Crete has many ways of preserving tradition. Some are found in monasteries, some in mountain tracks, and many in kitchens. On this ride, the theme was simple: the Cretan pie. The title of the route — Πίτα με απάκι — refers to a pie filled with apaki, the traditional smoked pork of Crete. Apaki is cured with salt and herbs and then lightly smoked, historically as a way of preserving meat during winter. When used in a pie, it produces a strong, distinctive flavour that is immediately recognisable to anyone familiar with Cretan cooking. The ride itself formed a compact loop through the villages south of Kokkino Chorio, linking Aspro, Gavalochori, Xirosterni, Kefalas, and Drapanos before returning to the start. This area contains a dense network of agricultural tracks and old mule routes connecting olive groves, shepherd holdings, and small plateaus above Souda Bay. The terrain alternates between compact gravel, rough stone track, and sections of tarmac linking the villages. Distance for the ride was 24.9 km, with 570 m of ascent and 560 m of descent. Moving time was 1:35:03, with a total time of 2:42:08 including stops. The average speed was 15.7 km/h, with a maximum recorded speed of 54.8 km/h on one of the descending gravel sections. The highest point reached 361 m, while the lowest point on the loop dropped to 66 m above sea level. Conditions were mild, with a temperature of 19°C, typical of early spring riding in Apokoronas. One of the more interesting features in the Suunto data is the climb analysis. The system recorded 16 separate climbs, including two Category 3 climbs and one Category 4 climb. The Category 3 climbs covered 6.62 km with a combined ascent of 165 m, completed in 22 minutes. The Category 4 climb measured 1.83 km, with a duration of just over five minutes. This type of breakdown reflects the repeated short ascents typical of the Apokoronas landscape, where ridgelines and shallow valleys create a sequence of small but constant climbs rather than one sustained ascent. Suunto’s climb classification is based on a combination of gradient and length. The system identifies segments where the slope exceeds a defined threshold and then categorises them according to their vertical gain and distance. Lower category climbs are shorter or less steep, while higher categories indicate longer or steeper sustained efforts. On this ride, the pattern reflects the terrain well: short, sharp agricultural tracks climbing between terraces, followed by fast descents into the next valley. The agricultural character of the area also explains the name of the ride. Villages such as Gavalochori and Xirosterni have long traditions of home cooking centred around simple ingredients: flour, olive oil, local cheese, wild greens, and preserved meats. From these ingredients comes a wide range of Cretan pies, each with its own character. The best known is kalitsounia, small pastries filled with mizithra cheese or wild greens. In western Crete, they are often baked rather than fried and lightly sweetened with honey. Another common variety is hortopita, a pie filled with mixed wild greens collected from the hillsides in winter and spring. Shepherd families traditionally gathered these plants while moving flocks through grazing areas. More substantial are pies that incorporate meat or preserved products. Apaki pies, like the one referenced in the ride title, combine smoked pork with cheese and herbs, producing a filling that is rich and strongly flavoured. In mountain villages, it is also common to find pies made with lamb, goat, or even small quantities of sausage. What these dishes share is a reliance on ingredients that could historically be produced locally: grain, olive oil, milk, and whatever greens or meat were available at the time. In this respect, the Cretan pie is not simply a food item but part of the island’s wider agricultural system. It reflects the same pattern of small-scale production, seasonal rhythms, and practical adaptation that shaped the landscape through terraces, shepherd tracks, and stone farm buildings. Riding through this terrain makes those connections visible. The tracks linking the villages were originally working routes used for animals, carts, and foot travel long before modern roads were built. Even today, they remain part of a living agricultural network. Olive groves, sheep flocks, and small fields still occupy the slopes between the villages, and many of the tracks follow routes that have been used for generations. In that sense, the Πίτα με απάκι Ride was less about "single" dish and more about the wider culture that produced it. The same landscape that provides the herbs for curing meat, the olives for oil, and the grain for flour also shapes the routes we ride today. Food, terrain, and tradition remain closely linked. A simple pie filled with smoked pork may appear a small thing. Yet it carries within it the history of preservation, the labour of farming families, and the continuity of village life in Crete. Riding through these hills provides the context in which those traditions continue to make sense. And sometimes the most appropriate way to finish a ride in Apokoronas is exactly as the title suggests: with a slice of pie and a coffee in the village square.