[Closed] Riding on a Neilson holiday, anybody been?

I've done a fair bit of the off-road riding at Vassiliki which was excellent although they do tend to use road for the uphills as uncontrolled building development means some of the better tracks from 10 yrs ago + have now disappeared. That said I assume Messini is better going by Neilson's hype. The rocky dry stream-bed and olive grove descents to little tavernas for a morning espresso can be brilliant.

Definitely take your own pedals / helmet but I'd have thought taking your own bike is going to be a faff as their's were pretty good and suited to the terrain.

Just watch out for the massive spider webs across the trail! It's not always the best option to be first down the hill...

The rocky dry stream-bed and olive grove descents to little tavernas for a morning espresso can be brilliant.

Now that I like the sound of 🙂

Definitely take your own pedals / helmet but I'd have thought taking your own bike is going to be a faff as their's were pretty good and suited to the terrain.

That was my thinking. Lugging a big bike bag around and managing 2 kids would be a PITA.

Just watch out for the massive spider webs across the trail! It's not always the best option to be first down the hill...

😯

Generally the bikes are pretty good. If you were new to riding, you'd think they were great.
The guides are restricted by the least skilled/fit person in your group, but there are 'slow' and 'fast' rides to give options.

Taking your own is an option, but maybe a faff. If like me, you're a biffa, taking your own is often the only way.

Guides are pretty flexible to accommodate your preferences, and would rather be riding bigger more technical terrain if they could. So ask them.

Good holiday company tho' so you'll have fun.

you're a buffs

?

Ah, ninja edit. No, 6ft and 70kg, so not exactly a biffa 🙂

Guides are pretty flexible to accommodate your preferences, and would rather be riding bigger more technical terrain if they could. So ask them.

Sounds good. Think I'll mostly be road and they say they can set you up with GPS routes for a Garmin too, which would probably work quite well for me fitting it in around family time.

I think Messini has the option of paying a premium for better bikes if that's a real issue. But I think their standard bikes will be OK. Only disadvantage I can think of is that you can't just take a bike and go off on your own - you have to go at least as pairs. Do take your own helmet and pedals.

I did a lot of road cycling out of the Sivota centre and it was fab.

I think Messini has the option of paying a premium for better bikes if that's a real issue

Do plan on doing this so I can get the bike properly setup and just ride when I'm ready. I'm quite fussy about setup. I think it's about 100 euro a week so well worth it for me. Luckily I think I can use one of the kids luggage allowance just for my riding kit 🙂

Only disadvantage I can think of is that you can't just take a bike and go off on your own - you have to go at least as pairs

We went last year, and whilst the official rules are that you have to go out in pairs the guides did let me go out on my own. We had a bit of a chat, and they asked me to come along to the first guided ride of the week, basically to see how my riding/fitness was and check I was reasonably sensible, after that they were happy for me to go out on my own.

Going on the first group ride is a good idea as you are likely to meet someone else who is on their own who you could buddy up with, but working it around other family stuff meant grabbing a bike on my own in a spare hour or two worked best for me.

Went there Sept 2014 - didn't get to ride all week though as my (pregnant) wife fell over and broke her ankle! Hire fleet was all Treks at the time, 29er hardtails for the standard MTB fleet, road bikes regular alu ones with Sora/Tiagra level kit, nothing flash but all well maintained. If you pay the extra to hire then you get a decent XC full-sus or a carbon road bike, and it's yours for the week so you can set up exactly how you want it. Probably worth it if you're planning to ride every day.

Else there's no probs sticking pedals on, saddle is a bit more of a pain but if you're really fussed then just get there earlier to swap over. Or there's always several people who've bought their own bikes over.

When they have the first night drinks and activity sign-up they don't let you book more than one ride but they always seemed to have free spaces on the day.

It's pretty hilly around there, the hills behind Messini go over 400m and some of the longer rides top 650m. Easy to find routes on Strava (location: Messini, Greece, keyword: Neilson) if you want an idea.

All sounds good thanks. Think I'll take my vector pedals and saddle and just hire a good one for the week so I can get it set up right.

It's pretty hilly around there, the hills behind Messini go over 400m and some of the longer rides top 650m. Easy to find routes on Strava (location: Messini, Greece, keyword: Neilson) if you want an idea.

Oooh I'd not thought of that, shall check it out. Thanks.

I stayed at Messini a couple of years ago and despite not having very high expectations of the group rides I found them to be fairly graded and pretty good. More 'get out and ride' affairs than trail center ripping.

The stock hardtails were fine, good actually, (and really all you need), but I'd suggest you take:

- pedals
- a shock pump so you can do some quick fork tweaking. I have a 2 in 1 shock and tyre pump which was useful as I tweaked tyre pressures too, but I'm sure there'll be a track pump to use.
- A multi tool to tweak shifter/brake position on the bars and that was it.

All takes less than 10 mins, which you can do while they faff putting other people's pedals on.

All the bikes had slime tubes in, so punctures weren't a concern.

Good point, should probably think about mtb as well as road! What are the trails like there? Might well pack a shock pump. Nothing worse than not being able to adjust your sag 🙂

Sitting in the bar at sivota now. Bikes are all treks. Don't bother bringing anything other than shoes and riding kit. Pedals and all tools are in resort. Be mindful that it's high 30's nd you will need to keep hydrated.

Yes, forecast looks crazy at the moment, with mid to high 30's. Early morning rides?

Trails are mostly fireroad and tracks, but saying that does them down a bit. They're nice rides, in a 'see the countryside' way, with some decent climbs, but nothing terribly technical downhill really, apart from the loose surfaces, and some deep ruts...

Sounds good for some riding with Mrs B.

I went in Oct last year to Messini.
Took my bike as it was free ( Roubaix )
Yes there are guided rides and the harder ones ( red / black graded ) are worth doing as a group , the easy ones not worth it ...too short and slow.
Treks across the board , ok spec but tired by Oct. Roads are surprisingly good, very little damage and he drivers are very considerate. They beep to show encouragement in support if you are on a climb .
I rode up to the telcoms mast and 'Golf ball' on top of a hill about 25 miles away and maybe 500m of up. Lots of dogs and you never know if they are lockied in or running free. All houses have 2 dogs . 1 makes alot of noise , the other is eyeing up your calfs as an easy dinner.

they even have packs of dogs guarding goats . Who knew? Dogs guarding goats.

There are some awesome looking hills about 30 miles east of the resort ( I think you are pretty tasty on a bike so well within reach ) They look awesome and alpine like in contours and elevation.

Food is very good, too much choice and volume , drinks are expensive though .

MTB choices are ok again , red and black routes only ones worth thinkng about even then very easy reallly and zero tech

Got a OS map of the area if you wanna borrow it and phot copy the local area just pm me , addy in profile

the other is eyeing up your calfs as an easy dinner.

😐 may grab something from the buffet table to distract them with!

There are some awesome looking hills about 30 miles east of the resort ( I think you are pretty tasty on a bike so well within reach ) They look awesome and alpine like in contours and elevation.

Did spot that on the maps, shall ask. I'm looking for routes about a couple of hours really, still want to spend a bit of time with the family 😉

Food is very good, too much choice and volume , drinks are expensive though .

Booze? I'm a bit of a lightweight these days so that's not a problem 🙂

Got a OS map of the area if you wanna borrow it and phot copy the local area just pm me , addy in profile

Thanks, I might just pick one up there. They easy to get hold of? TBH I hate stopping to look at maps and I'll just try and get some garmin routes sorted. They say they can load routes on for you so that'd be good for me.

Don't bother bringing anything other than shoes and riding kit.

Not much use if You use different pedals to what's fitted...

I'd be surprised if they don't have some Keo pedals but I'll be packing my Vectors anyway, I'm not sure I can actually ride without power data these days 😉

Thought I'd do a very quick review now that I'm back.

Hire bikes are pretty good. Alu Trek Emondas with Tiagra group for free. Carbon Trek Emondas with Ultegra for about E100 a week (and you get to keep yours for the week.) I went for the latter so I could set it up and keep it set up (own saddle, pedals, position, etc.)

Rode on the roads most days I was there. First shock was the heat. 40C when I got there. Calmed down to a bit to 36C after a few days and stayed around there for the rest of the two weeks. You need to drink lots and stop lots to pick up water (I was getting through about 1L an hour.) Took some [url= https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/exercise-hydration-mix?variant=864288073 ]Skratch hydration mix[/url] which worked well, though tablets like nunn would have been more convenient to carry in a jersey pocket.

Roads are a right mixed bag. Everything from lovely smooth tarmac in places to heavily pot holed gravel roads, quite often randomly intermixed on the same stretch of road! With the handling skills of a former mountain biker this didn't really bother me 😉 Was all ok to ride on the Emonda with skinny tires, though I might have been a bit more concerned if I'd brought my own bike with some some expensive wheels.

The group rides weren't that convenient for me but the chaps running the bike bit were very helpful and loaded up my Garmin with a dozen or so routes. Most are very triangular in profile, I guess that's expected from a beach resort surrounded by hills. Mostly rode loops around 40 miles to the north west though olive groves, small villages, some longish climbs (~30 mins), some steep sections (e.g. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/622365872 ]this ride[/url]). Did one longer ride to the east into the Sparta hills that had me climbing for 20 miles through some fantastic scenery up the side of a gorge and into a national park ([url= https://www.strava.com/activities/625499702 ]here[/url]). Fast twisty descents down the other side too. Would definitely recommend that one.

If I was to offer any tips for anyone going it'd be to pick up water when you can. Rare that you go half an hour without passing a small village with a cafe to fill up your bottles, but I did get caught out on a couple of rides and ended up riding for far too long without water.

Kit I didn't think I'd need but wish I'd taken... some light weight gloves. Never wear gloves in summer but hands got super sweaty in the heat and sometimes slipped off the hoods when it got bumpy.

It's not a proper riding holiday so it's unfair to compare it to one. But as a family holiday where I actually got time to do some riding (and sailing and relaxing by the pool and having fun with my kids) I really enjoyed it.