When we were in Athens at the end of summer we tracked down Gareth Jones who, despite the crisis, moved from London to Athens to open a bike shop. We caught up with Gareth again last week to talk about how Vicious Cycles Athens and its neighbourhood have been doing.
 

 
Which city do you live in?
 
Athens, Greece.
 
What is the name of your street?
 
Melanthiou. We call it “a sunny street for shady people.”
 
VCA is on a street that is quite hidden away. Would you say most of your customers are locals?
 
We do have quite a few local customers, but most people come and find us. It’s a real quiet hidden street which is great for testing bikes, doing tricks, or just drinking beer in the sun.
 
How did VCA start up?
 
I’d wanted to have a bike shop in the UK but couldn’t afford it. After moving here I discovered that rents and stuff were a lot cheaper than back home, so I got together with a couple of mates and wham, we did it.
 

 
When Boat was in Athens, we made a film about the weekly late night bike rides that are organised across the city. Have you been to many Fast Fridays since?
 
FF takes place every Friday, as long as its not pissing down the guys go off to different corners of the city each week. But I have to admit that after a week of building and repairing bikes, all I want at 9 on a friday is to have a beer and go to bed! sad eh?!
 

Fast Friday – A Short Documentary by Sam Rowland for Boat.
 
Around the corner from VCA there is the secret ‘yard’ restaurant you guys told us about. Have you got any more local secrets to share with us? 
 
A friend just told me about an illegal chinease restaurant on the 4th floor of this block near here. He said it was really intense with people gambling and stuff. Think I’m a bit scared to go…but if I do I’ll get you some photos! There are lots of nice small bars near here, and lots have nice interesting angles, like Cantina Social bar, which has this huge open yard with films projected against each wall. Or there’s this taverna that only sells pork chops! True…nothing else (apart from chips) on the menu.
 
When we were in Athens we ate a lot of Souvlaki, too much Souvlaki…where would you recommend eating out in Athens on a budget?
 
The pork chop place I just mentioned is really cheap. But it’s worth looking at a lot of the vegetable dishes; at all tavernas meat and especially fish can be really expensive, but veg dishes are usually really fresh and cheap, at about €3-4. Best thing to do with food though is to go to a local Liki market. Every neighborhood has one at a set day each week. A road will close and farmers from all over drive in and set up stalls and sell what they grow. In london this would be a trendy “farmers market”, here it’s in your local ‘hood – and its hell cheap. The best way to buy food, like half the price of a supermarket.
 

 
Where do you spend most of your free time?
 
In Bed. Or if I’m honest up on Lykavitos hill walking my Jack Russell.
 
What’s the best thing you’ve come across this week?
 
A little old man who hand-stitches these wonderful calf skin cycling gloves for €21 a pair. Jesus. Shout me if you want a pair, I’m taking orders!
 

 
Where’s the best place to ride your bike in Athens? 
 
At the moment with all the strikes and demonstrations almost everyday main roads are closed to traffic (not bikes) so there is this wonderful moment when you have this normally packed 3-lane avenue…and it’s just you. It’s wonderfully weird.
 

 
Where’s the first place you would take someone who was visiting for 24 hours?
 
Philapapoo hill. A wild trees and grass park overlooking the Acropolis and the whole city. It’s a green hill in the center of the city and it’s always deserted. We always have a ton of picnics here in the summer, looking down on the city in one direction and overlooking the sea and the islands in the other.
 

 
Where’s the last place you would take someone who was visiting for 24 hours?
 
A late night “raki” session at Avli, the yard restaurant I took u to. It’s when you realize you cant walk that perhaps it’s time to get that plane!
 

 
What’s your best memory here?
 
In Avli? Oh Zoe’s birthday. We had the whole place to ourselves! If you mean in Athens? Oh god that’s a hard one! That summer when Greece won the Euro Cup and hosted the Olympics and won EuroVision (but lets forget about that one!). It was a great summer.
 

 
 
To find out more about Vicious Cycles Athens go to vca.gr
 
You can read all about Fast Fridays, the secret yard restaurant and much more in the Athens Issue. Click the image below to order your copy.