Arabic version: راكب دراجة يعيد إنشاء طريق أوديسيوس بجولة دراجات مدتها 27 يوماً
Sam Wood, an Australian archaeologist turned bike-tour leader, has recreated a route inspired by Homer’s Odyssey as a 27-day cycling itinerary through Turkey and Greece. He named his company Bike Odyssey and based its logo on Argos, the hound who recognises Odysseus on his return to Ithaca.
According to The Guardian, Wood condensed the decade-long voyage of Odysseus into a manageable trip that combines Homeric locations with major archaeological sites. The itinerary links Troy and Ithaca with stops including Lesbos, Mount Parnassus, Ephesus, Delphi and Mycenae, and portions of the route follow the Turkish coast on a traditional gulet. Most days include rides of between 50km and 70km, and ebikes are offered to make the tour accessible to participants with a decent level of fitness.
Mapping the Odyssey presented scholarly and practical challenges. The poem mixes physical geography with myth, and scholars have placed sites such as Circe’s island of Aeaea in widely differing locations; tourism boards have sometimes amplified speculative claims. Wood resolved some uncertainty by focusing on Turkey and Greece, where, he says, archaeological evidence could be relevant to the events of the Odyssey. He has also dealt with logistical hurdles such as cancelled flights, closed borders and the difficulties of moving groups during Covid lockdowns, and has had to manage participants who understated their cycling experience.
The trip is aimed at readers who want to combine active travel with historical context: riders encounter well-known ruins and landscapes that connect directly to classical sites, and the mix of cycling, sailing and archaeological visits is designed to bring Homeric settings to life. Support vans, boat passages and ebike options mean the itinerary is structured to suit a range of abilities while allowing participants to experience the Mediterranean settings evoked in the Odyssey.
Wood operates the 27-day Odyssey tour, blending daily rides with island sailings for guests interested in following a route inspired by Homer’s poem.
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