Evia Track Tour, a GGGG.bici adventure

A story by Giacomo Santi.

When Agis reached out to invite us to the sixth edition of the 1896 Classic Marathon Race Revival, almost a year ago, we knew it was an opportunity we could not miss. Underground fixed gear races have always been a good excuse for us to travel the world, and right away the idea of extending our stay in Greece with some trackbikepacking took shape.

The goal was to experience some authentic Greek wilderness without going too far from Athens, and while looking at the maps, Euboea, more commonly called Evia, immediately caught our attention. Only a few dozen kilometers from the capital, it is the second largest island in Greece, mountainous, wild, and full of beautiful beaches: exactly what we were looking for.

Word started spreading in the Milanese messenger scene, and within a few days we had put together a group of ten people, including two friends from Copenhagen. We landed in Athens on the afternoon of Thursday May 8th, and soon met up with our friends from Barcelona, with whom we shared an apartment for the weekend. We had some really nice days cruising around the city with locals, getting ready for the race and doing the tourist stuff in our own way.

When we asked for advice about the route of our trip, everyone we talked to told us to change destination. “Evia on track bikes is crazy”, they said. Only exception was John Taki, who with a grin told us a not exactly reassuring “you’re gonna have fun”.

Saturday was race day. The course provided in the organizers’ email wasn’t properly our thing, so we decided to reach the only mandatory checkpoint in our own way. After the first 10 kms of control pace, we immediately turned towards the mountains, shortening the route by quite a few kilometers but doubling the elevation. The choice was not exactly appreciated by everyone, but in the end brought Ciocis to take the controversial win and put four of our riders in the top five.

After a big night of celebrations, on Sunday we set off for our trip. The idea was to keep our setups as minimalist and light as possible, cause carrying big weights without brakes and gears is not fun. No tents, no cooking systems, no unnecessary comforts. Only the essentials strapped to the bikes with as few bags as possible.

We switched from dropbars to flatbars, put on a lighter gear ratio and started riding toward Rafina, where we jumped on a ferry to Marmari. From there we enjoyed an amazing sunset ride going south, until we stopped for the first night on one of the beaches at the bottom tip of the island.

The following morning we continued along the coast on some beautiful gravel roads, passing by crystal clear beaches and small fishing villages. The roads were often incredibly steep and rocky, and it would stay that way for the whole trip, but despite days with up to 2500m of climbing, the island and the vibe were so good that no one ever complained.

We stopped for a cheerful dinner in a taverna in Kallianos, and after a generous dose of saganaki, our inseparable companion in the days that followed, we set up camp under the porch of a small church nearby.

The original plan was to ride the full loop around the island, but Evia does not have a very dense road network, so the next day we had to move inland on paved roads in order to get back to the coast about 120kms further north, near Paralia Kymis.

We slept in the gazebo of a beach bar, and from there we headed north again. We hit some incredibly nice, remote and flowy roads with amazing views over the coastline, meeting far more goats than people and often having to skid to avoid them.

When we reached Limnionas Beach that afternoon, the decision to change the next day’s plans so we could spend some chill time by the sea was unanimous. Fueled by the excellent and only taverna in the village, we spent an unforgettable day of sun, sea and beers. We felt a million kilometers away from our daily life in Milan.

Just before sunset we left for our last climb towards the mountains, and at the top of the pass we even managed to spot some snow on Mount Dirfys.

One last rainy night under the small shelter of a church in the village of Kontodespoti, which eventually turned out not to be so waterproof, and we headed toward Chalkida, where we took a train back to the city.

Recent rumors say a video recap of the expedition is currently in the making.

In the meantime, we cannot help but recommend Evia as the destination for your next bikepacking trip.
A warm thank you goes to Agis and the whole 48×17 team for the hospitality and organization. A big hug also to Mike, Pei, the Scvdo crew, Raja from Express Souvlaki and all the friends we met in Athens.

You are all invited to Spiritual Bombing 4 and CMWC 2026 in Milan!

Words by Giacomo Santi.
Photos by Giacomo Santi and Andrea Corbascio

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Check the route on Komoot here.