From Mesolongi, the route first leaves the lagoon plain and heads for Antirrio. The opening kilometres are flat, salty and exposed; then comes the crossing to the Peloponnese. The Rio–Antirrio Bridge is not just a link across the water: 2,880 m of steel, concrete and wind over the Gulf of Corinth. On the southern side, Patras begins almost at once. It is easy to treat it as traffic, but the Roman Odeon and the upper town give you proper reasons to stop. After Patras, the route follows the north coast of the Peloponnese: Rio, seaside towns, small beaches, short climbs, sea again. Near Diakopto, the Vouraikos Gorge and the rack railway to Kalavryta sit just inland. Egira finishes the day above the gulf.
