Gytheio is where this ride ends, and it is a good place to arrive: a small harbour town on the Laconian Gulf, with colourful neoclassical houses along the waterfront, fishing boats tied up in a row, and tavernas where the octopus hangs drying in the sun. About four thousand people live here, so there is fuel, a market and a choice of places to sleep, and Sparta, the nearest larger town, lies about thirty-seven kilometres inland.
In ancient times this was Gythion, the port of Sparta, and it kept the Spartan fleet. The shore holds the remains of a Roman theatre, and just offshore, linked to the mainland by a causeway, lies the islet of Marathonisi. Homer's Iliad has Paris and Helen stopping on an island called Kranae after leaving Sparta, and local tradition identifies Marathonisi with it. On the islet stands a stone tower, built in the 18th century in the sturdy style of the Mani, a reminder that this region was proud, clannish and used to defending itself.
The Mani Peninsula is the rugged southern finger of the Peloponnese, a country of grey limestone, tall stone tower houses and little settlements strung along the coastal roads. The riding here is characterful rather than fast: tight bends, narrow villages, surfaces that can be rough, and views over bare hills and an open sea. Goats, small trucks and cyclists share the road, so allow time. Come in spring, when wildflowers soften the rock, or autumn, when the heat has eased and the sea is still warm.
In the evening, find a table on the waterfront, order grilled fish or something from the nearby sea, and watch the lights come on across the bay. Ferries run from here to the island of Kythira, and the harbour has a working feel that never quite turns into a resort. After a long day over rocky roads, there are worse places to park the bike, sit down, and let the salt air and the sound of the boats do the rest.