Leaving Romania to ride scooters through Athens!

[@RideWithAlex]

Have you ever ridden in a different country then your own? If so where did you enjoy the most?

[@rolacook222]

The music, comments, bits of information, your adventuring spirit, your excitement, laughter & enthusiasm make the ride with you great! Your joy is wonderful to hear, Alex, good for YOU! Best, Rola (Oregon / USA)

[@RideWithAlex]

It was a very memorable trip :D

[@elephantexplorer5465]

Greetings from athens ! I have seen almost every video on your channel, but i have missed this one ! I enjoyed it like i was part of the team cruising around athens! It was really cool watching you being excited about driving here ! Although we lack of driving education a bit, routine needs make people drive more aggresively in order to survive the city madness!! But, the moto-culture is alive here, and there is a big community that tries to keep up spreading education about safety and driving. ! We will be happy to see you soon . pS. Ιm currently driving a Triumph Triple 675 and got a 2023 ST 200i for inside the city!!! Cant wait to cruise around !! Best Regards Tasos .

[@risko2564]

I love your videos and welcome to my country!!! Love ❤ from Greece

[@RideWithAlex]

Thank you, I will be returning to Greece hopefully soon.

[@alexandrosmp1]

The presidential guard soldiers are called Evzones. The Evzones come from volunteer infantry and are selected through a painstaking process. The term evzones means "well belted," refering to the garrison style belts similar to those of police officers. As sleepless guards, they pay tribute to the Monument of the Unknown Soldier around the clock, under any weather conditions, and guard the Presidential Palace and the Parliament.

[@sailorsenshi6]

I am Greek, I live in Athens, I work at an office in Syntagma Square newrby, for more than two decades, I always commute to my job on two wheels, right now I have a Citycom S for the last 7 years. No, I am not angry for the commentary, if anything, I am truly shocked that throughout the video I didn't see as many helmetless people as I am used to seeing, I genuinely thought that you might have edited them out so as not to piss any Greeks off. It's not a culture thing, it's a matter of education, or lack thereof. There's a general conception that the Greek rider is somewhat indestructible, always right, ignoring laws and about caring about other drivers. To a percentage of 80% minimum. No the team you followed didn't joined any chaos, they actually did very good because they were trying to survive the Greek chaos of Athens. If you actually follow the law by the letter, the other drivers will obliterate you. Congrats on the video

[@RideWithAlex]

Yes we did take it easy, plus it was a Sunday and traffic was light, but I actually liked the education of the drivers, they are used to scooters flying past them, in Romania many drivers don't even realize that there are bikes on the road or consider that bikes have no right to be on the road and drive very dangerously, you have to avoid cars because many don't care if they run into you.

[@sailorsenshi6]

@@RideWithAlex we're used to scooters, motorcycles, vespas, all kinds of vehicles, in fact if a tank passed by, I wouldn't be surprised. For every rider that you'll find abiding by the law, you'll find a car driver that ignores the law altogether and vice versa. So you'll find all kinds of behaviours but the real problem is Athens overpopulation and saturation of vehicles. It's a city able for no more of 3 million people, but as of now we live more than 5,5 million and there are families that own more than 3 cars and 2 scooters or motorcycles or both. There are 400.000 taxi drivers registered in Athens, but they're additional 300.000 taxis unregistered, the so called pirates (the taxi license here in Greece costs a lot, right now it's very low, about 80.000€, but 15 years ago it was about 240-260.000€). Those pirates simply ignore any law, they are already illegal. And the worst part is the hit and run situations, since if your vehicle is not insured, you're forbidden to commute with it, but due to the crisis there are a lot of uninsured ones that get scared and run away if there's an accident. If you're uninsured even if you're not responsible for the accident and normally would be compensated, you'll not only be fined and take responsibility for the accident (since the accident wouldn't happen if you didn't commute in the firstl place) and pay for damages and medical cost if any of the other drivers even if they are at fault, but also the state will come after you legally for it, since you're responsible legally for an accident. So a lot of drivers hit and run

[@RideWithAlex]

@@sailorsenshi6 the hit and run situations are a real bummer. That's one of the most frustrating things that can happen on the road, somebody hits your vehicle and then runs away leaving you with the damage 😢

[@sailorsenshi6]

@@RideWithAlex especially when it's compulsory to have your vehicle insured, you don't have to pay anything at all, simply leave a note and then filling a one page statement to your insurance company saying I take full responsibility. I've had had numerous occasions of my bike or scooter or car being scratched or thrown down and 90% of them the person responsible for that just left. Usually you'll find a piece of paper by a random bypasser saying hey, I saw what happened, this is the license plate of the one that did it.

[@RideWithAlex]

@@sailorsenshi6 people without insurance I can understand why the run, but people with insurance running are just retarded honestly 🤦‍♂️

[@caramancosmin9510]

I have learned the art of riding a motorcycle in Greece - Athens. I drive for more than 15 years. For tourists it may look chaos but I'll let you know something. If you drive in Greece especially on island for a couple of years you will be able to drive everywhere in this world. About the helmet... Well this is Hellas brother. We have many rights but few obligations. I drive for the last 3 years in Romania.. I had few bikes but most drivers are not friendly. I can say that in my case driving in Greece it's much better even if it looks chaos. Athens it's like a village.. But i will always love Athens and Constanta city! 🥂 All the best. About the helmet... imho... Everyone is responsible for his life, I never judge. In Greece we go to periptero to buy beer and tsigara re.. . with Hayabusa sometimes. Greece.. The land of everything you can imagine, good and bad. Hellas always in my heart and soul!

[@RideWithAlex]

I really loved riding in Greece, i got used quickly to the way they ride and it's very close to my riding style. And about Constanta, it holds a special place in my heart considering I was born in Constanta and lived 20 years there :D.

[@vincenash1358]

Another excellent video 👌

[@RideWithAlex]

Thank you! 😁

[@dempart5558]

awesome scooter videos. cheers.

[@RideWithAlex]

Thank you 😁

[@Gregorynas]

You adjusted immediately. You drive like crazy

[@RideWithAlex]

Well, i kinda also do that back home except here everybody doesn't like it :))

[@hmoosawi]

Nice ride, interesting places & hilarious 😅 in some parts

[@RideWithAlex]

Thank you 😁

[@IncognitoNapolitano]

LOVE ATHENS SO MUCH REALLY

[@RideWithAlex]

It is quite a beautiful city!

[@rath6599]

A friend of mine always got in an argument with his missus, cause she didn't want to wear her helmet when riding pillion. She had beautiful hair, you see. It's common to pick up a friend on your bike, or your girlfriend, and most of the time the passengers don't even own helmets. It's a weird culrural thing.

[@RideWithAlex]

For a foreigner it is pretty weird, riding here without a helmet you get pulled over immediately

[@Diohellas]

Most riders in Athens have a little aggressive driving and this is not friendly for new car-drivers. Congrats for the video.

[@RideWithAlex]

Somehow the chaos works in my opinion, and thanks for the kind words :)

[@adrianhrusca4067]

The no helmet thing might be one of the rebelious aspects of the Balkans. We were oppresed for hundreds of years by the authority, so we developed a reflex of rejecting it, even some rules are truly good, made to protect us.

[@takis4954]

You should race against jet x!!!!

[@RideWithAlex]

I already compared the 125cc l/c engine with my 200 in my ST comparison video, it's the same engine.

[@takis4954]

@@RideWithAlex no it's not fun like this!!I wanna see some real race in Athens!!!

[@RideWithAlex]

@@takis4954 :)))) they were borrowed scooters and the owner was our tour guide, we tried to behave

[@takis4954]

@@RideWithAlex i know!I am joking! 🤣🤣🤣

[@Jerry-df6ir]

As a Greek I expected more helmetless riders to be honest. Seems like people are starting to care about the inside of their brains #ProtectYourDreams

[@RideWithAlex]

:))) still there were many to me.

[@Lozzio1996]

I'm living in Greece several years now and I'm from Italy, here you can do as you please unfortunately no one cares

[@RideWithAlex]

The Greeks just send it :))

[@mp44christos]

Firstly you have seen nothing. In summer its motorcycle chaos. Secondly Its illegal to drive without a helmet even for the passenger. People do it and as a result I have 3 cousins, 2 friends, a teacher of mine dead a result. Also i know of a passenger who hit the windscreen of a car and is a vegetable till now. I have personally seen a man get his face split into half on the highway while wearing his helmet on his knees. Its not a rebellious style or greek style. Its stupid.

[@RideWithAlex]

I don't encourage people to ride without a helmet. I know full gear is subjective and it's everyone choice, but you can live with a busted arm or leg but a cracked head is kind of hard to survive.

[@mp44christos]

@@RideWithAlex well I encourage you to come and visit Athens during the summer... It will be an experience! Don't take the "when in Rome do as the Roman's" mentality cause it's always better to be safe. Anyways as a scooter driver in Athens you don't even need to do anything crazy to save time. Either way you will catch the most crazy of drivers in the next red light. My commute is 1.5 hours by car or bus but with a scooter it becomes a 30 minute drive. Literally I lane filter the whole way. To be honest the most annoying part for me is when they park on the pavements. Also illegal and annoying if you are on foot. A motorcycle is the best way to visit greece during the summer. And if you want you can continue to Italy via boat which is also a really good moto trip.

[@RideWithAlex]

@@mp44christos looking for destinations for this summer and Greece is high on the list. Weighing my options curently 😁

[@yannnos]

It's the Greek parliament.

[@alexandrosmp1]

Lanes are just a suggestion LMFAOOOOO

[@RideWithAlex]

😂

[@alexandrosmp1]

@@RideWithAlex You should see here on the island where I live...its chaos.

[@RideWithAlex]

@@alexandrosmp1 What island would that be?

[@alexandrosmp1]

@@RideWithAlex Chios, Northeastern Aegean between Lesvos and Samos and near Cesme, Turkey.

[@RideWithAlex]

@@alexandrosmp1 Have to put it on my list for future travels

[@κοκοςοητωοωΗεεΙς]

If you want to drive in Greece you should know the following rules: Lanes are decorative, STOP signs are just a suggestion, when the RED traffic signal comes on it means you have +5sec to pass freely and after 5sec you can still pass but using caution, you must completely cover the zebra crossings with your vehicle, amber flashing traffic lights are invisible to Greek DNA, queue waiting is for those using their smartphones, the rest can completely jump the line and overtake from any side they want to get to the front of the line, hard shoulder is for cruising on motorways or overtaking if there's heavy traffic, and you can park wherever the fuck you want, especially on the sidewalks. I disagree with my fellow countrymen that lack of education is the issue. The issue is LACK OF RESPECT for others, everyone is so selfish they do only what they want without any regard for the other users, and you can see that everywhere, not only in driving. The excuse that the world is going to hell and everyone has a lot of shit on their minds so they are careless is just bollocks, imagine airline pilots and heart surgeons using the same excuse. The majority of Greek drivers and riders simply DO NOT CARE. Add to this the fact that traffic police is completely non existent and you can easily understand the full extent of the issue. In the rest of Balkans there is police everywhere, and they may be corrupt but who cares, the point is they exist, so you think twice before fucking up, as you will either have to pay a ticket or a bribe, in either case, you lose money. TLDR; Yes, Greeks are becoming huge a-holes, and driving in Greece is completely shit.

[@RideWithAlex]

The first part of the description is just epic :)))

[@adrianhrusca4067]

Oare e exagerat pt un trip in Grecia sa iti duci motocicleta sau scuterul pe platforma pana acolo? Economisesti timp si bani, plus ca te dai cu jucaria ta, nu cu cine stie ce chestie dubioasa. Cel putin pe insule, nu prea sunt in stare f ok de functionare.

[@RideWithAlex]

As zice ca e ok daca ai o mica remorca si o legi de masina ta, dar sa dai sute de euro pe platforma dedicata pentru scuterul tau parca nu se renteaza.

[@pythagorassamiotakis7418]

About the helmets is so ridiculous in Greece and absolutely so dangerous .... i suppose its a matter of education and some people don't follow the rules,, unfortunately we all know and they know what will happend if they crash or fall with out a helmet. We have to wear a helmet to protect our precious head .

[@RideWithAlex]

Agree

[@pythagorassamiotakis7418]

@@RideWithAlex Your trip to Athens was so good and adventures , i hope you enjoyed your time here last month , and for the Greek fans we would like to see sometime a nice drive in Bucharest. I liked so much the patent for the phone and drink holder on your sym symphony st 200.Take care and always drive safely.

[@RideWithAlex]

@@pythagorassamiotakis7418 I will try this summer to do as many trips as possible, and I really enjoyed Athens and Greece. I will definitely return soon.

[@mrperfect6676]

I think you had a little shock here,in our city...🤣😂😅

[@RideWithAlex]

=)))) Just a little.

[@mrperfect6676]

@@RideWithAlexIt didn't took you so long to acclimate😉However,we barely stop at crosswalks...😄

[@RideWithAlex]

@@mrperfect6676 i was told that "never stop at crosswalks or you risk getting rear ended" 😂😂😂

[@mrperfect6676]

@@RideWithAlex Totally true! When I saw you stopping,I was ready to hear-at least- honking and cursings🤣🤣

[@RideWithAlex]

@@mrperfect6676 🤣🤣🤣