Mountain biking in Cyprus - anyone done it?

[ben_h100]

Just found out that I am off to Cyprus this November, for about three years. Am taking my road bike out with me and am looking at getting a decent mountain bike before I go, (Zesty 314 or along those lines).

Have looked on http://www.mountainbikecyprus.com/ and the trails look great, has anyone been there and done it?

Also, are there any decent mtb shops in Cyprus?

[zasker]

Lived near Larnaca for a few years and also in Nicosia for a year. Plenty of trails around the Larnaca area but there is more around the Limassol area as its nearer to Troodos so its hillier. Did a ride one year from Platres which is near the top of Troodos down to the coast which was brilliant and nearly all on tracks/trails. I also did a few duathlons/triathlons out there but just put slick on my mountain bike. Some of the roads can be quite bad although not much worse than UK after the last winter. With regards to a decent shop, I never found one that you would call decent compared to UK, limited stock and nearly all older stuff (tried getting a new mountian bike crank about 5 years ago and they came out with a shimano Bio pace set which was circa about 1990). There is/was a shop in Nicosia called Micro Machine which is a Trek dealer and that was probably the best shop I found although it depends on what you are looking for.

[Pupp]

Never MTBd there but have ridden off road motorcycles and can confirm there were almost limitless possibilities. The Arkamas peninsula (near to Paphos) has some great trails and is near wilderness/desert conditons as an alternative to the mountains, although conservation is also the name of the game there so maybe there are more contriols than when I was there...

[ben_h100]

Cool, sounds very promising, especially the ride down to the coast. Will get a bike and ship it out.

[zasker]

It's definitely worthwhile buying yourself some inner tubes with slime in them as there are some small prickly things (Bondu death stars) that will otherwise ruin your rides. Used to get 3 or 4 punctures most rides until I got some.