Bikepacking To The Gods: An Epic Greek Cycling Odyssey
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- čas přidán 1. 10. 2022
- Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and the mythical home of the Greek gods. At 2,917 metres in altitude, getting to the top is no mean feat, but that is exactly what Conor and Hank are doing. Starting in the city of Thessaloniki, they will bikepack along the coast before climbing to the summit. In every sense of the word, this is a true cycling epic!
In association with:
Storck 👉 gcn.eu/StorckBikes
Jack Wolfskin 👉 gcn.eu/GCNJackWolfskin
Epic Greek Bikepacking Adventure | Bikes & Kit Check 👉 • Epic Greek Bikepacking...
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Watch more on GCN...
📹 575km Gravel Epic In One Go?! | Hank Vs Old Chalk Way 👉 • 575km Gravel Epic In O...
📹 Watch our Editor’s Choice Playlist 👉 gcn.eu/editorschoice
📹 Or why not check out our Features Playlist 👉 gcn.eu/gcnfeatures
🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
Agua de Jamaica - Ch@ntarelle
All Wound Up - Tigerblood Jewel
Antelope - Ava Low
Appeased Soundscape 11 - August Wilhelmsson
Bird of Mouth - Molife
City of Thessaloniki - Trabant 33
Collapse - STRLGHT
Don't Wanna Sleep - Swif7
Ermou Street - George Prokopiou
Evening - Twelwe
Floating Kite - Tellsonic
Gothenburg - Tellsonic
Jumping Out the Gym! - DJ DENZ The Rooster
Like Shadows - Ooyy
MEET-CUTE (Instrumental Version) - Soleil
Our Last Stand - FormantX
streetscape - Aiyo
The Dance of Zeus - George Prokopiou
The Proposition - Victor Lundberg
Why Did I - HATAMITSUNAMI
Wicked Games - Philip Ayers
#gcn #cycling #roadbike #roadcycling #greece #bike #bikepacking #adventure #bikelife #cyclinglife
Photos: © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Bettiniphoto / www.bettiniphoto.net/
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Where would you go on your perfect bikepacking adventure?
Australian to a small country town with a pub that serves cold beer & a sensational parmy.
You should come to Bulgaria!
Love my local Cascade mountains, but would someday love to do the mountains arounds Slovenia.
@@AussieInJapan So anywhere in NZ. A "parmy" is presumably some kind of pie.
NZ South Island
Australia
Oh what an absolute delight this was! You guys went on a proper adventure. This is my favorite kind of GCN content for sure. Also really enjoy the branching to other countries to see what they have to offer in terms of biking adventures, really cool stuff.
We're glad you enjoyed it! We do loads of adventures like this on GCN+, check them out here 👉gcn.eu/GCNFilms
Thanks so much!! Conor
Excellent video. I was lucky enough to meet Conor and James on their experience on day two. They were just resting at the side of the street, which gave me the opportunity to jump out of the car for a short chat and some photoes. As an enthusiastic rider and GCN watcher this absolutly random encounter left me speechless and delighted. Both of them actually are as heartwarming and gentle as we know them. Thanks to you guys for brighting up my bikeless holiday.
Keep on creating this kind of content.
Best regards
Patrick
Ah nice one Patrick!!! Great to meet you!! Glad you enjoyed the video... What a place we were all lucky enough to travel through. All the best Conor
The bikepacking videos from GCN are a gem.
Here in Greece, cycling tourism is on the rise the last two years. There are many mountains to climb with amazing views and most of the route will be with very few cars. Pretty much a climbers paradise. But, don't expect the tarmac to be as good as the one in the video.
Everyone tells me not to expect good roads in Greece, but I've found the roads to be better than those I often encounter in the United States. My rides in Greece have been in the vicinity of Corinth and Loutraki. The roads there are generally in very good condition.
@@gregvassilakos I didn't say that they are generally bad. It depends the region. Many times, if a road has little traffic it is rarely maintained. This summer I did the tour of Corfu. Beautiful route but the worst road network I have ever seen.
Greece totally lacks the infrastructure to accommodate bicycles, but that's not all, the worst of it is that the drivers here are probably the worst in all of Europe. It's extremely dangerous to use the road network. It is a sad situation.
@@Gk9311 I disagree. It is not more dangerous than any other country in Europe. In Athens and Thessaloniki it is sketchy but in the rest of Greece it is safe enough, especially on country roads. Also, I haven't heard of any other country where cyclists and heavy vehicles drivers have mutual respect. More than once, a truck driver protected me against other cars, or waited for me patiently to cross. And on narrow roads, whenever I can I pull over to let them pass.
@@Gk9311 Yes, and it astounds me that Greek cities are not following the lead of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, Oslo, Barcelona, etc ... in creating networks of protected bike lanes and restricting parking to get people out of their cars. Greece has the best climate for cycling in all of Europe. Greece must import all of its petroleum and motor vehicles. Shifting people onto bicycles would have tremendous benefit for both the environment and the economy.
Possibly the best piece of content you've pulled off as of yet! Brotherhood, cycling, adventure, what more can you ask for :)
Thanks, Viktor! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks Viktor, we had a blast filming this one. Glad you enjoyed the watch!! Conor
@@conordunne1 I love that you do stuff I never will. Kind of Advanced Master Class lol. Mine is Artemis.
Imagine climbing that mountain and coming across two brand new Storck gravel bikes. Your prayers would've been answered, and amazing descent would follow 😂
Well done guys 👍
I really love that Conor pats on Hank on the shoulder all the time which is usually something Hank does to... everyone? In one of the GCN shows, there should be a compilation of "Hank pats"
"I'm putting my like in the hands of Hank"... You're a braver man than me, Connor! 🤣🤣
It dawned on me once more when we were tied together.....
Absolutely one of the best gcn videos yet! Didn't even mind the product plugs! Thank you Hank and Connor for a truly EPIC adventure!!I love how you demonstrated that improvisation is essential when bikepacking! It NEVER totally goes to plan. Fox, cameraman, clothes. It all calls for thinking on your feet. Great idea for bike attachment Hank! Great video, but it made me squeamish!! I couldn't have takenthose heights!! Well done both. Thanks for taking us along on the adventures!! Can't wait for the next one!!
Ah that's super nice to read, big thanks Geoffrey!! It was some adventure, absolutely loved it. Glad you enjoyed the video!! Can't wait for the next one now :) All the best, Conor
This always bothered me with cycling and Greece. Even the Capital, Athens, has 3 alpine-length climbs surrounding it. The country's perfect for cycling yet it remains completely unknown in the global community. Thanks for sharing GCN! Hope you enjoyed your trip.
Glad you enjoyed our backyard, guys! Plenty more climbing and other hidden gems in Greece, both in the north around our Thessaloniki and all over the country really, mountains, valleys, lakes, islands, you name it! Add incredible weather year round to the mix, and you have yourself a cyclist's paradise. We consider ourselves really lucky around here... See you next time around. (PS: one very quick question, how did you get off the mountain? 😁)
Thanks Dimitrios!! I loved Greece so much. We are actually planning something more in Crete at the moment, if you know anyone in the cycling scene there who might be good to get in touch with.. it'd be super helpful! And we rode off the mountain, bottom to top in one go. Actually it was a big regret we didn't film it, I still have blisters from the descent ha. thanks for watching, Conor
I am very happy to see GCN in Greece(or Hellas as the proper name is) long time sub but no mention of my country! So this is exactly what people need to see and come explore and have fun here! I encourage anyone to come with their bike and have the time of their life (during the summer months as far as cycling goes)! kudos for the pronunciation spot on! More videos please!
Cycling is good here almost all year around, August being disgustingly hot and maybe Feb being a little cold/wet but I do agree its good to see some "mainstream" coverage of cycling in Greece
Greece was AWESOME! We'd love to come back soon, if not for the cycling, then a bit of sun! 😉
I’m planning to come next spring and then go on to Turkey
@@Ok_rouleur First part of your plan is excellent the second half no! You can visit Konstantinoupoli but nothing else(in my opinion)! Italy also is a great choice which is nearby! Also Spain ! Or after your visit here a tour of Balkan countries!
@@gcn plenty of amazing routes to explore
These kinds of titles get me so hyped
I am a Australian Greek and hail from Thessaloniki. Greece is a beautiful place to ride bikes. I keep 2 bikes in Greece and love riding on both road and gravel. Great to see GCN doing something in the most beautiful place on earth. You should also do a similar climbing video on Mt Parnasos and Meteora. Again great mythical places. Love GCN
One of my favorite films on your channel & any adventure / biking channel for that matter. Well done, this video deserves to be seen and loved.
As a bloke of Greek decent (but Aussie passport) and an Olympian and a person who has always wanted to go to Greece and a gravel cyclist you have hit all my hot buttons at once. Great video. I’m going as soon as I can. Great work guys.
⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠👍👍👍👍👍FEEDBACK TIME: THIS is one of the video type i really enjoy and why i also signed up for GCN+. The adventure, comradery, sceneries, challenge, the gears.... The perfect video.
For guys who travel a lot, no cash is rather a huge error. Looks like a lovely trip.
One of my favorate GCN adventure!
That's a great video guys! So everybody knows about the greek island and beaches, but no one knows that Greece is about 80% mountains, wild, pristine and seriously beautiful!
Bloody fantastic!!! THIS IS THE WAY. Forget about $10,000 carbon bikes or even $150 3D printed titanium GPS brackets that 99% of us will never be able to afford. Keep this adventure biking videos coming. Kudos to Connor and Hank for reaching the summit and this fantastic greek odissey.
My mother land. What a beautiful video you guys have done. I have family in Thessaloniki, I do miss it. Thank you all who worked on this. Great riding, looking forward to more like these.
This Conor and Hank bromance is really the content I needed today
Good job you didn't send Si - those cows running loose by the roadside would not have met with his approval 🤣
Well done great Vid, I am British but live in Thessaloniki. I bike pack through central mainland Greece every summer, I get that you had to do Olympus as it is the most famous peak but there are actually much more spectacular on and off road bike packing routes from Pindos mountains through Tsoumerka, Agrafa and Karpenisi down to Delphi. All that takes about 10 days but is stunning. Greece is the Secret bike packing paradise. Shhh dont tell anyone.😁
That final ascent puts a new spin on the concept of ‘being dropped’ 🧗♂️
Greece is brilliant place to ride. Greeks will tell you that you'd be mad for cycling there, but I found the roads to feel generally safer than the UK and the surfaces are super smooth, with huge climbs/descents all over the place. I stayed several months in Athens and found some of the best climbs I've ever ridden right out of the city. Combine that with gorgeous sea to cool off in, it's perfect.
Awesome ride! Thanks guys for picking our beautiful country to show it to the world! Hope you had a great time here in Greece and get back to discover some more of our hidden "gems"!
We'd love to come back!
Being forthcoming to travelers is deeply engrained in Greece because of their myths.
Who knows, could be some god in human disguise, better be nice…😄
Absolutely love the country!
Tremendous visuals, loved seeing it. Can we please have a short video demonstrating the jacket bike sling technique, Hank?
The word "epic" gets overused quite often these days but not in this case. Truly an epic trip for Conor and Hank.
Thanks for the epic comment! We're glad you thought it was as epic as we did - stay tuned for more epic videos coming soon!
@@gcn Epic
One of the best videos you’ve produced
Thanks Levi!!
BEST GCN content for sure. Is there a bikepacking GCN channel? If not, I have no idea what yall are waiting for :D FUN!
whatever gcn pays Hank, double it. He's the best GCN presenter among a ton of good ones.
I've never wanted a Gravel bike as much as I do now. What an adventure!?
An epic ride wouldn't be proper without some hike-a-bike. Sometimes, I have to do the same when in the mountains here in Colorado.
Phenomenal adventure and video, thanks for sharing. 🤘👍
Such a great video, and these two are a GREAT adventure pair. Great music, editing, and of course camera work as well. Wish I could give more than one like.
I'd find no trouble at all climbing to the top, but sitting there like you guys did having at the back of my head that literally at the back of it is just a space with a limited surface under my body to hold it and not let it fall into the abyss... I feel like I need to lay down on the floor just by thinking of it. That was quite a horror movie before a bedtime. Thanks GCN!
This is without doubt my all time favourite GCN video. Thank you so much for making & sharing this with us all, I could actually feel the emotion. This is the sort of adventure/holiday I can only dream of ❤😊
Thanks so much Andrew, that's super kind! All the best, Conor
You guys are so brave in getting to the peak! Why am I so glued to GCN videos? I only got into cycling this year… thank you guys and you should be on mainstream TV!
Better than ‘mainstream’ TV! Stay on YT where you make brilliant films for fans, not dumbed down reality TV for the masses.
Thanks for the message, Nadeem, welcome to the community! If you loved this content, you'll love what we're doing over on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/GCNFilms
Didn't know you were here. I would come to meet you. I've done a part of this route recently, bikepacking, but I had mechanical problems and a lot of punctures in the section Alexandria-Aiginio, so I decided to stay in a camping in Makrygialos for a couple of days and return back to Halkidiki. Never reached Meteora as planned. Exiting Thessaloniki is quite difficult, due to the lack of bike lanes and heavy traffic. Next time you will come to Thessaloniki, I suggest biking to the East, to Halkidiki, especially during Autumn or late Spring to avoid heavy traffic. It has better tarmac and we can show you around. There are great mountainous routes in Holomon mountain - covered in oak and chestnut trees - and coastal "diamonds" as well. You are legends! Plot twist: finding Zeus wearing Hank's clothes while pedaling on his bike trainer!
Awesome film, well done guys! I had vertigo just watching those summit scenes. Amazing!
All I can say is WOW!! Love these epic adventures. Hank and Conor again literally ROCKED this video. Well done GCN for another excellent video to keep us subscribers glued to our screens.
We're glad you enjoyed it! We do loads of adventures like this on GCN+, check them out here 👉gcn.eu/GCNFilms
When I saw this my mind went like "Can´t wait for GCN go on a bikepacking adventure to summit mount Everest xD." Imagining Connor and Hank making stupid one liner jokes while biking through Khumbu Icefall.............(and yes, I need help xD)
Feeling so motivated after this!
Go get it! Monday motivation at its BEST!
This reveals so much what a really, really nice guy Hank is.... Supportive, gentle, encouraging.
I'm so glad you visited my home country Greece. Whilst Greece is not very popular is cycling culture it has some breathtaking, literally and figuratively, mountainous roads.
On a side-note, if you think Thessaloniki is hectic, try Athens 🙂
I wanted to see the boys ride down the mountain! That's why you carry them up after all.
I love Greece, they’re the nicest people on the planet!
Good job climbing the mountain, and kudos to your camera person, really impressive shots.
So, so pleased to see a cycling adventure in Greece on the channel. You also need to come to Crete! Just as you say, early in the morning even good roads outside major cities have hardly any traffic. On farm roads you are lucky to meet anyone.
Crete would be incredible - we'd love to visit!
@@gcn, I'd be more than happy to do anything to help, just let me know!
I’m only 5 minutes in but I can tell the rest of this video is going to be amazing!
We're glad you're enjoying it, and hope you loved the rest of the video too! Always great to hear from THE GCN Fan!
Awesome video guys! Another Great GCN video. Thanks for sharing!
The best GCN video ever!
This content is so good! I can't believe it only has 242k views in 7 months. Its a shame really, someone making a video pranking someone in public will get a million views in 2 days, smh. Keep up the good work. I know it must of took a ton of work to put this video out.
Welcome guys to my city and to my country.
I loved the music background and of course I was big suprise to see you there.
I hope you come back soon and to enjoy the Greek hospitality.
What an epic adventure!!!!! More of this please🤙
Noted 🙌
You guys really do have the best job in the world.
Loved this.
One of the coolest vids i've seen here in a while. Inspirational - wild - well rounded - pure adventure.
Love the chemistry between you both - made the film
What an epic ride! Amazing! Really enjoyed this video guys!
Epic fellas 👏👏👏 Love tagging along on these journeys and great drone footage on this one 👍
Big thumbs up. Awesome achievement for you both. I don't have the words, so just brilliant and then some:)
Amazing video guys... Happy to see you in my cycling "neighborhood"...
What a treat this was! 💪🏽💪🏽 hope to see more of this kind of videos!!
Wow, epic tour, nice pictures. Thanks guys for taking us with you.
Beautiful!! What a great video!!
Epic adventure guys - everything about this is inspirational - many thanks!
What a fantastic video! Love it when GCN goes on an adventure, super inspiring!!
Such an amazing video! Geniuely one of the best I've watched in a while 😀
This was an epic video, thanks for taking me along on your trip to Mt. Olympus. Thoroughly enjoyed it!!
loved this. what an adventure! and what a great team GCN has. incredible!
Amazing. Good job to both of you and rest of the team. Thank you
One of the best videos, well done lads, super brave to climb to the top.
Absolutely crazy! Well done lads.
Absolutely amazing guys, what an adventure
Epic adventure. Thank guy's👍
Wonderful video and storytelling. Love these kinds of videos from you!
That was quite an odyssey. Enjoyed every second. Thanks chaps.
Awesome video guys. I can remember my dad telling me stories about climbing Olympus 😀
AMAZING. Well done lads. Brave getting up that summit!
Wow! That was just awesome…you guys just keep raising the bar. Enjoyed that video so much. Keep up the great work and videos.
Amazing. What an adventure. And such a good destination.
absolutely amazing! well done fellas
This a great adventure. Thank you very much. Love it you both are always great for some epic epic crazzzy adventures. Keep it up and enjoy. Thank you Gcn for always having an awesome epic content.
Really inspiring and entertaining. Kudos lads.
one of the best GCN productions. what a great ride
Absolutely stunning. I climbed it last year. Sea level to summit. Best climb I’ve ever done and a super long day!! Chapeau guys
Beautiful and epic ride!!! 😍 Watching Hank walking the ridgeline making me nervous 🤣
Great GCN quality content as usual , u can even feel leg pain trough it 16:38 🦵
Love the bikepacking content! Keep it up!
Amazing video and even more amazing to see Hank described as the most sensible person on the team. Well done guys. More videos like this.
He's also the only one with serious climbing experience. I believe this is what Conor meant,
So cool to watch! I already enjoyed Manon's adventures and now you two guys. Awesome! Please keep up with this content.
Fantastic! I enjoyed that so much! Thank you😊
This is amazing, please do more videos like this, big adventure in amazing location.
Funniest thing I’ve seen watching the tall guy riding a kids bike, too funny!
That was actually quite dangerous! The ropes are not tied anywhere, but only on one another so if one falls the others would anchor
Totally amazing guys, that was epic, what an achievement, well done 👍👍
Videos like these continue to inspire us to push thru with our cycling hobby.
What an incredible production