I'm so totally gay for sunsets.

Power lines!

Not long after passing this sign I met a man walking at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in pitch black. Frustratingly we couldn't understand each other at all and I just had to keep going. He was asking for some kind of help but there was nothing I could do, he may have been a Turkish refugee. Scared me outa me skin!

CAMP