Timeline
Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
a day ago
The Ground Decides - Part 9: The Long Way Still Works
The ride covered 41.2 km with 907 m of ascent and 914 m of descent, set along a stepped, rolling route linking a series of distinct climbs across the Apokoronas hills. Moving time totalled 2:33:09, with an ascent time of 1:27:50 and descent in 1:05:19. Gradients reached +16.2% on the…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
3 days ago
The Battle of Crete Through the Life of Hanan Hess (1893-1941) E-MTB Battlefield Ride
The ride covered 29.9 km with 440 m of ascent and 447 m of descent, set along a stepped battlefield circuit linking a series of key locations associated with the Battle of Crete and the German occupation that followed. Moving time totalled 1 hr 46 min, with an ascent time…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 18, 2026
The Ground Decides - Part 8: The Climb Decides
The ride covered 30.0 km with 721 m of ascent and 726 m of descent, set along a rolling ridge-and-valley profile characterised by repeated short climbs and descents. Moving time totalled 2:08:29, with an ascent time of 1:11:06 and descent in 0:54:55. Gradients reached +25.1% on the steeper sections and…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 16, 2026
The Ground Decides - Part 7: No Short Way Across The old tracks still hold: how WWII movement corridors survive beneath modern roads.
The ride covered 33.3 km with 850 m of ascent and 870 m of descent, set along a rolling profile comprising an initial ridge climb, a central basin of repeated short climbs and descents, and a return to the higher ground before the final descent towards Kokkino Chorio. Moving time…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 14, 2026
The Ground Decides — Part 6: The Route Is the Route Why mountain terrain changes small-unit movement speed far more than maps suggest
The Ground Decides – Part 6
The Route Is the Route
Why Mountain Terrain Changes Small-Unit Movement Speed Far More Than Maps Suggest
The ride covered 32.3 km with 712 m of ascent and 713 m of descent, set along a rolling ridge-and-valley profile that continually gained and lost height…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 11, 2026
The Ground Decides — Part 5: Nothing Given on This Route Crete underwent its first systematic census under the Egyptian administration of Crete (1830–1840)
The ride covered 39.5 km with 831 m of ascent and 833 m of descent, following a rolling profile of repeated climbs and descents across the hills of the Apokoronas before a sustained final climb back towards Kokkino Chorio. Moving time totalled 2:28:03, with an ascent time of 1:18:14 and…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 9, 2026
The Ground Decides — Part 4: The Hills Make the Decision The operational importance of wells in the Apokoronas withdrawal routes, May 1941
The ride covered 35.9 km with 853 m of ascent and 851 m of descent, set along a rolling profile that combined short technical climbs with a longer sustained ascent through the centre of the Apokoronas before returning by a series of ridges and descents. Moving time totalled 2:08:36, with…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 7, 2026
The Ground Decides — Part 3: No Easy Line Through “Venetian watch systems and line-of-sight control across Western Crete.”
The ride covered 35.2 km with 801 m of ascent and 803 m of descent, set along a stepped and rolling profile made up of repeated ridge crossings, short valleys, wooded tracks, and agricultural lanes. Moving time totalled 2:11:44, with an ascent time of 1:16:14 and descent in 0:55:30. Gradients…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 4, 2026
The Ground Decides Part 2: The Ground Gives No Favour
The ride covered 36.0 km with 770 m of ascent and 770 m of descent, set along a rolling and stepped route linking the coastal plateau above Kokkino Chorio with the agricultural basin around Stylos and Armeni before returning by a series of short, sharp climbs to the uplands of…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
June 2, 2026
The Ground Decides Part 1: The Line Accepts No Argument
The ride covered 32.6 km with 740 m of ascent and 740 m of descent, set along a rolling and stepped route linking ridges, forest tracks, agricultural lanes, and a series of short but demanding climbs across the heart of Apokoronas. Moving time totalled 2:09:30, with an ascent time of…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
May 31, 2026
The Old Lines Still Hold — Part 7: The Terrain Sets the Terms
The ride covered 25.5 km with 600 m of ascent and 610 m of descent, set along a rolling multi-sector loop linking coastal approaches, intermediate ridge systems, agricultural terraces, drainage lines, and repeated short climbs across the Apokoronas basin. Moving time totalled 1:47:53, with an ascent time of 1:02:06 and…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
May 21, 2026
The Old Lines Still Hold — Part 6 The Nine Climbs of Apokoronas
The ride covered 41.7 km with 939 m of ascent and 938 m of descent, set along a rolling multi-sector loop linking ridge systems, valleys, agricultural tracks, and repeated short hill transitions across Apokoronas. Moving time totalled 2:35:45, with an ascent time of 1:32:02 and descent in 1:03:43. Gradients reached…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
May 14, 2026
The Old Lines Still Hold Part 5 - Riding Alone
This was the final ride in the series The Old Lines Still Hold — Terrain and Movement Across Apokoronas.
The ride covered 23.6 km with 593 m of ascent and 596 m of descent, set along a stepped inland route crossing repeated drainage folds, agricultural terraces, village tracks, and low…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
May 12, 2026
The Old Lines Still Hold Part 4 — Terrain and Movement Across Apokoronas
The ride covered 21.2 km with 551 m of ascent and 551 m of descent, set along a rolling profile of repeated short climbs, broken descents, agricultural tracks, and interconnected movement corridors across central Apokoronas. Moving time totalled 1:20:48, with an ascent time of 0:44:21 and descent in 0:36:27. Gradients…
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Alan McWilliams went mountain biking
May 10, 2026
The Old Lines Still Hold Part 3 — Terrain and Movement Across Apokóronas
The ride covered 31.4 km with 707 m of ascent and 715 m of descent, set along a stepped rolling profile with repeated short off-road efforts building into a longer upland return across the higher ground of Apokóronas. Moving time totalled 1:53:45, with an ascent time of 1:10:21 and descent…
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