Cyprus bike packing...food, route and shiz

Afternoon all,

Since I had such a great response regarding migraine busting energy gels I thought I would put out the question here..

Rather than heading to Majorca or south of Spain for my normal cheeky winter get away I have decided to head to Cyprus and to be honest there is some information about the Island but not a massive amount.

I am flying out in the next few days and have a solid week free for cycling, I am taking a slightly more fluid approach to my winter trip than years previous where it would be planned out day by day. I am taking a sleeping bag and my large Ortlieb tail pack complete with Bivy etc.

I have taken an absurdly good deal on a apartment in Paphos and will most likely aim for 3 days as a mini tour then back to apartment for a rest day then 3 more days either taking in the climbs or I may just head out on another 3 day expedition.

When I say I know sweet f,all about Cyprus that is a understatement, so for anyone that has been what is the food options like as you head away from the main cities, I am thinking heading into the Troodos range, I hear it can be very cold at altitude this time of year so any advice?.

I have a MSR Pocketrocket that will need the regular fit Coleman/Camping Gaz canisters, can these be sourced in Paphos?, I see there are a few hunting shops but sadly my emails have gone unanswered. I do have a MSR whisperlite but that needs a bottle and can be used with almost any fuel such as Unleaded etc but flying with this stove and needing a brand new bottle just for the trip can be troublesome.

As always any advice greatly appreciated..

Regards

@middleofnowhere just did a loop

Yeah, we did a lazy loop round the outside from hotel to hotel. Dunno about wild camping tho.

The Trodos are proper high mountains (with skiing in winter) so might still be a bit chilly for bivviing at this time of year, but despite the alpine heights it's not a vast area so I suppose you could always have a bit of a climb and descend back to a more comfortable altitude to kip.

Didn't spot any outdoor equipment shops but then again we weren't looking either. Plenty of bike shops, plenty of cyclist too, mostly carbon roadies, some pretty serious looking groups too, I was guessing it's a winter training zone for Russian/Eastern European teams/clubs.

On a related note, beware google maps, it is not very clear on what is a road and what it more like a goat track. Really enjoyed it on my gravel/touring set up but my skinny wheeled comrades didn't half whinge about some of the surfaces.

Thanks for that,

Indeed I was planning to climb then come down to a far lower altitude. This is a bit of shake down test TBH, I have plans for a far bigger trip and thankfully having checked the weather it seems to be bright sunshine 20 degrees for 7 days so hopefully I can iron out a few setup options.

Google maps seems to be pants for this region, I am currently looking at Strava heat maps and then plotting route onto RWGPS..

Regards

I think single track bike mag covered a couples week long adventure round the walking route on the coast in winter time. Main prob they had was getting food and drink! Out of tourist season many of the villages and smaller towns just stop functioning