Ride25 — London to Sydney by bike, one leg a year
Book

Leg 7

Thessaloniki to Istanbul

3 countries – Greece, Bulgaria & Turkey, far reaching views, coastline, varied food, diverse culture, quiet rural roads, swimming in the Black Sea, mosques, turkish flags, former capital of the Ottoman Empire, The Bosphorus, staying in an Ottoman Palace & ultimately Asia!

Ridden by the Pioneers — no longer available to book

This is the route and itinerary as it was planned for the ride, kept as a record of the journey so far. For legs you can still join, see the Book Now page.

Pioneers Leg 7 — Thessaloniki to Istanbul, May 2018
Dates
23rd to 27th May 2018
Start
Thessaloniki Seafront – 8.00am Wednesday 23rd May 2018
Finish
Istanbul on the Bosphorus – 18.00 Sunday 27th May 2018
Days’ Cycling
5
Distance
814 km
Total climbing
9,696 m climbing
Max capacity
125 people

Itinerary

  1. Pre-Start – Thessaloniki 7.30pm 22nd May 2018

    Drinks (Pay bar!) at the Makedonia Palace Hotel on the night before the ride. It will be a great opportunity to pick up your shirts and see everyone again before the cycling begins the next morning.

  2. Day 1 – Thessaloniki to Kavala 163 km 1,901 m total ascent

    Our Grand Depart will be from the Makedonia Palace Hotel on the seafront in Thessaloniki and we will quickly leave the hustle & bustle of the city to cycle through the woods. Over the first 13 km we enjoy (!) our only major climb of the day to 518 m. What a way to start! This is the hardest climb of the whole leg with gradients of 5-20%. The rest of the morning is spent cycling around Lakes Volni & Boronia in a large National Park of over 2 million acres – renowned for it’s ecological value. Lunch is overlooking the beach in Asprovolta. The vast majority of the day is on quiet roads with amazing views, vineyards & olive groves. Dinner is in an open air roof top restaurant above the hotel overlooking the Kavala harbour.

    Day 2 Strava Route

  3. Day 2 – Kavala to Glavatartsi – 172 km, 2,731 m total ascent

    Day 2 is again the day to remember! After a flat 48 km to Xanthi we begin a steady climb towards the Bulgarian border on very quiet rural roads with outstanding views. We have our last greek meal in a village famous for it’s hot springs and spit roasted lambs. We then cross the border to Bulgaria using a little used border crossing near Zlatograd before continuing on quiet roads for the majority of the day. We pass through the busy town of Khardzhali before finishing at a lakeside Bulgarian resort called Glavatartsi.

    Day 3 Strava Route

  4. Day 3 – Glavatartsi to Edirne – 151 km, 1,454 m total ascent

    We leave the lake and begin our journey on quiet roads all day through rural Bulgaria past numerous horse and carts and a simple way of life. Outstanding, far reaching views all day as we pass through Bulgaria’s finest vineyards. Late lunch at a beautiful fish restaurant overlooking the river in Svelingrad. We then pass across the border back into Greece before another border crossing out of the EU and into Turkey.

    Edirne is is a culturally rich city that was the former capital of the Ottoman Empire. We have dinner overlooking the river and the mosques of Edirne in the distance.

    Day 4 Strava Route

  5. Day 4 – Edirne to Çerkezköy – 172 km, 1,352 m total ascent

    We begin by climbing past Selimiye Mosque – one of the finest mosques in Islamic architecture dating from the 1500’s. The morning involves cycling through 64 km of open farmland, rollercoaster roads and far reaching views. There is a busier period in the middle of the day before continuing on quiet roads through the afternoon. There is a small section of compacted sand in the afternoon before arriving in Çerkezköy.

    Day 5 Strava Route

  6. Day 5 – Çerkezköy to Istanbul – 166 km, 2,256 m total ascent

    The last day of cycling in Europe before reaching Asia! The morning involves gently undulating hills on farmland & woodland. Lunch is at a well known fish restaurant on the Black Sea. Due to the lack of alternative roads we do cycle along dual carriage-way for circa 48 km on day 5. The road is new tarmac with three lanes and a large hard shoulder. There is very little traffic on the road and we are able to cycle along the hard shoulder. The only road bikes seen on the recce were on this road! We finish by cycling through the woods on the outskirts of Istanbul before cycling the last 18 km along the Bhosphorus. The finish is at the only Ottoman Palace and Hotel in Istanbul. Home for the night is the 5* Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel .

    Day 6 Strava Route