TL;DR:
Balos by Ebike is not for casual cyclists. If you have no experience cycling off-road and you can’t do simple fixes on a bike, we recommend you DO NOT ride an Ebike to Balos. Also, avoid July and August and days when the temperature is over 30°C.
When going on a self-guided ride to Balos, you will need to give a 50€ cash security deposit.
Bikes
Bicycles are a marvel of ingenuity and efficiency. A few kilos of material and you can travel far and wide, while staying connected to the elements. Mountain bikes are sturdy and designed to take a lot of hits, but like all bikes they need constant care and small fixes. They are not really like cars, where for the most part we leave all maintenance to professionals. A bike is a simpler machine, and needs more frequent care from the rider.
The road to Balos
The road to Balos is an especially tough test. It’s a wide, dirt track of really hard terrain, hard rock after hard rock, which taken at speed will knock everything around with force: the bike, its parts, and the rider.
Summer heat
In July and August, drivers who arrive in the middle of the day have to park a few km before the parking lot and sometimes walk for an hour under the sun just to get to the start of the path.
With a bike you can ride smugly all the way in, passing the cars stuck along the way. You can enjoy the views from the peninsula under the sun, feeling the air, unmediated by glass.
But if you go at the wrong time, you’re also going to eat some dust and sweat a lot in the sun. You’re going to be shaken hard by all those rocks, it’s 8km to get there and another 8km to come back.
When you get to the start of the path, you still have 20-30 minutes to walk down the steep steps like everyone else.
No car rescue from Balos
Because the road to Balos is so tough, breakdowns (puncture or other mechanical problem) are much more likely than normal.
If something happens to your bike, you will have to fix it yourself if you want to ride back. Don’t ride back on a flat tire or broken down bike, you will only make the problem worse and you will have to pay for the extra damage.
For this reason, if you are doing a self-guided ebike tour to Balos we will ask for a 50€ cash security deposit.
If you need us to come and rescue the bike, there will be a 50€ charge. No car emergency rescue from Balos!
Alternatives and final advice
You can book an ebike guided tour to Balos (except in July and August) with us, and we’ll make the experience as smooth as possible for you:
If you have no experience off-road and doing little fixes on a bike, we can recommend alternative routes on quiet, paved roads that will show the beauty of Crete’s West coast away from the crowds.
If all this hasn’t put you off, Balos has pretty amazing views from the top. Give yourself time and start early, especially in mid-summer. If you’re staying in Kissamos, you can ask us about picking up the ebikes the night before! If they are available you can get them and have an early morning start, even at 6am or sunrise, when the air is still cool and crisp.