I had been heard a little about Albania before I got there but as usual I did no actual research on where I was going to go or what it would be like until I got there. What I did know was that there would be hills, the roads would be rough, the people friendly and it would be cheap. It didn't disappoint on any of these.
The Albanian Mountain tour began with a ride to Lake Koman.
There was an abandoned Soviet style monument on the way.
Mother Therese - possibly the most famous Albanian.
The methods of transport were not what I had come to expect in Europe.
Lake Koman was spectacular and reminded me very much of the South Island of New Zealand.
A man out walking his Goats and Cow. He carried with him a shotgun that you cant see here.
This was my first encounter with the hills of Albania. 52k at an average of 14kph. It wasn't as bad as I had expected but little did I know what was to come.
The campsite at Lake Koman.
Some rocks.
These barrels contained the Raki and the Wine. The Raki wasn't that flash with the after taste similar to very, very bad Vodka. The wine was very special too but not in a good way.
The next morning after a climb to the top of a dam there was a ferry ride to Fierze. It was a chance to sit back and enjoy the scenery.
This was the boat for the locals. It stopped at random points along the way to let people and livestock on and off.
The tourist boat was quite full so me and the bike had a spot on the roof of the boat.
Raki on the boat.
From Fierze it was a ride to Valbone. I had no idea what was there and neither did anyone else on the boat but it was where everyone was going so I decided to take a look. It was only 45km in the wrong direction but took 4 and half hours to get there. The roads and hills of Albania were living up to their reputation.
The road to Valbone - the sealed part. Valbone is to the left of the large mountain.
It was uphill the entire time to get to Valbone. Sections of the road needed some work and at times I was down to 4kph. There were 2 major climbs of 500m and then up to 1000.
When I did arrive it was very beautiful.
The view from my tent.
The camping ground and bar.
The location for breakfast.
They were working on the road and the part that was finished was excellent. The other parts not so good.
After a day off I made my way out of Valbone and made my way to Dharde. There were more hills along the way and this climb up and over a dam was a good test of the legs. In this section it was 7km in 1 hour 20 minutes.
It was quite hot and at this stage I thought it would get a bit easier. It didn't and I ended the day at Dharde having biked for 6 hours and covered 72km.
The last of the hill climbs into Dharde.
Dharde was listed on the map but there wasn't a lot there and more importantly it was further downhill in a direction I didn't want to go so I found a quite spot off the road and camped there. Water was the main issue so I found a stream and used the water filter I have for Africa and all was well.The plan was to get to Kukes but there were more mountains to climb before I would get there.
After another day of mountains I had done 85k and 7 hours on the bike I was in Kukes - in the background here.
It was then onto Peshkopi. This would prove to be the toughest day in all of Albania. There was 10k of flat and then a climb for 1 1/2 hours.
Having climbed I then made may way back down to river and was to follow the road up again. The descent was terrifying. My brakes were not working as well as I would like and at times I was dragging my feet along the ground to slow down.
I changed brake pads at lunch with some assistance from the locals.
After lunch it was into a 2 hour climb that was 7.5km long. I was going between 3 and 5km per hour for two hours. It was long, hot and steap and after 4 hours I had done 32km!
This is at the top of the mountain. It exactly what I did when I got off the bike. I have never been so excited to get to the top of a climb.
A two hour climb is exactly that - Two hours going uphill. I don't stop until I get to the top and I do everything I can to ensure that I beat the climb and it doesn't beat me. Mountains/Hills are a necessary evil and I took the route I did through Albania to get plenty of climbs in before I get to Africa.
Some blokes out on their donkeys.
Peshkopi! 7.5 hours of bike time at an average of 10.1km. There was some downhill/flat in the last 20km that got the average speed into double figures. This was the toughest day I have had on the bike so far. I arrived in Peshkopi, parked the bike and had a beer then sat there for an hour wondering what the hell had just happened. Then another beer and to a hotel. It was a large pizza and then sleep.
Vege store in Peshkopi.
I was woken the next morning by an Albanian wedding parade. The people just drive around town honking their horns, doing laps of the centre as a bogan in Hamilton would on a Friday night. The difference is that most of the cars in Albania are Mercedes.
From Peshkopi it was onto Macedonia and a day off.
The 4000k mark in between the border with Albania and Macedonia.
Some useful information given to me by the Macdeonian border police.
Struga in Macedonia.
And here I'm complaining about control gate hill... Guess it's all relative lol
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful places. Can't believe you've already done more than 4000 km. Thank you for taking us with you on this trip.
I assume (hope?) you have disk brakes on your bike?
ReplyDeleteWOW !! So cool and proud!! My class have been reading and viewing your blog too Kylio, 28 - 10 year olds are pretty impressed with your efforts! Some are even inspired to go on their own bike adventure!! Stay safe, keep smiling and happy biking
ReplyDeleteLots of love J xox