The accidental tourist does it again. This time business
took me to the Greek island of Rhodes. I was to invited to give a
lecture at a conference. My riding buddy Roberto Bolli from
Louisville KY was also a speaker so we made a pact that we would
try to spend a free day motorcycling. During one of the
conference days we had a few spare hours and went for a walkabout
outside the hotel to look for our mounts. We didn't have to go
far to find scooter and motorcycle rentals. The first 5 or six
rental shops we found had only scooters and a few had some ratty
250 cc dual-purpose singles. A scooter was strictly last resort
and the dual-purpose machines didn't ring my bell either. On down
the street I spotted a Yamaha 650 cc Drag Star sitting in front
of a pub and told Roberto that what we need. We were checking it
out when its owner (or technically its leasee) suddenly appeared.
Yes, it was a rental and he directed us to A. Montaidis in Ixia
(Tel 90981) a few blocks down the street. There we found a
variety of bikes from a Harley Wide Glide ($100 a day) a well
used sportster ($50) to scooters ($7). They had only one Drag
Star but it would be available for our ride on Sunday for $30
(insurance included). For our second mount Roberto chose a 250 cc
Virago ($10 per day). A deposit was made and we were in business.
Rhodes is a Greek island in the Mediterranean sea about 7 miles off the Turkish coast. The Turkish mainland is clearly visible from the beach. It is about 40 miles long and 15 miles wide. It has been populated for thousands of years and was a thriving center in the ancient Greek civilization. There are still some remnants of ancient Greek temples on the island but the most prominent of the antiquities are those left by the crusaders who populated the island for more than 100 years in the middle ages. The Knights of Saint John built impressive fortifications which still stand today and whose walls encircle the Old Town of the capital city Rodos (actually the Greeks call the entire island Rodos, Rhodes is strictly an English misnomer). Rhodes was also the site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. As a tribute to the sun god the inhabitants built a giant statue of Apollo out of bronze that stood about 100 feet high called the Colossus in Rodos city. The thing could be seen far out to sea and made Rhodes a tourist attraction even then. Unfortunately an earthquake knocked it down in the first century AD flattening some unlucky houses built in its shadow. It was not reconstructed and the bronze was sold off for scrap so that no remnant of it survives today. Archeologists are not even sure where it stood.
The weather was clear but windy on Sunday when we picked up the bikes. Finding the Drag Star was a real stroke of luck because I have had my eye on the Yamaha cruisers and was dying to test drive one. The Drag Star is a low-priced Harley Wannabe. Yamaha makes this bike in two flavors. The V Star has fat tires front and rear and covers over the forks while the Drag Star has a skinny front tire and naked forks like a Harley Wide Glide. The bike is essentially the Royal Star chassis with a V-twin engine. The Styling is right on. The Tank is wide enough to play a game of solitaire on and the Speedo is right in the middle of the tank where Mr. Harley said it should be. The Drag Star has a shaft drive with an exposed shaft like the old BMWs of the 50s. I would hate to get my pants wrapped up in that shaft at 70 mph! The engine is an air head just like the Harley which eliminates the ugly radiator and shallow fake fins found on most of the other Harley imposters. The seat was comfortable with pegs way out front forcing the rider to assume the "sit up and beg" posture but it was comfortable. The Virago looked more like a 535 in size but the engine was a gutsy 250 cc V twin. It had a teardrop tank and a sharp paint scheme.
We said our good byes and took to the highway. We turned off at a sign that said Lindos, our first destination about 25 miles away. Now it must be appreciated that Greeks do not number their roads. Rather, you simply follow the signs from one town to the next. If there is no sign at an intersection then you need local knowledge as to which way to turn. If there is a sign it will more than likely be in Greek which is also a challenge as they use a different alphabet from us with lots of PIs and Deltas and stuff like that. I was leading the way and immediately ran out of signs and got lost. On the positive side I stumbled on Mount Smith the site of Rodos's acropolis. Acropolis means high place and high places were the ancient's favored spots for temples (closer to the gods and all that). There were a few columns of a temple still standing and archeological excavations around it. Its worth noting that the Greeks used the high ground for churches while the more paranoid crusaders used it for fortifications. A quick look at a map said take the road south and we should cross the main highway to Lindos. From Mount Smith I could see the sea to the south so off we went.
The road took us straight to Rodos city. We emerged at a traffic light but we were clearly going the wrong way on a one way street and to make matters worse we were facing a police car waiting for the light to change. Who knows what "one-way do not enter" looks like in Greek. We took an immediate right when the light changed and the cop fell in behind us but turned off at the next intersection. Relieved but still lost we happened upon the waterfront and followed the coast to the south west which dead-ended in a huge orthodox church just letting out from Sunday services. There we had a quick Pow Wow. Roberto is a native of Italy and is used to finding his way on unmarked winding streets. Also, he had taken a course in ancient Greek and could read the signs much better than I. So Roberto and the Virago moved to the point.
Roberto quickly found another Lindos sign and within minutes we were on the main highway to Lindos. The Drag Star did well on the road. With only 650cc in the boiler room it lacks the torque of its American cousins. But with a little RPM it could accelerate quite briskly. It was also felt about 100 lbs lighter than a wide glide. The Drag Star was shinny new with only 8000 miles on the clock but I suspect that it had a transmission problem. Under acceleration the drive felt notchy, sort of like riding a chain- drive bike with a worn out chain. The engine appears to have originally been designed for chain drive. A housing containing bevel gears was then bolted to where the drive sprocket would have been and the drive shaft emerged from that back to the rear wheel. I felt that the chatter must have come from a defective bevel unit since I couldn't believe that Yamaha would let a bike leave the factory with such an annoying vibration. If anyone out there can verify my theory please drop me an e-mail. Cruising at 80-90 kph (about 55 mph) the Drag Star was smooth quiet and comfortable. Traffic was too heavy to go much faster. The road was full of tourists on scooters and we flew past them on the bikes. No Viagra for us, we were real men! Occasionally we would pass farmers crawling along on most unusual looking three wheeled contraptions that looked like a Cushman's worst nightmare. Notice that the fellow in the picture seems to be out on a date.
Rodos is quite mountainous. The climate is very dry so that vegetation is sparse and the hills are brownish green. The Mediterranean sea is as deep a blue as you could imagine with bright sandy beaches. The highway followed the coast so the scenery was nothing short of spectacular. The highway was good but there appeared to be a thin coating of dust on the pavement (It probably hadn't rained for some time). The dust made the pavement slick and my rear tire broke loose several times on acceleration and braking. As a result we tip-toed through the turns for fear of loosing it.
Our first stop was the Panagia Tsambika monastery perched high upon a tall conical mountain by the sea. A road went about 2/3 of the way to the top which we took. It was about a 25% grade and zig zaged up the mountain and was quite challenging. To add to the excitement it was over run with mountain goats which were in no hurry to get out of the way. There was a restaurant at the end of the road and a foot path to the monastery which appeared to go straight up. We chose the restaurant and had a soda.
After another 20 minutes on the road Lindos loomed into view. It is an ancient city built into the side of the mountain. It was the second largest city in ancient Rodos and has been largely preserved in its ancient state. A lagoon serves as a harbor/beach at the foot of the mountain and an acropolis sits at the top. the city is in between. We parked the bikes and entered the town. The streets are winding and narrow (pedestrians only). The buildings are all white with red tiled roofs. Today the town abounds with tourist shops but 2 thousand years ago these same shops must have sold food and clothes to the inhabitants. We had a light lunch of pita bread with taramasalada and humus dip. We sweated our way up a nearly vertical path to the acropolis. Donkeys were available for hire to ride up to the acropolis but they looked fierce so we opted to walk. On top of a cliff several hundred feet above the sea the view was outstanding. We could see down ino a grotto containing several sail boats at anchor. It was a good acropolis with lots of temple ruins and some crusader fortifications thrown in for good measure.
Back at the parking lot Roberto and I swapped bikes. The little Virago was great and really had all the power needed for a tour of Rodos. Our next destination was Epta Piges (seven springs) about half way back to Rodos City. While Rodos looks almost desert like Epta Piges took us to an almost tropical lush forest. A stream made its way through the forest with periodic rapids and cascades as it meandered down the mountain. A taberna (outdoor restaurant) was situated along the banks under the trees. Since it hardly rains in Greece most of restaurants have no roof. The place oozed with romance and would be a great place to take a woman.
Our next target was the dreaded valley of the butterflies. This place during July is invaded by millions of butterflies and is a must see for tourists. To get there we had to cross the mountains by secondary roads. The first leg to Archipoli was easy with good roads and deep forest. the next leg to Psinthos was another story. The road had at one time been paved but less than a third of the tarmac remained. Also the grade grew steeper and the road followed ridges and ledges with many sharp turns. This was done essentially in 2nd and 3rd gear as we tried to keep on what pavement remained and avoid the mile-deep pot holes. Occasionally a car would suddenly appear from around a curve which meant a quick dash to our side of the road. At Psinthos, a village of about 10-20 houses we picked up a signs for butterflies (in English although badly misspelled). The valley, actually a 40 foot deep canyon high in the mountain, was again heavily wooded making a lush canopy above us and a clear stream ran through it. A well marked path followed the stream up the canyon to the end where a waterfall cascaded down the canyon wall. Unfortunately there was not a butterfly to be seen so we were safe (they arrive in July).
About this time we were getting hungry so we decided to look for a taberna for dinner. We headed north to the coastal town of Soroni. The road down the mountain was excellent with smooth pavement and lots of sharp turns. Also the pavement felt much more sticky than the coastal road. I was back on the Drag Star so it was time to have some fun. Full throttle on the straight-aways and brake hard deep into the turns. I did this for about 5 miles. I was really proud of myself until I saw that Roberto had stayed right behind me on the little Virago.
When we hit the north coast road we turned west and in about 5 miles I spotted a sign for a Taberna. We went about a quarter mile down a gravel road until we came to the beach. There right on the beach was a little taberna. Perfect! The time was 6:30 and the taberna was deserted except for the owner and a waiter who were at a table smoking and drinking beer. This did not indicate a bad restaurant, however, since the Greeks do not eat until about 10 PM. The only question was could we order at such an early hour? There was a little exchange in Greek between the two and then the owner smiled and motioned us to a table. We ordered a Greek salad (of course) and Kalamari (fried squid) which was fantastic. We also ordered a 20 oz bottle of Retsina wine to wash it down. Retsina is fermented in pine barrels whos wood is rich in resin. As a result the first swallow always tastes a little like paint thinner. Roberto, a pretty serious wine connoisseur, grimaced at the first drink but soon was gulping it freely. We ate a first class meal and watched the surf on the beach which was only about 50 feet from our table. The dollar is very strong in Greece and as a result the whole dinner cost 2000 drachmas or $6 for both of us.
Most of the riders we saw on the island were bare headed. Since both Roberto and I essentially work with our brains we are dedicated helmet users. We had borrowed some helmets from the rental place but they were pretty ratty and the visors had long since been lost. As a result over dinner we discovered that we both had gotten badly sunburned faces and my nose is still peeling as I write this. My advice is to take some sun screen because the Mediterranean sun can be fierce. With full stomachs we rode the last 15 miles back to Ixia and turned in the bikes. Other than the sunburn, it was truly a perfect day.
