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Bicycle touring Balkans
  • Where's Woully Wandering.
  • 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. Les mer
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  • Where's Woully Wandering.Bicycle touring BalkansReisende
    1112

    Sneaking into Bosnia Herzegovina

    23. mai, 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.    Les mer

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    Ciro trail

    24. mai, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Les mer

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  • Where's Woully Wandering.Bicycle touring BalkansReisende
    11

    Dracevo to Dracevo

    25. mai, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Les mer

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    Mostar

    26. mai, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Last day on the Ciro trail along the Veretna river and a strange little canal. We arrive in Mostar, where the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned architect Hayruddin to build a bridge over the swift running Veretna. It was the only crossing for hundreds of miles with guard towers on both ends. Most means bridge in Slavic language.

    During the 1992-1995 war the bridge was destroyed by heavy Croatian artillery. It was rebuilt with the exact same construction techniques by 2008 under Unesco supervision. Giant stone blocks from the old bridge still litter the river beach below in memory of a bridge that could have stood the rest of time but not the test of man.

    The bridge is the symbol of a divided city. We took a tour with Sheva, who had a unique perspective on the conflict, Yugoslavia, and his city. He was part of the conflict and he brought the long history and the recent war to life for us with his own photos. To this day the war is not over, it is merely a 30 year truce. 70% of Mostar was destroyed.

    Posters, signs and spray paint and the division of all services from trash to cell towers persist. Separate versions of history classes are taught in schools for the three ethnic groups; Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Herzegivonians.

    Memory does not fade much here.    Les mer

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  • Where's Woully Wandering.Bicycle touring BalkansReisende
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    Posusje

    27. mai, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    The opposite of Mostar, this city is fairly new, near the Croatian border, all Catholic and ethnically nearly all Croatian. It is very homogeneous and prosperous.

    Posusje doesn't feel like Bosnia Herzegovina, is more like Austria, Germany or Slovenia. A very strong economy operates here with significant exports to EU countries. This city is not part of the EU or Schengen as BnH has not been admitted. It is odd to have such a vast economic difference in one small region, despite an EU to non-EU border, which causes significant customs fees.

    There are unidentified tombs that are still being researched, they do not look like anything I've seen before.    Les mer

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    Long day to Sinj, Croatia

    28. mai, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Leaving Posusje on mostly B roads with little traffic. Almost 80km to ride today. Mapy has mostly been a great tool for your finding but occasionally progress movers faster than the map updates. Today we are on a brand new wide unstriped road that could become an A road but it's currently down as a C road. There is no traffic! Some of the strange things we see, the pavement stops suddenly and we ride gravel for a few km. No wonder there's no traffic, the road also doesn't have a destination that would warrant enough traffic.

    We enter a valley that could have been set in the 1800s. It is completely natural except for a few older homes, it's wonderfully quiet. It's hard to believe that places like this still exist. I'm glad for it.

    We reach the border, and once again we are told this order is for local traffic only. Today we cannot go through but as of June 1st everyone can go through. Mmm too early by 3 days. The border agent and is super friendly and we joke around about camping here for 3 days. He tells us we should go to Livno where he is from to go see the wild horses.

    We set off to the other border crossing which really isn't too much out of the way. We take a break to eat something and 2 locals come walking over offering us water. Then they tell us that the border crossing we're headed for is closed because there was an accident and the guard house got destroyed so they closed the border. But no worries they know a road that goes across without agents and we can sneak in to Croatia.

    Once again we are crossing a border illegally. This is a border from a non-European Union country into the EU. So this is really a big deal. The syrians were crossing here and they temporarily had some agents trying to catch them. That's we are guided to that hidden road, we get a history lesson on this lost valley. The people have moved out because there's no economic opportunity. They all moved away. During the wars there never was any fighting within 30 km. It's truly a lost corner.

    The long day got longer because of this border crossing, and we're pretty tired coming into Sinj. We have two days here to rest.    Les mer

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    Sinj

    29. mai, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This is a rest day but we're still going for a hike to the old ruins of a former castle and a little bit in the woods behind it. It's a hot day and we don't last long.

    The rest of the day we sit in cafes and restaurants in the town.Les mer

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    Sinj back to Split

    30. mai, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We weren't aware that yet again there is a national holiday, this time it is statehood day for Croatia. It's a pretty mellow affair here, flags are hung from balconies and that's about it. There might be some festivities in other major cities, notably Zagreb. It's definitely a day off for everybody that includes all the food stores so we grab a few crackers from a small newspaper merchant.

    The small roads above Sinj are really nice quiet and rural. We managed to find a McDonald's. I was joking that we would have to go there, but a good restaurant is right across the way.

    We continued riding to the Split airport in order to pick up a rental car. Due to the national holiday and the Sunday, the Decathlon store is closed so we can't return Rhonda's bike. It really messes up the plans, but an alternate plan was not hard to make.

    We drove to Livno, right through Sinj again where we just came from. Familiarity is a strange feeling when you're on the road always going forward into the unknown.    Les mer

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    The wild horses of Livno

    31. mai, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Crossing into Bosnia Herzegovina made us legal again, we wondered if the computer would pick up that we had not officially entered Croatia and were somehow leaving it. It will probably show up on some administrator's desk as a computer error. Does Brussels really not know that the EU-Schengen border is not secure?

    We take the rental car on the four-wheel drive road as far as we feel comfortable which ended up being all the way.

    The wild horses were on a high plateau above the city. It's beautiful and windswept up there. The wild, better called feral, horses were freely running around. Back in the day the farmers could not afford to feed them so they set them free and they became wild. It was good entertainment for a few hours of watching them interact with each other.

    We climbed the 2006 meter Cincar peak and there was a 360° view as far as the mountains by Sarajevo.

    The end of day was also the end of the trip for Rhonda. We drove back to Solin to retrieve items left behind and organize gear. Tomorrow I'll take Rhonda to the airport. It was an amazing 3-week trip with a good variety of activities and I was glad to have some company for the otherwise solo bike travel. The trip turned out great even if Rhonda and I really do not get along most of the time.    Les mer

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  • Where's Woully Wandering.Bicycle touring BalkansReisende
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    Makarska

    2. juni, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    I snuck out of the hostel early to go hike on the trails of the Marlan peninsula.

    The beaches south of Split are extremely well done and remind me of the French Riviera, they are absolutely just as nice but the water is clear and cleaner.

    The coastline is continuously built up and there are restaurants and managed beaches all along. The road is mostly small but every once in awhile my map will send me on a mountain bike trail ride along the coast. Once the trail disappeared and I bushwhacked resulting in flat tires.

    Makarska is a nice small city with all the tourist amenities you could want and yet it doesn't feel overrun, at least in June.    Les mer

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  • Where's Woully Wandering.Bicycle touring BalkansReisende
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    Sv Jure and back into BiH

    4. juni, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Long 96km day with amazing vertical. Feeling rested after the last few days.

    Climbed Sv Jure today, the highest paved road in Croatia, 1732m from sea level in Makarska. Only 32km but 5940ft up. I can see Split, Sinj, Livno, Posusje, and the islands of Hvar and Korcula, all places where we roamed around in the last three weeks.

    Took a break at a small mountain hut where the owner served spaghetti Bolognese. Perfectly hit the spot!

    Lovely downhill towards the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina with an impromptu water stop. No dinner, so having a few nuts before resting in my bivy for the night. We'll find out how cold it gets and how warm the bag is. Tomorrow back in a room to charge the electronics properly and a shower.    Les mer

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    Siroki Brijeg

    5. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    It was supposed to be a 55 km day, but I took some detours and it ended up being just over 80 km. A bit of extra vertical as well.

    I'm definitely paying the price for yesterday's heroic effort. The legs are heavy.

    Visited a waterfall in solitude early in the morning, it was quite wonderful.

    The Ljubinksi authorities are doing an amazing job building infrastructure for tourism. The "Roman" museum is small but really well done with artifacts spanning from 16,000 years ago to the Roman period and some from 1400 making that date feel pretty new.

    The Castle is being rebuilt in the old way. The case could be made that the old ruins would be more original, but over the centuries castles have been rebuilt many times so why not now?

    A brand new cathedral was built also with the old technology of stone stacking. As I came by the bells tolled for a wedding.

    My host has done the Camino this Santiago. We had a lot to talk about with limited language in common. He is doing Lisbon to Santiago this fall on his bicycle.    Les mer

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    Jablanica on the Neretva

    6. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    The plan was to stay off the main road, which is one of the North South BiH transportation roads. Avoiding trucks and buses is a good idea when you are headed into the mountains where there are also tunnels.

    The plan was foiled. I stayed on small roads, that got even smaller, that turned into 4x4 tracks that turned into a completely overgrown bushwack.

    I had done 2/3 of the climbing and turned out to dash all the way back into the valley to the big road after all. Mapy shows a white (tertiary) road but you never know what you get. It's part of the adventure. The overgrown bushwhack and the large asphalted wide road show the same on the map!

    There is a secondary road on the left side of the river that I take instead of the large road on the right side of the river. Eventually I have to cross and Mapy he tells me where. I get there and it is a dam that is fenced and padlocked. SOL! I'm running on a fairly empty tank right now, it's an extra 20K to go back where I know I can cross.

    I was going to throw my bicycle over the fence and go for it, but I hear some water splashing and somebody is playing with a hose. I yell for him and explain in sign language I have to go across. He looks at me and shakes his head, at first I was thinking he was saying no but he has a smile on his face and he says no you can't but then again I can go get the key. He saves my day. I get escorted across the dam and out a very closed up tunnel on the other end. Hopping the fence would not have done me any good. This is a secured facility.

    I buckle down for another 35K on the busy road keeping the momentum up to minimize the time I'm out there.

    Jablanica is a small mountain town that was important during world war II and saw a share of the '90s conflicts. It's just north of Mostar. BiH plays Panama for worldcup placement it's on all the TVs in the bars. Pretty much anywhere when a goal is scored the public lets out roars, here it is muted. There is a lot about BiH that is different.    Les mer

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    From hero to zero

    7. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    In the middle of the night I wake up with a funny stomach. Something is not right. The gnocchi that were on the back of my bicycle have been sitting in the sun and I ate them for dinner.

    My stomach can handle a lot, not this time.

    Once my stomach was emptied in the wrong direction, I took a shower cleaned everything up and miserably went back to bed. It must have been 20 years since I've done that.

    Did I just eat something wrong or did I just grossly overdo my bike riding?

    I was going to ride to Konjic today. I have zero energy, I can barely move. I could stay in bed all day, but I have a reservation in Konjic. So I take the bus for a short 30 minute ride.

    In Konjic I'm in a hostel and I sleep all afternoon. Nice place with balcony view on the old bridge.

    In the evening I have a 3 and 1/2 hour discussion with a physicist who is from Bosnia in the North and he lived in the United States for a long time. We talk about quantum theory and how it disregarded the ether. He believes the ether exists and he has his own theory of how it works. It's a fascinating conversation. His work is about gravity and to get an exact understanding of magnetism. We know what it is and what it does but we don't have a clear understanding of how it does it at the atomic level according to him.    Les mer

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    Konjic

    8. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    This is a great little town in the middle of some stunning mountains. There is great hiking and also rafting on the Neretva. I could easily spend a week here.

    I'm feeling better and I opt for the latter. Great day with a young Dutch couple Karlo and Geertje on board.

    Friendly folks at the hostel again tonight, good travel conversations comparing notes.    Les mer

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    Umoljani valley

    9. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After two rest days, it was time to rally. It was an unbelievable day riding through valley after valley of unending vistas.

    Near the end I finally ran into a few people. An older German couple with whom I spoke about BiH's future which is tenuous at best. Later with a young French couple, who were wrestling with the rough conditions on heavy touring bikes we discussed the same subject in more depth. A bit later a German couple were hiking along and we had a nice travel conversation.

    The clouds came in and thunder started, my plan for a bivy twarthed I checked into a sweet mountain style A frame. What a stunning day in the Balkans.    Les mer

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    Lukomir

    10. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I missed this little town by 2.6 k yesterday. So I'm going to hike from below to get there today and this way I'll have more time to spend there. It's the highest town in Bosnia Herzegovina and it's probably one of the few that has maintained its originality from centuries ago.

    I meet up on the trail with the French couple I met yesterday and we got to exchange some good information. They'll be headed the same way south as I am on a slightly different schedule.

    The scenery is stunningly beautiful and the trail is completely worth the hike. At one point it felt like hiking right off a cliff into a 400m drop but some other trail managed to get down there. Views that rival the Dolomites.

    The little town is run by 17 locals who live there in the summer managing a herd of sheep and knitting litems for the few tourists who come by and there are also three little restaurants.    Les mer

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    The forest ride

    11. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Lightning and thunder is forecast for the afternoon. I could stay in hotel Moskva in Kalinovik, but I get there by 11:00 a.m. and there is just enough time to make it to a little apartment 24 km further.

    The ride was almost all unpaved through wild forests, for 3 hours I saw no one. In the second part it was almost all forest again. It sure made for a fantastic ride.

    This apartment is above the stables of a little farm and it is very characterful. Just as I get there it starts raining and thundering. Perfect.    Les mer

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    Sudden side trip

    12. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    As I was planning the next two days of riding, I suddenly realized I am not going to make it to Sarajevo unless I do it right now. I talk to the old farmer and he can keep my bicycle. The bus schedule does not look solid and I cannot confirm it with the local shops either. But I can go back up the hill and get back on the bike if the bus doesn't come.

    But the bus does come and I go to Sarajevo. It turns out last night Tommy Emmanuel played here. Missed him, however I will catch a ballet tomorrow.

    Tonight BiH is playing against Canada in group B of the world cup. This is a great place to watch in outdoor cafes. Flags are everywhere, it's huge for the country.    Les mer

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    Sarajevo

    13. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    The siege was 31 years ago. WW2 was 79 years ago and WW1 ended 108 years ago. The country has historically been a melting pot of cultures and religions. There are still four major religious edifices; Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim and Jewish. However, underlying ethnic differences between Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats remain strong and divided while appearing unified at the surface. Politically it is a mess.

    It's not hard to imagine that another conflict could break out again. BiH is a country but 40% of it is the Republic of Srpska, a Serb autonomously administered inholding with its own police, etc. So far the country is operating peacefully, even outside investments from USA and Europe are coming in. The Serbs and Croats are putting a lot of pressure on the Bosniaks.

    I take a walking tour in the morning and visit another museum in the afternoon. I also listen to some history podcasts. A much more complicated picture emerges. The siege off 1991-95 is a horrific event, how can humans go so wrong, not to mention the multiple genocides, not just Screbenica. The human mind is truly twisted. 200 Sarajevo roses in the streets are a stark reminder.

    This is a city where East meets West, Ottoman and Austro Hungarian most recently and it reflects in the architecture. This is where WW1 was ignited by a discontent Serb, but the back story is rather more involved.

    Great guide, great tour it just brings the city to life.

    Carmen ballet tonight, followed by a worldcup football match between CH and Qatar.    Les mer

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    Foca

    15. juni, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It's the last city for 3 days and based on the smaller towns I have been riding through I wasn't expecting too much. But Foca is quite a surprise, a lot of cafes, a great bakery and several good supermarkets.

    But what really surprises me is how many beautiful well dressed women are in the cafes. The weather is absolutely perfect and it's a joy to just spend some time here. Had lunch with a kitty and stocked up on food. I'm going to have a heavy bike on this first big uphill.

    It was social hour on the way to Foca, a group of four Belgian couples who were touring around in two vans, and for English speaking young guys on touring bikes and a 70 year old German named Jurgen with whom I had an extensive conversation about the cycle touring lifestyle and all the places we both have been. He looks like he's 50.

    After lunch I ride up the steepest hill yet of the whole tour and into the strongest wind. I'm glad to arrive at camp. It doesn't help that I just ate the largest croissant I have ever seen, one foot long, with chocolate and pistachio cream.    Les mer

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    Tsra - Montenegro

    16. juni, Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Back into Montenegro, it's been some 3 weeks since I was here. This time I am riding the northern section towards Albania.

    Great climbs, all in the woods, excellent views of the Tara, which runs through the deepest canyon of Europe. I can recall some valleys in the Alps that have greater vertical from peak to valley floor, but those are not classified as canyons.

    There were a few other cyclists and Motos. The Swedes are having dinner here. The Brit with his flat tire is out camping. I like the hot shower but I wouldn't mind camping.

    Columbine and Aspen grow here, reminding me of summer in CB.

    An excellent riding day it was.    Les mer

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    11

    Zabljak

    17. juni, Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    As I was having breakfast 9 Bosnians showed up, they got beers, smoked, sang loudly and laughed a lot. Great crew.

    I had a choice of two different ways and I chose the hard one through the valley. A motorcycle post on Facebook made it look awesome. Some steep sections and some great views. But the southern way had really good views on the Durmitor range. With the included breakfast I started late.

    One nasty surprise after a long climb seeing a road way way up there with a valley on the left. For sure the road wouldn't go up all the way there right? But it did.

    Zabljak is a ski town, even though the lift I saw must not have run for multiple years. Just like Colorado ski towns there is an incredible amount of construction going on. Shopping at the Voli I ran into the Swedes again. I also ran into two Irish and a Brit, they were pretty fun to talk to. The Swedes and I ended up in the same park to hang out and eat our groceries. A banana, a pear, a kiefer yogurt, half a liter of beet juice and an entire chocolate bar was swallowed whole in less than half an hour by just me. Good thing all that cost less than 7 Euros.

    We shared the weather forecast which said no rain in the next 5 days but I said; we're in the mountains don't trust it. And an hour later when I was inside planning the next few days the heavens let loose and I know that they are in their tent, hopefully they have set it up already. I'm so glad to be inside .... again.

    Maybe I really don't want to be camping.    Les mer

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    Durmitor

    18. juni, Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Had a really sweet conversation with my hosts about family and living in this town, Zabljak.

    It's a day off, but the southern route, the one that goes through the park, is calling for me to ride it, since I missed it yesterday. I pass by the ski area. There is some good vertical on these 5 lifts and a day ticket is only 14 dollars..

    I made it to the top of Sedno pass and decided to take a break in the cafe, where I meet a French couple who drive a Toyota diesel 4x4 with a small camping box on the back. We end up in deep conversations about travel to very remote places. They mention Albania, Georgia and the Caucasus mountains and Dagestan. They are probably in their 'early 70s and they are true adventurers with incredible stories. It's super inspirational for me.

    I sat for an hour overlooking the valley and watching the cloud shadows move along the terrain. It's absolutely breathtaking.

    Back in town I see yet another couple of touring cyclist groups in front of the Voli supermarket. This time of day that's where they gather. Multiple languages are flowing back and forth. Lots of energy.

    Mellow afternoon with some homework.    Les mer

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    Kolasin plateau

    19. juni, Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The silence

    The solitude

    The utter peace

    Amazing that places like this exist in Europe.

    Before climbing up to this amazing plateau I stop at a small brand new cafe in the middle of absolutely nowhere. A friendly young man walks out and shakes my hand. I get a drink to support this small place. On the wall is a race number jersey #85. It has Olympic rings and says 2026. It's his, he raced slalom for Montenegro. This Olympian is Branislav Peković, he trained in Kolasin and Austria. We shared excited talk about skiing of course. He showed me his Olympic pictures.

    A local chicken farm where 'les poules' wander free and eat healthy. I bought eggs at the store and the hen poop was still on the shells. Talk about natural.

    Then Kolasin, a small town that could almost double for Crested Butte in some ways. Biograd Natural Park is surrounded by four towns which includes Kolasin. There are a huge number of trails to hike and there is a ski area.

    Cost of life is still low here. It's Friday night and it's very mellow. Even if new construction is taking place, this town is still a few notches below Zabljak. It's refreshingly natural feeling, I really like it.    Les mer

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