2019 London to Athens Cycling

Two Imperial students set off on their cycle venture in early July 2019, arriving in Athens in mid-August, with the aim of wild camping where possible. Having arrived in Calais on the ferry from Dover, the pair headed to their first campsite at Dunkirk. Following this the team were able to cycle over 100km per day over the easy rolling landscape, allowing them to quickly reach Luxembourg City. The cycle to Strasbourg comprised mainly cycle paths and canal towpaths before the first big hills were encountered in southern Germany just before traversing Lake Bodensee. Then followed the Alps where the pair negotiated the Hochtannberg Pass (1,679m), and despite the impressive scenery the torrential rain forced them to take refuge near the summit. The next stage was 15km up to Hahntennjoch (1,894m), and following a descent they climbed again up to the Solden Ski resort.

The next challenge was Timmelsjoch Passo Rombo (2,509m), the highest point of the trip, which involved 25km of accent with sustained gradients of +10% at places. The decent of hairpin bends took the team into Italy which then provided a flat phase before they tackled Passo Manghen (2,042m), the final pass with a brutal 8% average gradient over 16km which has been regularly included in the Giro d’Italia. Arriving in Venice provided a rest day and allowed them to enjoy the festival of the Redeemer with street parties and a firework display over the bay. Travelling to Rijeka in Slovenia was difficult as the temperature soared to 40°C and cycling along the rugged unrelenting Adriatic coastline in Croatia was confined to early in the day when it was cooler. They did allow a number of breaks which provided opportunities to dip into the Mediterranean Sea.

They also visited the Sibenik national park before heading to Split through a storm where they stayed for 4 days seeing the Roman sights and the beautiful surrounding islands. It only took several hours to pass through Bosnia and Herzegovia before re-entering Croatia to visit Dubrovnik. The pair followed the coast road, and took some boat crossings, through Montenegro before they arrived in Albania its poor road quality and with little attention given to cyclists by drivers and a lack of minor roads forced them to reluctantly cycle on the motorways. The coastline on this stretch was mountainous with climbs starting at sea level and rising to over 1,000m, however the pair slowed down to enjoy the low cost of living in the country, and to have rest days on the beach. In Greece it helped that the large A roads were relatively traffic free and they quickly reached Athens on the 19th of August, where they spent four days resting and sightseeing.

In addition to funding provided by the Exploration Board this expedition was supported by the Old Centralians' Trust.