Balkan Bike Blitz - Motorbike Trip - May 2017

Sunday 28th May ------------------------ Slept brilliantly in my cosy and warm apartment. Felt good this morning despite last night's drinks. A most memorable day. Left the apartment by 09:30 and hit the motorway to Novi Sad. It's a big town on the equally big Dunav river. There were lots of historical sites to visit, I settled for the old fortress which had a great view of the town and the river below. Looking at my map it became clear that it's a very long way to Zagreb. My Sat-Nav only knows the main routes in these parts and what with my main phone (better Sat-Nav) out of action I had to rely on my old map and ask for directions as I can't always figure-out cyrillic. Had a great ride through the Fruska national park/mountain before having to return to the highway. Tourism isn't really high on the agenda in Serbia which is a shame as it does have some lovely sights. Made superb progress and got to the Croatian border quickly. Filled-up with cheap Serbian pet...

Saturday 27th May ------------------------ Turns-out my bungalow was right next to the motorway so didn't sleep brilliantly. After the massive dinner yesterday, I decided to skip breakfast and head for Kosovo and beyond - asap. Got through the border as usual, just had to run back from the border and buy the normal 10€ insurance. All seemed very calm. Kosovo seemed fine, not the lawless mess that I expected. The scenery was nice but it is very much a country under construction. Prishtina was very chilled as capital cities go. There is a fake statue of liberty on top of one of the buildings as you enter the city and there is even a street named after Bill Clinton. The Americans are obviously a big influence on the region. People were very keen to talk when they knew I was from the UK. It was typically, "why are you leaving the EU?" or "do you know Jesse-J, can you introduce me?" All good. Stopped for a coffee in the centre or Prishtina and discussed options ...

Friday 26th May ------------------------ Fell asleep trying to re-animate my waterproof but waterlogged phone. Luckily I still have my work phone but looks like navigation may now need to be done using my 1985 map of Yugoslavia. It kept raining all night / morning. None of my gear had dried. The boots were especially bad so I had to put my feet into plastic bags before putting my boots on this morning! My clothes also smell of cigarette smoke which is something I am no longer used to. Had a very slow start as after checking the weather I decided that I wouldn't bother trying to rush into Kosovo as I'd get soaked and struggle to find accommodation in the wet. Instead I had a decent breakfast, checked-out the lake, looked at my map and drank coffee. Headed for Mavrovo National park via a back-road that my Sat-Nav didn't know about yet my 1985 map did. It was a great biking road, little traffic, nice bends and decent tarmac. Made really good progress and quickly made it ...

Thursday 25th May ------------------------ Watched Manchester United thrash Ajax before turning-in. Some guys were partying nearby but it didn't bother me and I soon dozed-off. Warmest night so far despite a bit more rain falling overnight. Now realise that the ferry next to where I camped just goes across the bay, hence that other campsite way before Kotor was just a short ferry-ride away.... Left early as I knew that today had the potential to be a tough one. I was not wrong. My route should have typically taken me through what was Titograd, now Podgornica, but my phone SatNav contradicted the TomTom. With Phone Nav being pretty handy of late I chose to go where the phone suggested. It was a wild single-track road through the mountains, hugging the coast. No safety barriers and it went on and on. After about 5 miles I thought about turning back as I had no clue where I was going and didn't have much fuel. Checking the map, my concern was will I find fuel and will there act...

Wednesay 24th May ------------------------ Woken by the call to prayer somewhere up the river. Probably the Dervish house I saw yesterday. Amazing voice, no dodgy over-amplification, I'd be happy with that as an alarm bell. Enchanting. Well someone operating what sounds like a saw-mill may have actually woken me. Peace in the countryside - not a reality. The BBQ trout last night was amazing. The best I have ever eaten (and I've had a lot of trout). All that food and beer came to less than €20 which is pretty good going. In fact this morning I realised that it was 22 Bosnian Marks (about €11) but I told the guy to keep the change as I didn't do the Math. No wonder he was so pleased. Having to replace a bulb and a fuse last night reminded me that I don't have breakdown cover outside of the EU so hope the bike hangs together. So far so good..... Followed the advice of the guy at the campsite and took the mountain road to Dubrovnik, thus avoiding having to go through N...

Tuesday 23rd May ------------------------ Good day today as I finally got some decent biking roads in. The first part of the road down from Plitvice to Split was superb. Lots of twisties, nice views and not too much traffic. Last part was back onto the motorway which at least got me down into Split pretty fast. Split was busy and very hot. The port was a really happening place - lovely azure water. Tons of tourists in the town and on all the beaches up the coast. Would have been nice to spend the night. From Split followed the Dalmation coast which was initially over developed but did get a lot nicer as I continued in the direction of Dubrovnik. Turned towards Bosnia in Baska Voda and took a stunning twisty mountain road right up the the border crossing. After the unbearable heat it was a joy to traverse the mountains and flout the very conservative speed limits and even beat the TomTom estimates. Sat-nav lost the plot at this stage so I follwed the signs for Mostar. Got to a very ...