Jewel of the Med
The road is wide and empty the whole way up and its surface consistently as smooth as glass
The shadows are lengthening as we approach the cream-coloured concrete struts of an arched bridge across a dried-up riverbed.
Despite being in the middle of nowhere and carrying nothing more significant than a farm track, the bridge is a local landmark, its distinctive geometric design dating back to the 1930s when the island of Rhodes was part of Italy’s colonial empire.
A moped is buzzing towards us from the opposite side of the bridge. As we get closer, it stops and the rider flags us down. He and his female pillion passenger are, appropriately, Italian tourists. In faltering English he points to his map and asks if they are on the right road for the Gadoura Dam.
My co-rider and island resident, Dave Richardson, shakes his head. Despite the promising trajectory of that dotted line on their map they need to turn around and rejoin the main road. With a cheery ‘Ciao!’ they disappear in a cloud of dust.
When they sit down for dinner later and review their day, they’ll probably remember the two charming cyclists they met on that beautiful bridge at dusk and wish that they too had hired a pair of road bikes and had a proper adventure under their own steam. ‘It looked like great
