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Bicycle touring Balkans
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  • Where's Woully Wandering.

Bicycle touring Balkans

Finally time to get overseas again, a lot got done last year but not much exercise. This will do it. Time to build new memories day by day. In light of all the friends we lost in the last few years; Carpe Diem. Weiterlesen
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    🇭🇷 Grad Sinj, Croatia
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    Dracevo to Dracevo

    25. Mai in Bosnien-Herzegowina ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Yup, that's what happens when you redraw national borders over and over again in the last few centuries, two towns with the same name only 60km from each other currently in the same country.

    Longer day that started out on the smooth grade of the old railway along a disappearing river. The karst stone is full of holes and the water goes under ground for some 100km reappearing near Dubrovnik. There are caves in Vjetrenica with running rivers in them that can be visited. For irrigation a canal was built to keep the water above ground.

    One smart man has a shop open for refreshments, located in a disaffected set of buildings, probably rent free, don't know where he gets electricity from, but he is making money serving cold drinks to very thirsty cyclists. This well used trail is completely under served, we're glad he is here.

    To get money and groceries I had to cross the border into the European Union and frankly the Schengen border is quite pourous feeling. It seems way easier to cross than Mexico/USA.

    Long cycling day and long walk for dinner as three of the nearby restaurants were no longer open.    Weiterlesen

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    Ciro trail

    24. Mai in Bosnien-Herzegowina ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    From Trebinje we join the Ciro trail, which used to be a narrow gauge railroad built in 1901 by the Austro Hungarians. It ran until 1979 under Tito's Yugoslavia. First we had to bushwack again, since we always try shortcuts. The town of Hum was hohum, oddly there are few services available for a well frequented bicycle trail and Hum would be a logical place to resurrect the existing dead buildings. A missed opportunity for now.

    The structures of old train stations and hotels were used during the war in the 1990s and bullet holes were abundant. Right next to the old carnage is a newly planted flower bed, yet no sign of a resident anywhere. Quite odd.

    Our hosts for the night are fantastic, dinner and breakfast included. She is a chef and the meal of chicken and fresh vegetables is perfect for tired bodies, even if they rested at the pool in the afternoon.    Weiterlesen

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    1112

    Sneaking into Bosnia Herzegovina

    23. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We almost got in trouble today, after scaling 2000ft+ hill and back down 3500ft we reached the border between Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina, it was open but only for local traffic. We were turned back.

    A local at the border post waved at us to hold on, he told us there was a way around the border post. Not being rule followers, we decided to go for it. Quickly the local population was "au courant" and at every turn we received instructions on crossing fields, cutting through properties and bush wacking, all of it in Montenegrin. It felt like being in a movie. We crossed through on the little road right under guard house. They could absolutely see us if they cared to look. Later we decided they knew full well what was going on and as long as it was not on camera they didn't care, but we did.

    We climbed another 2000ft pass to another frontier guard equipped with a formal stamp. It was a price to pay, but we were legal.

    All in all, the experience of this recluse little valley, the funeral, the stream and it's bridge, the locals enthusiastic assistance with our semi-illicit crossing made for a very memorable day.    Weiterlesen

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    Grahovo

    22. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    A seemingly simple day with small roads that turned out challenging. The road became a narrow double track with lots of rocks and step sections. We pushed the bikes for a good while. In the end we were rewarded with a nice dinner and views of the valley. The town just had the one multi-purpose building. It was a cycling travel day.Weiterlesen

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    Crne Gora 20 years

    21. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Montenegro forever, today is Independence Day, 20 years of autonomy. We need to reach Niksic, but due to the holiday the bus is not running, the alternative is a train. A location reset to get in position for more cycling routes is in order.

    Bar is the new city on the coast, where the population moved to after the earthquake, it's industrial but spacious, large container ship loading facilities at the end of the train rails. A new mosque was completed in 2016, it's nice to see a new church for a change.

    Nicksic is celebrating their independence day as younger people are driving around with flags waving out of their car windows. I realize that the older people are not celebrating as much and maybe they have seen too many versions of their country to be able to get behind yet another one. This version is based on historical background.    Weiterlesen

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    Stari Bar fortress

    20. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This will be the southernmost point of the trip for Rhonda. It was a really great choice, we have fantastic lodging with a direct view of the fortress which we visit today on foot. We're staying out of the saddle.

    Stari Bar (old Bar), is one of those historic Mediterranean sites that was settled well before the Greeks and even the Phoenicians. Trade, religion, wars, life all occurred here in abundance until 1979 when the site was finally abandoned after a devastating earthquake. Economic decline and a lightening strike on a munitions depot in a repurposed mosque in 1912 predetermined that fate.

    There are few tourists here, it's a splendid day and we explore the site.

    The Montenegrins celebrate their independence today and tomorrow with music and cheer. I'm happy to see their reconnection with their past. For centuries they were occupied with short periods of autonomous role. Hopefully this one lasts. It is a very young country with lots of children.    Weiterlesen

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    Posturman Pass epic ride

    19. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today is going to be a longer ride and it happens to have a serious climb at the end. The weather however is announced to be stormy and rainy from noon on. We will have to brave it, we already have reservations at the other end in Stari Bar.

    It's a beautiful small path down the hillside out of Cetinje into Virpazar. We pass by the natural reserve Skadar admiring it from above. Not much traffic, it's great cycling. A quick food stop in Virpazar as the bitumen will start pointing up. Meanwhile nature gives us a huge break, the weather keeps holding off, hour by hour we are still in great conditions.

    We ride up an old rail way grade, a nice and steady climb. The valley is huge and rocky. The mountains are dark, Montenegro!

    St John's church cemetery talks to me, I felt a superb sense of communal cohesion of those resting together here. "We are here bound together".

    Reaching the summit of this, as yet unknown, pass requires tenacity. We are grinding it out one hairpin at a time with not one car on the road. At the top we're on Posturman pass, much like Cottonwood pass but twice as much vertical. Over 4400ft up today. It was epic.

    We roll down into Stari bar with 6500ft descent total for the day and almost 9 hours from departure. Phenomenal touring day.

    We have the most amazing place to stay with balcony view on the old fort. We're hungry!    Weiterlesen

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    Cetinje

    18. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Yesterday's effort caused a little setback, I ended up staying in bed for most of the day, throat aflame, fever is back. I take some more meds and in the afternoon meander slowly into town. Cetinje is the former capital of a Montenegro of the past. This is reflected in the Montenegro of today that celebrated the 20th anniversary of is existence. Many festivities planned for the whole week. We are lucky to catch the start. I take a nap on the park bench and the fever breaks again. The rest of the day is so much better.

    Tomorrow will be another test.    Weiterlesen

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    Kotor Klimb Pestingrad

    17. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The fever broke in the middle of the night, way too much vitamin C and meds. Let's roll.

    Today's plan is a tremendous hike to the viewpoint above Kotor. Given my previous day's state we were cautious about our hiking speed in the beginning.

    I'm feeling ok, happy to be on the trail on a sunny day. The views are stunning, Montenegro is getting under my skin, it is the second most mountainous country in Europe after Switzerland and we've only seen a little bit of it.

    The hike with 4300ft vertical takes seven and a half hours in total . We're completely drained at the end, but I end up laughing with a bunch of young Dutch guys on the last part, they were a hoot.

    We got a snack and raced to catch the bus to our next destination, a quick move that allowed us to make up for yesterday's lay over. The ride through Budva was all city and suburbs, hardly inspiring. Glad we didn't do it on the bicycle.

    Timing and choices on this trip have all been fortuitous.

    However, there would be a price to pay.    Weiterlesen

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    Rain storm day

    16. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The timing couldn't be more perfect. I picked up a cold a few days ago that had been burning in the back of my throat, it spread to my whole body yesterday and I am down with a fever. Energy battery is at 5/100.

    There is a major storm hitting the entire Balkans with 3 inches of rain in 36 hours and as saw it coming we have two nights in the same place and we hunker down. Shiver me timbers! Brrr. Lucky I have my flu meds always ready.    Weiterlesen

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    The bay of Kotor

    15. Mai in Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    This is what happens when you didn't pay attention in geography class or you lacked the curiosity to go deeper into your maps. Suddenly you are in an amazing place you never heard about and you feel you should have.

    The bay of Kotor almost looks like a Norwegian fjord with steep karst peaks all around and the stunning shape of this inlet that makes it feel more like the inland lakes of Italy. We visit Herceg Novi first for coffee and croissants.

    There is a wonderful flat road all around the bay and we experience our first rain on the trip, testing out the rain gear and it works.

    The sun comes back out, we shed soggy gear and enjoy touring the stari grad - old city of Kotor. Splendid.

    Things were about to change...    Weiterlesen

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    Back on bike - Montenegro

    14. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    It's definitely time to start pedaling again, but as we exit Dubrovnik I see a very nice terrace overlooking the city. We end up eating croissants and drinking coffee for over an hour enjoying a very mellow start for today.

    Up and down the hills along the coast we cross over to Montenegro. I'm expecting a lot of surprises and I get them. Montenegro is on the map in Europe for development. There is a lot of construction going on and a lot has already been built in the last decade. It makes things easy everything is pretty much as in Croatia except for small language adjustments and script which also includes Cyrillic characters.

    Montenegro formally regained its independence on June 3, 2006, following a historic referendum held on May 21, 2006. In that vote, 55.5% of the electorate chose to end the state union with Serbia. This milestone marked the final chapter in the breakup of Yugoslavia and the revival of Montenegrin statehood, which had first been recognized centuries earlier at the Congress of Berlin in 1878.    Weiterlesen

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    Korcula to Dubrovnik

    13. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    In order to get further south we decide to take the ferry to Dubrovnik. We had said goodbye to Peter and Mary but there they were in line for the same ferry. More fun about swimming with a bicycle on your back, etc.

    Dubrovnik and Disney both start with a D, and that's not where the similarities end. The city is fully set up to accommodate entertainment for throngs of tourists. While history and architecture trace the past Dubrovnik no longer holds the ambiance of it's history. We still enjoyed it though.    Weiterlesen

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    Hvar to Korcula

    12. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Another beautiful day, croissants and coffee for breakfast, a ferry ride with none other than Peter and Mary, who are just a lot of fun to be around.

    We have a room in a small resort hotel at an off season rate. Mellow ride today through vineyards. It turns out the white wine cultivated here won accolades the world over but they don't export so you can only get it here.

    Over dinner with Peter and Mary again, we have that local wine and it is indeed splendid. Another very enjoyable day.    Weiterlesen

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    Hvar

    11. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Amazing bike ride today with my cycling friend Rhonda. We found the best small roads and tracks and totalled 50km of serious climbing. Mapy.cz app is an excellent tool in eastern Europe for cycling.

    Starigrad on the other side of the island was settled by the Greeks around 380BC and was known as Pharos. The agricultural fields surrounding the town are listed with Unesco for

    The first criminal case solved using finger prints occured in Buenos Aires by inspector Vucetic who was born in Hvar.

    Another great dinner with Peter and Mary on their terrace.    Weiterlesen

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    Split to Hvar

    10. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Nice breakfast in a Venetian plaza. Stroll though old Split, the remains of Diocletian's Palace are barely visible. We did not take a tour, which would have been helpful to understand the city better.

    Hvar is a very nice and well sized island town. We had an excellent dinner of fish and mussels with Peter and Mary, friends of Rhonda who also happened to be in Croatia and our paths crossed. Great fun times and humorous conversations.    Weiterlesen

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    Trogir and Split

    9. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Early morning walk in the quiet centuries old center of Trogir. A little photo hunt.

    Ride along the coast to reach Split, coffee asking the way in a smoky cafe as all cafes are in Europe. Watch the direction of the wind and sit at the edge.

    Trogir has a Marina and it has that feel. Split is a large city and the downtown is unbelievably incoherent in terms of architecture. It's touristy with cruise ship mentality.    Weiterlesen

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    Zadar, Sibenik & Trogir

    8. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Up early, sleep of the dead, my alarm lifts me from the depths of wonderful REM dream sleep.

    I punch out 3 hours of road riding through the barren Pag countryside to Zadar. The 10 am free tour was very interesting about the history of this city. Romans, Goths, Venetians, Hapsburg, Mussolini, Hitler, destruction in WW2 and again in the 90s. Zadar was also completely destroyed during the crusades, but in the 1600s the Ottomans never managed to conquer Venetian controlled Zadar.

    Caught noon bus to Sibenik by a hair. Definitely not enough time in Zadar. Arrived late in Sibenik and skipped the sight seeing, another historic Adriatic coastal city. Rode down to Trogir and ran into Primo, an Italian who is touring every summer. He did Thessaloniki to Nordkapp, impressive! Then I ran into four young touring cyclists on a corner speaking French. Fun.

    At night I check out Trogir. It is the opposite of Zadar in that it is superbly preserved. Romanesque-Gothic complex in Central Europe because its island location allowed it to survive early invasions, and it became a "living museum" under centuries of protective Venetian rule.    Weiterlesen

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    Pag rest day

    7. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Woke up to pouring rain, great day for a planned rest. Nice room and I get to hang out.

    Turkish Airlines calls to help with my incidental expense refund, they walk me through a way to transmit money internationally. Suddenly I realize they are trying to get me to send them money and they are not Turkish Airlines at all! Rebooted my phone and cut all access. Woah! Close one, I'm usually so good at detecting fraud.

    I close on my land sale in Arkansas and this is another step in the simplification of all things.

    A wonderful meander through town and dinner out completes a casual day.    Weiterlesen

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    Off to Pag

    6. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    I need a rest day and the plan was to do it today but it will be for tomorrow, Pag has a much better place for almost the same money.

    I crank out some really good riding and managed to catch the 8:15 ferry. It's nice and early and only have 28K left to go on Pag. My hands are white I'm cold and I actually dug out my hat.

    Ever seen a billboard with a picture of the road that it is placed on exclaiming that it's a famous road? That was good for a laugh.

    Grabbed three croissants along the way and devoured them, Made my way along a gravel path through the sheep pastures of this barren island. The Church of St John is the simplest place of worship I have ever seen.

    I'm spending the whole afternoon in the hotel room, and tomorrow too! Just look at my Garmin watch I think it's telling the story of the last 7 days. That's what it looks like when you go full tilt right from the couch. 4 weeks ago my back was so bad I could not even get my socks on. So I'm actually really happy with this.

    Pizza dinner!    Weiterlesen

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    Jablanac road ride

    5. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I'm looking forward to the ferry ride. It is just a small catamaran pontoon boat, The bike gets loaded on and a French speaking woman is also on board so we get to have a nice conversation.

    After the first hour of riding I can tell my legs are pretty tired from yesterday's big effort. I was initially going to take the first leg on the bus just to get a 'leg up'. But looking at the schedule and the weather, which looked like threatening rain, I'm feeling better off riding so I get the ride all the way to Senj in. I'm refueling but still empty and trying to talk myself into it - all right I'm good for the last 42km, but I suddenly didn't feel it and doubled back to the bus station. Lol, old man.

    I was looking at a 400 meter climb and the Bura, a forceful local wind was blowing hard head wind. The call to take the bus wasn't that bad of an idea after all. Across the water I see Bashka where I was sitting in the sun eating lunch just yesterday, now under gray clouds. There is a really nice looking natural stone arch along the road.

    Arriving at the hostel it's coldish, I'm not really in my element compared to how great the last 5 days were. Early to bed.    Weiterlesen

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    Mt Obzova 568m

    4. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    The highest point of the island is supposed to have a trail on it that leads to a DH track. At least that's what trail forks seems to indicate.

    Once again none of that is true and I ran out of track with a long way to go, I was so excited to just do the entire ridge and the weather was beautiful that I just soldiered on and made it to the peak pushing my bike through the stone fields.

    After a great lunch of croissants in Bashka, I set off to gain another 400 meters on the other side of town, towards the plateau of the moon. It is a rock strewn area exposed to the Bura winds that come from the high mountains on the other side of the channel.

    It's truly great riding on gravel roads that with a little research end up in some super nice single tracks and right back into Krk we're a settle in for a fantastic dinner at one of the cafes in.the port. I hobble back for a late bus to my hotel in Malinska.

    Fantastic day.    Weiterlesen

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    Krk MTB

    3. Mai in Kroatien ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Why am I bike touring on a mountain bike instead of on the proper touring bike? I sometimes stop for a few days take everything off and go rip on some really great mountain bike tracks. That was the case today on Krk.

    As I am meandering about, anything interesting I run into is a great surprise. The largest oak tree on the island happened to be on my trail, is branches reach 50 ft out in all directions. It's an absolute giant. Right next to it is a pond, one of 300 on the island, full of mating frogs. It was a loud spectacle as you can see.

    I only saw five mountain bikers total, four on e-bikes and a casual rider from Kosovo, with whom I climb to 252 m where the Church of Petr was built on a hilltop with great views.

    Lunch was phenomenal and yet another surprise. I simply asked for a bubbly and some cold cuts and cheese. Instead, the waiter brought me a wine spritzer and an enormous plate with homemade cured ham and homemade hard cheese. Together with Olives, small pickles, olive oil and bread I had an enormous meal. I did well and ate all of it. Can I still ride to my hotel after all that? I did but it was close.    Weiterlesen

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    Piran? Last minute change

    2. Mai in Slowenien ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Piran is a seaside city for me to target. But it's too far out of the way, and as much as I would love to cycle the Istria peninsula, it doesn't fit into the time schedule to make it to Split by May 9th. While eating my breakfast I decide to ride directly to Rijeka. On the ride I realize I could maybe catch a ferry, but instead it has to be a bus to get to Krk, to get a head start on this island full of serious mountain bike trails. Ron from Salida is leading a tour there next week and it's on my way so I'll get to beat him to it.

    Malinska, on Krk, is also a seaside town and I'm enjoying the ambiance in the harbor and the live music on this Saturday night. I made a call and got lucky. As the Dutch saying goes 'I fell with my nose in the butter.' The next 3 days I can tear up the trails here.

    What stood out today was yet another incredibly quiet agricultural valley that breathes peace and harmony. The incredible spring weather doesn't hurt. It's a splendid experience on all kinds of small roads and paths, even had to wade a good sized stream. Loving the adventure.

    Looks like I photographed a beer commercial,and a few postcards. Even enjoyed a short fire works.    Weiterlesen

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    Postojna - Robber barons and caves

    1. Mai in Slowenien ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This is the Karst region where rivers disappear into the mountains and come back up a bit later and disappear again and do this over and over. The way they figured out how these waterways are connected is by dumping a fair bit of food coloring at the top of the stream.

    The Predjama castle dates to the 1200s, it was a place for robber barons and nobility. Sieges were carried out and the large cave system underneath was extended to create exits for resupply and surprise attacks.

    The famous Postojna cave, over 24km long, has too much of a touristy feel. But there is an off the beaten track 6 hour guided spelunking small group tour, which is another reason to come back to Slovenia, I would rather do it the sporty way.

    I use the Mapy.cz app with downloaded maps and for this region of the world it's absolutely golden. I'm finding all the small little tracks to stay away from any traffic. The weather is perfect blue and sunny with a nice little chill in the air.    Weiterlesen

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