Crete

Relatively easy ride for the most part, with some notable exceptions. Some parts are quite hard. One of the most challenging parts was leaving Arhanes. Behind mount Giouhtas, the road was off-road and very steep downhill. There is no way I could have climbed this part on my return. These are roads the farmer use to reach their olive trees, etc. I've done it in August and there was some mud; I suspect that it's going to be much worse other times of the year. However, once I started encountering villages, the views was rewarding and the people very welcoming. The whole trip was done between 6.30pm and midnight. One has to be very careful with dangerous drivers. I was wearing a reflective vest and had bright lights. I was stepping off the road when I had a car far behind me and was approaching a blind turn. Descending to Tripiti beach was also off-road and kind of steep. Not as hard as the part after Arhanes, but not pleasant. Although, the views are amazing during daytime.

Nice route with some quite demanding parts. There is a tough initial 370m climb in about ~8km on tough road. It's mainly unpaved and when it is paved, it's actually worse as the asphalt is full of grooves and it feels like grinding. The views were very rewarding though. Generally, I was going off road when I had the chance, passing from villages, which was very nice. When I had to use the main road, it was not pleasant: Ligortynos to Tefeli and, even worse, Armanogeia to Archanes was stressful. There were a lot of cars and a lot of blind turns, but the views were rewarding. Next time, I will definitely try to find a way to avoid the main roads, even if that means more off-road.