Day 4 - Alexandropolis to Xanthi (100km)

The highways here a cyclists paradise, brand new, smooth pavement with a superwide shoulder and very little traffic (thank you EU infrastructure fund!).

We planned to ride for an hour or so before breakfast, to get some momentum and a few miles in before the heat started. Sounds like a great plan, eh? Well, 'an hour or so' turned into three, as we were on a main highway with no meaningful stops to speak of, part of which was on a highway with large trucks, under some seriously intense Greek sun.

It created the sort of tension that could bust up even the most beautiful of friendships. Fortunately, I'm with Carrie. We've done a lot together. We will find a way. On the bright side, it offered us an opportunity to air a few issues and to establish a communication approach that will help us to make the distance to Paris. By the end of the day, we could almost already laugh about it.

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I never expected my finance and statistics classes would be useful for bicycle touring in Greece. They are proving invaluable. It turns out that I understand at least enough of the greek alphabet to allow me to make sense of the road signs (though, in retrospect, I probably would have benefited from applying myself more to my derivatives courses). Carrie studied maths in uni. I think she has an advantage over me on this one.

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We finished the day in the inland town of Xanthi. It is a really vibrant town, with zero tourist activity. Kids playing in the park near the main square, riding bicycles and laughing. Adults of every age walking and talking and drinking iced coffee (which is everywhere here). It's a Sunday night and the vibe was unbelievable. The night life is just picking up, but its time for us to head to bed.