Carmen ArrivesCarmen joined me on the 4th of July in Thessaloniki and we were aiming to get to Lake Bled by the 20th. This would be probably the furthest for me in 16 days, as I would usually intersperse it with more breaks than we had time for. We set out west, hoping to get to Lake Vegoritida. The going was pretty good, generally flat and smooth until we got to Edessa. There was a waterfall there to see and it seemed much shorter to go straight through the town instead of going all the way around (about 15km shorter). So we attacked it from straight ahead and quickly realised that the reason Google recommends the long road is that firstly it is very steep to go up the side of the cliff that the town was built on, and secondly that there is no actual road going up the side of the cliff. After quite a few failed efforts in getting a good view of the waterfall, we decided that what we had was good enough because we were running out of time. We managed to find a sort of driveway/road which seemed infinitely steep up towards the town. After a quick bike push, we found a place to buy cherries, apricots and a beer. It was a tough afternoon up until this point, but we were confident that we would get as far as we needed to that day. We got to Arnissa around dusk and headed down to the lakeside. The lake was overflowing so the beaches were underwater. In fact, a fair portion of the orchards were under water too. We found some space in an orchard to pitch tents, have dinner and fall in to exhausted sleep. We started the next day with some seriously steep climbing. I wasn't loving all this before breakfast, but the view was pretty good and I knew coffee wasn't far away. We eventually made it to a very friendly small town, which I think only really made money in the ski season. For the first time I had cereal for breakfast now that I had bowls and I realised that Jennie Bingham was right and I should have been doing it all along. From there we cruised down hill then along the flat to the Macedonian border. We had classic capsicum spread, cheese, sausage sandwiches for lunch outside a servo in Bitola before climbing in to the mountains containing Lake Orhid, the first real target of Carmen's leg of the trip. If I remember correctly, this is where we (mostly Carmen) were attacked by some biting flies. It was a long stretch of very hot uphill, and stopping for a drink meant near certain fly-attack, so this part of the day was fairly unpleasant. We eventually got through it to enjoy a long downhill stretch, including a few short tunnels. We cruised in to Orhid, but not before some chap with a certificate saying his house burnt down and he could ask people for money relieved us of some of the weight we were carrying and invited us to his fountain for tea. We trundled around Orhid for a bit, being asked by many people if we needed an apartment to stay in. After a while we shipped out to the west to find a place to camp and potentially swim. We found said location and while the swimming was pretty great (I had a good wash), the camping location in a tiny orchard was far less than ideal. There was a demonic dog nearby and we were constantly thinking we would get busted and told to leave. Despite this, I slept like a baby (Carmen however, did not). The next morning we were awoken as our alarms went off, but not by them. There was someone very nearby yelling "Hey! Hey!". I knew it was at us and so eventually got out of the tent to start packing up. I was worried that we had camped too close to the wire fence and could easily be seen from the other side, but as I exited my tent I observed that it wasn't the case. Apparently the guy was yelling at nothing at 4.30am, but we were up anyway and might as well start our day. We got to the nearby town of Struga and after a muesli breakfast outside a bar and multiple coffees (we had to spend all our local currency), we started the climb out of there. I thought that we would have three relatively small climbs compared with what we had cycled over the last two days, but when I checked again I saw that the climb just after Elbasan was pretty significant. We also were entering Albania where apparently a few days before two Czech tourists were shot in the head and robbed for no apparent reason. Also, they have a reputation for pretty bad roads. AlbaniaAs soon as we crossed the border there were people repainting the lines on the roads, so figured that it was something they cared about at least a little bit. As it transpired, the road all the way to Tirana was actually quite good. We made a very long descent in to Prrenjas and looked back at where we had come. It was a 400m drop and we still had an 800m climb to do. In around 37°C, we weren't loving that prospect. We wound our way down along the rivers next to a few different train lines. I thought it quite picturesque with all the train tunnels weaving in and out of the mountainsides. At some point I saw a vehicle holding up a shed. We made to to Elbasan for lunch which we tried to share with a servo employee, but he was having none of it. He gave us plenty of cold water though. I poured my old water (maybe an hour old) over my head and it was like a genuinely hot shower. Gross. With no time to lose we started the climb. There was a motorway about two kilometres to the north east of us which dodged a major part of the climb, but included a long tunnel which we didn't want to try to navigate. The first part was 500m upwards of switchbacks, then a steadier 300m up along a mountain ridge. With regular breaks it turned out to me more difficult in our minds than in actuality. There was a pretty good view from the top of the switchbacks (above). As we made our way up the mountain ridge it was excessively hot. Fortunately, we were on the shady side of the ridge if we cycled on the wrong side of the road, which was possible because there were literally zero cars on this stretch for about an hour. At one point we were having a drinks break and a miracle occurred. From the other direction we visually detected an electrical scooter advancing towards our position. It pulled up next to us and a fellow with many stories on his leathery, lined face looked at us as if he knew exactly what we needed. Then he opened a few boxes on the back of his scooter and pulled out EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED. Ice-cream! There were no other humans for maybe 5km and this guy had no business being there CARRYING ICE-CREAM but apparently he was. It was delicious and cold. Then, he carried on around a bend and it was like a mirage. If I didn't have a photo, maybe I wouldn't believe it myself. I do have a photo. It's on my phone though, and I can't be bothered transferring it. Really. It's on my Instagram too, so if you really want to see it, look there. We stopped near the top of the climb at a random restaurant type situation for a cold drink. The views around here were incredible but could never be captured in any way by my camera, the way I never really could capture happiness in my teenage years. Though we did see some small tortoises at the top. On the meandering road down the other side which required nearly full brakes the whole way, we came upon an English couple toiling up the hill. It was late in the day and I didn't have high hopes of them making it to Elbasan before dark, but one of the good things about these encounters is that you never know the outcome. Maybe they did make it. Maybe they got eaten by sharks. It was late afternoon when we reached Tirana, and I loved the place. The traffic was chaos and there were seemingly few road rules enforced. Heaven. We navigated our way to the hostel we had been recommended by Kyle who was currently in Shkoder. The most interesting person at the hostel was a Yank by the name of Carson. He wouldn't stop talking about jambolaya which is a type of paella local to one part of the US. He was in Tirana for seemingly no reason and there was something generally fishy about him. He had some soul searching to do and I was rather happy to let him accomplish that feat alone. The next day we only had about 100km to do to get to Kyle in Shkoder. The last few days had been an average of around 130km and had all included some decent climbs. This was flat and should have been easy. Getting out of the city wasn't too bad but we started late (because someone wanted to see what was happening at the start of the first Ashes Test, understandably) and there was a headwind. by about 5pm we had made about 50km of progress which was pathetic. We decided that we weren't taking no for an answer and really pushed as hard as possible in half hour shifts leading, to get there on time. It was probably the toughest day of cycling for the whole time Carmen was with me. By the time we were in Shkoder we decided to just stay in the hostel Kyle was in because it was easy and we were knackered. It was a cool place and we went out for pizza dinner and got tipsy on a tower of beer and some freezing then very hot wine. The next day was a planned day off in which we would solve all our problems (my front wheel, Carmen's eyes) then find a place to camp by the lake. This is the day I bought some new shirts (Real Madrid, Barcelona and of course, DONG Energy). Our problems were mostly fixed by the time the three of us went looking for a place by the lake, later joined by Wilson the watermelon. After much consideration, we found a nice place that we could get our belongings down to and began to relax for seemingly the first time in a while. Carmen sat in the sun to tan as is the proper thing for a woman to do, while Kyle and I threw rocks to each other, as is suitably manly when one lacks a tennis ball. Wilson was delicious, as was the pizza and wine which was dinner. To The Coast We awoke to a sunrise after sleeping in a cave (with Trevor the Toad), and after a minimal makeshift breakfast bonned Kyle on his voyage east and headed in to Montenegro. As we left Albania we spent our last local currency on things like delicious Haribo. Montenegro was very windy. Windy and windy. The roads wound, and the wind blew. There was an initial inland stretch of this, then we hit to coast. On the coast we descended for lunch to a place called Sveti Stefan (pictured). As it transpires, the cool islandy bit is actually all one hotel so we couldn't go there. Also that side of the beach was 75€ per person for the day. We sat on the grass for a picnic lunch and were fortunately nearly finished when we were told that even there we weren't allowed to sit. On the way back to the main road I neglected to point out a major hole in the road and Carmen tumbled from her bike. This left a pretty good gravel burn on her back. I pushed the idea that it's a good part of the story and something she could show off to her friends. I encouraged her to subscribe to this notion, but she just thought it looked rubbish while she was tanning and said something about being in pain. Anyway, we moved along towards the Bay of Kotor which looked great on the map. It was kinda cool and a good place to have a cooling off swim and check the cricket score with an ice-cream. After dinner it was time to camp as it was already dark. This night was the most difficulty we had in finding a place as the waterfront was quite populated. We went along the highway a bit then back, before suspiciously going down a dead end road to pitch in a field. The next day we reached Dubrovnik quite early and intended on taking a few hours to relax. I very much disliked the tourist density in the area, especially the fact that most tourists were in fact Australian. I like feeling special and different. I do not like feeling like a tourist. Despite this it was a good experience to see the old town and a snoozed a bit on the beach. At around 3pm we headed north towards Slano where we spotted out a coastal place which might be nice to camp. Before we got quite so far down the final road, we noticed an olive grove which provided ample space for a tapas style dinner and a great view of the bay. I just went on Google Maps on my phone and in the left hand menu, went to "Your timeline". It has tracked pretty much everywhere I've been. I love Google. The next morning we started early and followed the coast on the way to Kravice Falls. We went across a cool bridge. We crossed in to Bosnia then back in to Croatia, then back in to Bosnia. Coming in to Metkovic, we threw on some tunes and cycled fast for a bit. It felt good to really push it. Then we stopped at a Lidl and had then Croatian version of a Calippo and some lunch. After that it was pretty straight forward to get to the falls, until Google told us to go along an absolutely terrible dirt road. I hate Google. Kravice Falls The falls were amazing. There were quite a few tourists there, but it was a very out of the way place so the ones that were there deserved it. I had a beer and read my book a bit. The swim was refreshing. Each side of the river is owned by different people and on one side there is space to camp if you pay the owner chap 5€ which was well worth it. We had dinner at the restaurant which was passable at the time and went to bed feeling healthy. The next morning I felt a bit ill, but there were no tourists around and it was perfect for posing. This I did with aplomb, before heroically building a solid defence in lieu of finding an open bathroom. There was one at the exit of the falls which was fortunate, then it was back to the coast to catch a ferry. We had a pretty tight schedule because we had booked a hostel in Stari Grad at the far end of the island of Hvar. On our way to Drevnik, we stopped in a small town next to a lake looking for coffee and we asked a woman about nearby cafés. She informed us there were none but invited us to sit for some of her own coffee, unripe greengages and home-made schnapps. After this delightful experience, I got a flat tyre, presumably from the plant which is apparently in the area to give cyclists flat tyres. It was a quick change because it needed to be and we were off again to the coast. By the time we got there, my tyre was flat again, but there was no time to change it. It was a slow leak so I pumped it up again and we made it to the ferry. On the other side I investigated my problems and found the thorn still in the tyre. After mending the tubes we were off again along the island. It was a fairly pleasant ride and the view of the mountains on the mainland was spectacular. It was impossible to capture on camera, so I haven't put any photos of it up here. There were some decent climbs on the island which gave me some time for some timer shots of me resting. The first night in Stari Grad gave us the opportunity to try a local restaurant, at which the food was terrible. The next morning I felt very sick, I think from the food at Kravice Falls and I spent most of that day in bed feeling pathetic. This meant that instead of one day off, we had two, but we made it work with the upcoming schedule. The worst thing about being sick (for me) was that I had no appetite which meant no energy for cycling whenever I was fit to do so again. The best thing (for me) was that Carmen was there to retrieve food for me (which incidentally I did for her three years ago when she was sick in London and staying with me). Making Up For Lost Time After two days in Stari Grad we really needed to make up some ground. We took the early ferry to Split where I had my front wheel looked at again. The friendly chap there investigated and told me that it was the inner race of the bearing that was damaged and that he would put in new bearings now, but I really needed a new wheel. We then climbed out of Split which was pretty horrible for me as I was low energy, but Carmen took the lead all morning in to the incessant and hot headwind. I definitely would not have made it without her. After a wrong turn and a gravel road we made it to the abandoned town of Otric. For about 15km before Otric there was a dog following us. He seemed to belong to a shepherd near Otric, but had decided to go adventuring a long way that morning. We were going to sleep in an abandoned building, of which there were many, but the first one which was suitably clean had a second storey with a locked door and a camera pointing outwards. We decided that camping would be better and found a great spot just off the road above a train line. Falling Lakes The next day we wanted to make to the Falling Lakes Hostel in Korenica near Plitvicka Lakes quite early so we would have the afternoon to explore the lakes. We were going to have a full day here, but someone got sick. We made it at about 12.30, but the last bus was at 12.15 so we showered then went out to hitch-hike the 20km there, which was apparently pretty easy. I don't know what we did wrong, but it took an hour and a half to find a lift. We were on the verge of giving up and trying again early in the morning when a Bosnian guy picked us up and instead of heading towards Bosnia, took us all the way there. We had a decent amount of time to look around the lakes, but we could easily have spent a full day there. The water was incredibly blue and clear (I know it can't be both but it was, you know what I mean, stop playing the fool), with lots of fish and waterfalls. I took a lot of photos, but looking back at them, they mostly seem to be of the same thing. The apparent main attraction is the "Big Waterfall" which was incredibly disappointing, but the majesty of the lakes generally meant that it didn't really matter. We caught a ride hitch-hiking back in literally 30 seconds and once returned, snuck in to the supermarket just before closing time to buy dinner and future food supplies. While cooking there was a quiz on which we obviously won with the help of two Danish guys and a Yank. There was another Australian there who just wouldn't shut up about "in Australia..." this and "in Australia..." that, and before long I realised that I do the same thing. I have endeavoured to cease that type of chat. The Home Stretch The next morning we started out early, hoping to have a two or three hour rest during the hottest part of the day. We made it to the Slovenian border without drama, though the border man had questions for me regarding the impending conclusion of my right to be in the Schengen zone. I scored top marks and was allowed to carry on. We went to a spot by the river about 100m away and had a nap and a swim. Slovenia is nice to cycle in and saw the return of actual cycle paths (which I continue to hate). We made it to Semic by the time the sun was setting and decided that we should climb over the hill before we found a place to camp, because nobody likes climbing in the morning. At the top there were still no obvious places to camp and interestingly, none of the settlements seemed to have shops. We went down a little side road and appeared lost when a woman asked us in Slovenian what the hell we were doing there (in a very friendly and helpful way). It was determined that both Carmen and the woman's husband both speak German and consequently we were invited for coffee, ice-cream and a place to camp. The plan for the day was to get as close to Bled as possible without getting there (camping cost was 22€ by the lake). We had only covered about 15km and shopped when we came upon an incredible little place by the river. It was just off the road and had a little table, some shade and a place to swim. We had breakfast and a swim here, even though we didn't have too much time. When one undertakes an adventure such as mine, there is a dream place in mind. It is in the wilderness by a stream with some shade and you can take a day off there, swimming, washing, reading and relaxing. The highway was pretty close to the place we found but other than that, it was pretty much the dream place. But we had to get to Bled. After about an hour and a half, we were back on the road. It was generally uneventful apart from a dubious decision (mine) to take a short cut through some hills. As it turned out a large part of the road I chose was gravel and bumpy, which made the decision an unpopular one among the opposing party. We got in to Ljubljana and found a park to eat and nap in before heading on up towards Bled. Many of the main roads leading out of Ljubljana do not allow cyclists, but we ignored the signs because we were on a mission and once through Kranj, we were permitted once more. I ate some of an apple I found growing by the road and it was gross. We carried on past Posavec then bush-bashed a bit to find a camping place by the river. This was an overwhelming success, though the water was freezing so we washed, but didn't really swim. BledThe next morning we motored on to Bled and arrived before midday. After checking in to the camp ground and putting up the tent, we had time to relax knowing that we had made it. We were supposed to swim to the island, but I stalled because I didn't think I would make it. After a serious rain shower, we went back to camp to have showers of our own before dressing up for a nice celebration dinner. We had fish. It was amazing. The waiter was a top notch fellow too. The next morning we were up early because I said I would swim out to the island. I somehow managed to, even though the distance was around 2km (my conservative estimate). The island was nice I guess, but it was more about the achievement. Carmen couldn't go up the steps to the church in her bikini which I found amusing seeing as she was the one who wanted to go. After a brief poke around we swam back which was another mammoth effort, and got on the road in time to make it to the airport before 3pm so Carmen could catch her plane. To Conclude In this post I have described WHAT happened without mentioning much about how I felt about the whole situation. I could say things about how it was different cycling with someone else for a long period of time, how it was nice to have specific goals along the way and other overview type ideas like that but I really can't be bothered after typing all this up. I'm currently on the outskirts of Venice and I have exploring to do tonight and tomorrow. I hope tomorrow to do the missing post about Turkish Kindness, to do a post on Ljubljana to Venice and to do one on my future plans. But we will see.
I should also mention that nearly the whole time Carmen was with me, the maximum daily temperature was above 30°C, often above 35°C.
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Chris JonesJust a guy going for a bit of a documented ride. Archives
May 2018
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