Author: Armin Ziegler from Switzerland
Riding a velomobile can become a passion or even an addiction. When I retired, I made the pilgrimage from Switzerland to Santiago de Compostela with my EVO-R, the most beautiful velomobile you could imagine. In the years that followed, I rode my velomobile to almost every corner of Europe. I went to the Isle of Man CC (Cycle Challenge), where I was first in my category. Well, I was also the only one in this category. Then I rode to Corfu, traveling along the Dalmatian coast, then to Tarifa, the most southerly point of Europe, to Sicily, following the tracks of Pier Paolo Pasolini, who made this journey in 1959 with his Fiat Millecento and many more.
This year, I embarked on an epic tour to Greece, the cradle of democracy. The plan was to start with my newly acquired Alpha 7 in Switzerland, travel along the Po River to Venice, and take the ferry to Patras. From there, I would follow the Gulf of Corinth, visit the oracle of Delphi, and the memorial of Leonidas at the Thermopylae. From there, my road would follow the coastline of the Aegean Sea to Thessaloniki, to Philippi, and further on to Turkey. In Turkey, I planned to visit Troye and Smyrna, where a ferry would take me back to Athens. From Athens, it is a short trip to Patras. And from Patras the ferry would bring me back to Venice, from where I should reach Switzerland in about four days. For the whole trip, I estimated it would last four weeks. Never would I have thought that this journey would find an unexpected end already after two weeks.
The journey started on a sunny morning at the Lake of Neuchatel, from where I headed southwards to the Lake of Geneva. There I followed the Rhone River to Brig. Here, the Rhone River is still young and wild and flows between snow-capped mountains at a 3 – 4000 m altitude. In Brig, I put my velomobile quickly (before the conductor could object) on the train to Domodossola, which saved me the climb over the Simplon Pass with its 2000 m altitude.
Italy is fantastic: There are no mountains and it is full of historic sites. There was always a lot of interest for my velomobile. At a petrol station, where I stopped for refreshments, the lady at the bar even gave me a free glass of wine in exchange for a few pictures of my velomobile.
I stopped in Varese, Bergamo, Verona and Padua. Finding a decent hotel was no problem as the tourist season has not yet started. Of course, each of these four towns would have deserved a stay of at least a week, but my goal for this trip was the Aegean Sea.
After five days of pedaling and two lazy days on the ferry, I finally reached Patras, and the Hellas Adventure could begin. Greece is a wonderful country. The roads are good for riding a velomobile, and the cars drive very carefully. I followed the Gulf of Corinth and headed towards Delphi. The scenery was fantastic, but the road was steep, and the temperature was high. So I decided to skip Delphi and headed directly to my hotel in Amfissa. Had I visited Delphi, the oracle would certainly have told me to avoid Thessaloniki, and the disaster wouldn’t have happened.
The road to Thermopylae with the monument of King Leonidas is gorgeous but steep. In a wayside bar, where I enjoyed a refreshing Ice-Coffee, two policemen were quite impressed by my velomobile and the long distance I had already traveled. To improve the visibility of my velomobile, they gave me a red-white band, which I could attach like a flag.
From Thermopylae, my road followed the coast of the Aegean Sea. Traveling along a coast is always a good choice. You can’t get lost, and in general, you have the most stupendous views.
I stayed in Volos and Paralia, both very nice seaside places. Then I reached Thessaloniki, where I had a nice lunch at the Sherlock Bar with a marvelous view over the bay of Thessaloniki. Sherlock Holmes would certainly have warned me that bad things are brewing up. But he wasn’t there.
Early the next morning, I left Thessaloniki in a northerly direction and reached the N2, which runs along a lovely lake and would bring me to Philippi. Philippi, that’s where the ghost of Cesar appeared to Brutus with the memorable words: “Thou shalt see me at Philippi.” But I didn’t make it to Philippi.
While I was peacefully riding at good speed on the almost empty N2, I heard police sirens, and soon, a car with flashing blue lights stopped me. They checked my documents and inspected my velomobile. Then they explained that velomobiles are forbidden in Greece and that bicycles are not allowed on the N2. All my arguments about international laws (the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic) and even the fact that another cyclist was coming along on N2 didn’t help. After a long debate, they explained that yesterday, many people had seen me in Thessaloniki and had sent videos of my velomobile to the District Attorney. The District Attorney has then decided to take this strange vehicle out of traffic and has therefore given the order to all police cars to chase this strange vehicle. While I was peacefully eating at the Sherlock Bar, they obviously didn’t find me. Only the next day, while I was already way out of Thessaloniki they got me.
The two policemen then stopped the next van and ordered the driver to transport my velomobile to Asprovalta. At the police station, the big inquisition started. I had to answer hundreds of questions and sign innumerable forms in the Greek language, which, of course, I didn’t understand. I still had the hope that all this was a misunderstanding. But when they declared that I had to take a lawyer, it was clear that they really meant to pull it through. Luckily I have a friend in Greece whose brother is lawyer. But even this lawyer could only save me from going to prison. The police confiscated my velomobile and drove me with the police car to the police headquarters in Thessaloniki.
I should mention that the police officers have always been friendly. They even admitted that they didn’t like this sad story but that the judge in Thessaloniki had ordered it. On the way to Thessaloniki, I asked them to check if there was a plane going to Zürich today. They found that we had just three hours to spare. At this time, we had to reach Thessaloniki, take all the fingerprints and photos (as is required with criminals), and drive to the airport. They switched on the flashing lights and the sirens and speeded at 180 km/h to the police headquarters. After the fingerprint procedure, we rushed back to the police car, and again, with flashing lights and sirens, we chased through Thessaloniki, ignoring all the red lights. They delivered me to the airport in time, apologized for the inconvenience, and wished me good luck.
And “good luck” is really what I need now. After three months, my lovely velomobile is still imprisoned in Thessaloniki. First, I had to wait three weeks because the police report had not reached the District Attorney. Then, the District Attorney left his position, and the next would not start to work before the end of the next month. Then the long holidays broke out, and nothing will happen before mid-September.
It looks like an endless story. And this endless story is particularly annoying, because I need my velomobile for the next adventure, which will be the longest trip I have ever made. It will be the crossing of the USA on the Southern Tier early next year. It’s something I have been dreaming about for many years and I definitively want to make it next spring – if I get my velomobile back in time.
