Coast & Highlands: The Production Ride

The assignment began quietly in Athens, long before the shutters clicked or the engines warmed. Simon Cudby —Offroad Underground’s founder and one of the most recognized names in action photography— had been contracted by Alpinestars to produce visuals for their new adventure line. So Simon reached out to Mythical Routes to guide him through terrain that would test both rider and equipment without staging, without shortcuts, and without safe angles. We left Glyfada with the early light still soft over the Saronic Gulf, heading west toward the spine of the northern Peloponnese. The city thinned out behind us, replaced by orchards, riverbeds and the first gentle bends of the mountains.

The aim was clear: reach altitude early, find the snowmelt, and let Greece do what it does best—shift character faster than a camera can adjust.

Into the High Country

The approach to the Helmos massif changed the tone instantly. Forest roads narrowed, shadows deepened, and moisture hung low above the pines. Thick mud from the late spring thaw turned the slopes into a demanding test of balance and traction.

By the time we reached the upper sections near the Kalavryta ski area, the elevation had climbed past 1.700 m. The temperature dropped, the air sharpened, and the terrain became heavy with meltwater—exactly the kind of natural difficulty that gives riding photography honesty. Nothing here was clean or polished. Every ascent required commitment, every descent needed restraint.

Simon worked relentlessly, moving through the forest like a hunter. The light filtered through branches, diffused by mist, creating a palette no studio could replicate.

Terrain Notes

Altitude Range
Lowland approaches around 200–300 m rising to high ridgelines above 1.700 m.

Surface Characteristics
Meltwater mud, stone steps, forest clay, gravel ribbons, rocky two-track.

Environmental Shifts
Cold highland air despite the season; rapid transitions between dense pine corridors and open alpine meadows.

Over the Ridges

Once we exited the saturated upper slopes, the landscape opened dramatically. Undulating plateaus rolled toward the horizon, alternating between fast gravel and exposed stone. Visibility stretched for kilometers. The mountains of the northern Peloponnese unfolded in layers—grey, green, and ash-blue—forming natural amphitheaters for long-lens action shots.

These are regions shaped by centuries of transhumant movement—old herding routes, forgotten cart paths, and ridge crossings that still follow the logic of the terrain rather than modern infrastructure.
Riding them has a rhythm: rise, traverse, dip, repeat.

Photographing them requires patience and an ability to read distance the way shepherds once read weather.

Crossing the Sea

When we shifted toward the next chapter of the assignment, the transition felt almost theatrical. One moment the mountains surrounded us; the next, we were rolling onto the ferry toward southern Evia. The change in landscape after disembarking was immediate. The forests and snow-fed mud were replaced by wind-carved hills, dry scrubland, and pale sandstone. Trails south of Marmari run close to the Aegean, exposed to the meltemi winds that shape the coastline. The light here is harder, more directional, more Mediterranean.

Where the Peloponnese demands patience and technical precision, Evia rewards flow, momentum, and clean lines. The motorcycles moved differently, the riding posture changed, and the visuals became sharper, more graphic.

Simon found some of the strongest compositions of the entire project on these cliffs—riders framed against empty blue, machines cutting through ochre dust, the sea stretching behind them like a second sky.

The Turning Point

The climax of the ride came not from difficulty, but from purity. Late in the afternoon, high above the coastline, the trail narrowed into a sequence of exposed terraces. The wind cut across the ridge in steady pulses, but the view was endless. From this vantage, Greece revealed its dual identity—mountain and sea, rugged and luminous, ancient and immediate.

It was the moment where terrain, equipment, light, and purpose aligned perfectly. No one spoke; there was no need. Some rides reach their peak through struggle; others through clarity. This one gave us both.

Descent Toward the Cape

Returning to Attica carried a quiet tone. After days of constant shifts—mud, stone, ridgeline, sea—the final approach felt almost meditative.

At the southern tip of the peninsula the marble columns of the Temple of Poseidon rose above the cliffs, a silhouette that has greeted sailors for more than 2.500 years. Standing there after the dust and exertion of the previous days, the contrast was striking: austere geometry against an open horizon, adventure equipment beside ancient architecture.

It closed the story exactly as it should—terrain to history, exertion to reflection, modern purpose to timeless form.

Context Behind the Ride

This production brought together three forces:

• Offroad Underground’s pursuit of authentic, high-energy visual storytelling
• Alpinestars’ entrance into the adventure-riding world with equipment that needed to be tested in real conditions
• Mythical Routes’ commitment to guiding riders through landscapes that reveal every facet of Greece’s topography

The northern Peloponnese and southern Evia offered a natural studio: high-altitude mud, alpine plateaus, dry coastal ridges, and monumental heritage—all within a compact 3-day radius.

It was a ride built on terrain honesty, creative discipline, and Greece’s rare ability to shift from mountain to sea—and from modern action to ancient stone—without ever losing coherence.

📸 Copyright © Simon Cudby / Offroad Underground

Our carefully prepared KTM Motion 790 Adventure R and 690 Enduro R motorcycles were equipped with the latest luggage solutions by Giant Loop and rally navigation towers/screens from Aurora Rally Equipment.