Balkans tour blog

[Kirstie]

Hello all, I've not posted here for a very long time because of my work commitments but I thought a few of you might be interested in reading about a tour I recently completed with my husband Mike. We started at Rijeka in Northern Croatia and then went into Bosnia, through Mostar and on to the Montenegro border where the tour finished. It was a proper adventure!
Happy reading and hope that you are all well
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=12918&v=EG

 

[robjh]

Enjoyed your blog - sorry to see that you didn't make it as far as you'd hoped but you explain the reasons very well.

I did a tour from Montenegro to Slovenia in 2009, via central Bosnia, and have still got an unfinished blog on CGOAB somewhere. I can confirm what you say about the hills, and slogged up a couple of passes on gravel and mud surfaces but probably not as steep or long as your ones, and without the heat. I actually found the roads quiet and no problem traffic in these areas. It is a beautiful and fascinating area, but I found that the valleys full of burnt-out buildings, the minefield signs, and the knowledge of the recent horrors made certain stretches of the trip quite a sombre experience. But like you, I would still thoroughly recommend a tour in these countries, but advise people to do their homework first.

On the gravel in central Bosnia - I had more rain than heat to contend with !

and climbing in Montenegro

 

[betty swollocks]

Really enjoyed reading your journal.
Thank you for sharing.

 

[toeknee]

Great read . Thank you both.

 

[172traindriver]

Brilliant adventure, thanks for sharing it

 

[rich p]

Nice report Kirstie (and nice to see you again!).
I experienced some white roads in Slovenia which my wife found tough. The most dispiriting thing we found was flogging up them, pushing sometimes in extreme heat and then not getting the benefit of rolling down the other side! - kudos to you two for sticking at it. Main roads are for wimps

 

[frank9755]

Yes, enjoyed having a flick through.
It's hard to predict which ones will be tarmac and which ones won't. In Albania a couple of years ago I met road gangs tarring a road for the first time in two separate places. One minute, rough cobbles, the next virgin tarmac!

 

[Kirstie]

Thanks for the comments - it's really good to know that others on here have ridden in this part of the world. We loved it and can't wait to go back so I will be on here asking for more advice in the near future. Robjh i'd be interested in reading your journal, even if it's unfinished. The pictures look very familiar! We did a lot of homework and have friends in Montenegro and Serbia but there were still some surprises! Richp <waves!> I found it dispiriting too at times and in all honesty I have had some trouble getting back on my bike since but I'm off for a short tour this week again so that should cure it!

 

[robjh]

Robjh i'd be interested in reading your journal, even if it's unfinished.

When I said 'unfinished', it's more like barely started, and I only got as far as loading the photos, so there's nothing to actually read. I've been meaning for 4 years to get onto it..... If you're interested, there is a more complete set of my photos here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/19800607@N04/sets/72157621397630744/
You can at least see where I went, and I'm happy to talk about it to anyone who'll listen!

My route was roughly Tivat airport-Kotor-Cetinje-Podgorica-Ostrog monastery-Šćepan Polje (BiH border)-Sarajevo; bus to Travnik; Jajce, Sanski Most, Bihać, Plitvice Lakes (Croatia), Novo Mesto (Slovenia), Ljubljana.

 

[Kirstie]

@robjh how interesting - you went through Montenegro pretty much exactly the way that we were going to go. If possible I'd like to chat to you about it by email at some point. Many thanks

 

[robjh]

@Kirstie , pm me if ever you want to know more. Mind you, it was 4 years ago so some of the finer detail may have changed now