Kukes to Peshkopi (Albania)

Last night’s hotel had the most wonderful bed; and, this morning’s hotel breakfast has been the best so far: avocado egg toast, plum, orange slices, banana, chocolate croissant, cherry tomato. If you’re ever in Kukes, check out Baz’hur Boutique hotel.

Cycling up the 32 km to the coffee stop

This morning’s forecast was a tail wind. Since it was only 2000 meters of climbing, our tour leader figured we’d arrive in Peshkopi quite early, even though breakfast didn’t start until 8 am. After gorging on breakfast, we rolled out about 9:15. It was quite chilly (about 40); and many people wore more layers after how cold we got yesterday. The tour leader said that the first part of the climb up to the coffee stop would be the worst, so, my friend and I cycled steadily uphill, refusing to take a break until then (32.6 km). We didn’t even stop for photos! One of the other cyclists caught a video of us passing a flock of sheep along the road.

The coffee shop was able to make us coffees when their electricity was on. The owner had just finished warming up milk for me when the electricity went out a second time. I don’t know if it’s because it’s at 800 meters elevation (approximately 2600 feet) or because of the incessant wind, but, it was cold, even inside the restaurant. One of the wood burning ovens outside was lit; and, cyclists would stand near it to warm up. But, with such a chill, we didn’t stay long. I grabbed one of the pre-packed lunch sandwiches from the hotel, stuffed it in my bag and started back up the hill after the other cyclists. The lunch stop had been canceled since it would have been outside in the wind on the side of the mountain.

We cycled alongside Korab Koritnik Nature Park

Since I was cycling solo now; and, because the worst was supposedly over, I stopped to take a few photos. One of the mountains was terraced. Possibly for all the delicious grapes we’ve eaten? The views were more and more magnificent! At or near the top of this mountain, there was a sign for the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park. Earlier cycling up, I’d seen a sign that Mount Korab was Albania’s tallest mountain. Thankfully, we didn’t try to cycle up it!

Magnificent mountains!

I saw several flocks and shepherds today, as well as a man coming out of the trees on the side of the road on a small horse, carrying large bags of something. In Albania, we see many mosques and hear the calls to prayer. In the smallest settlements, instead of paved speed bumps, there are thick ropes lying across the road. Many of the Albanians that I’ve passed waiting on the side of the road have smiled and waved. It’s been quite wonderful to travel through!

Drying stalks in a small field along the road

Coming down the mountain were more switchbacks. And, then, just when I didn’t think I could go any further, there was a billboard for our hotel. That helped me power through the last 5 km, starting with an uphill climb. I arrived by 3:30, so, I had time to walk around town with the other cyclists. We’ve had several friendly kids talk to us.

Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderberg

Near our hotel, there are a couple of statues. One is a bust of Iljaz Pashe Qoku (1812-1910). I can’t find anything in English about him online. The other is a statue of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderberg (1405-1468). That name caught my eye because it’s almost the same as a chain of gas stations in Albania (Kastrati), which has a goat headed helmet as its logo. The statue had a goat headed helmet under its arm, the original metal helmet was forged in the 1400s and returned to Albania in 2012.  Gjergj is an Albanian national hero who fought the Ottomans.

View of mountains from Peshkopi

Shkoder to Kukes (Albania) via Puke

7:30 am start. The guys on either side of me finished today's difficult route.

I’ve been dreading today for the last couple of months. It’s the hardest planned day on our three week cycling vacation at 150 km distance (almost 100 miles) with 3200 meters of climbing (approximately 10,000 feet). Our tour leader insisted that we all start cycling at 7:30 am this morning if we were going to have any chance of making it to the hotel by 6 pm, before it got dark. She estimated we could take approximately one hour and thirty minutes total breaks. 

First climb outside of Shkoder

Unfortunately, the day started with a strong headwind that got worse as we climbed. I was already tired after navigating the chasing dogs across from the hotel and trying to hang with the other cyclists on the flats on the highway out of town. My friend was gracious enough to slow down for me again today. We started up the climb together. However, halfway up the switchbacks, the road was completely open, without any trees. A strong gust caught us. As I struggled to stay upright while feeling my wheels skid sideways below me, in front of me, my friend was angled sideways down into the wind. It was terrifying! After that, I slowed way down. When a gust hit, I’d put a foot down to stop and wait for it to pass.

The town of Puke

We made it halfway up the mountain to our coffee break and washroom stop, which we rushed through. It was getting quite chilly, so, we grabbed warmer gear out of the van. Then, we started climbing again. The wind continued to howl. Eventually we came to the town of Puke. I had to take a photo just because of its unique name. The van was waiting in the town to refill our water bottles and point us in the right direction. When we climbed out of town, a shepherd was coming with his goats down the road. “Brava! Brava!” he encouraged us with a grin.

Veggie soup and thick hot chocolate for lunch

After all that climbing, we finally got to descend! But, first, we stopped to put on all of our warmer gear. Then, we cruised down to the lunch stop kilometers below us. We were freezing cold by the time we arrived. It was so chilly on the descents that we would stop to try to get feeling back in our fingers.. At the hotel restaurant, we ordered the fastest items, inhaled the food, used the restroom and then were back on our bikes to start climbing again. At this point, three of the cyclists called it quits for the day. (There are twelve of us total.)

Beautiful views all day!

After we warmed up, we stopped to take off and stash layers. Then at the start of each descent, we’d put all of our layers back on. The wind was getting better after lunch but every now and then it would blast us to remind us to be cautious. In addition, there were chunks out of the road that were being paved east to west as we were riding west to east. First, we were weaving around all the chunks out of the road, then, swerving around the trucks pouring fresh tar with cars squeezing by both directions, then, through dryer and dryer asphalt.

In our group WhatsApp, the tour leader posted that if we could get to the coffee shop before the last hill, the van would give us a lift up that hill so that we could cycle the rest of the way to the hotel. We still had one more hill to climb and descend to get there. When we finally made it to the coffee shop, the tour leader was waiting to tell us that our cycling was done for the day. I’d never been so happy to hear those words! Our bikes were loaded in the van, along with two other cyclists. That means out of twelve, only one got a ride to the top of the hill while four managed to cycle the entire route. Seven of us couldn’t complete it.

We went into the coffee shop with the tour leader to use the bathroom and get something hot to drink. Another non-coffee drinking cyclist mentioned that she orders a hot milk with honey. I ordered that now; and, the owner brought out honey from her family’s beehives. Then, the owner’s husband / bartender was our “taxi” to take us into the hotel in Kukes. We followed the same route that we would have cycled; and, it was hair-raising! I’m very glad that I didn’t have to cycle the open motorway into Kukes, where the speed limit posted is 60-80 kph but our driver was going 100-110.

For supper, found a nearby market for some tinned fish sand a pomegranate. We’ve seen so many pomegranate trees. The fruit is quite messy but delicious.

Podgorica (Montenegro) to Shkoder (Albania)

Today was the first morning that was sunny! Before we started out, one of the other cyclists was able to index my gears so that the easiest one worked for going uphill. With that, the bike could now do a couple of easy gears, a couple middle gears and the highest couple of gears. I was ready to take on today’s climbing. However, first we had a flattish section to the Albanian border, along a river, with mountains on either side. After the Albanian agent meticulously copied my passport details into a paper ledger, it was time to conquer the switchbacks. With that lowest gear now available, grinding upward felt easier. The views from the top were magnificent!

Morning switchbacks in Albania

After a snack break, we started down on the other side. We’ve been really impressed on road quality. Today was no exception. The road on both sides of the border was very smooth and well maintained. I applied much less brakes than I normally would on a downhill. At the very bottom, there was a flock of goats crossing. A couple of the goats were butting heads. After a few photos, I passed under the bridge and to our coffee stop.

Goats on the road

After coffee, it was a flat and busy road into the wind. I started out with four other cyclists and managed to hang onto the rear. They were nice enough to wait for me when I’d fall behind on a slight uphill or one of the many roundabouts. It was a sprint! Strava lists the ride from the coffee stop to Shkoder as my fastest 30 km ever. 

Shkoder two way bike lane

Shkoder is known as a big cycling city; and, there were bike lanes and people cycle commuting everywhere among the cars and motorcycles. No one is wearing a helmet. These aren’t fancy road bikes, either. People in Shkoder ride practical bikes for transportation.

Bike mechanic examines the rear derailleur hangar

Once we arrived in Shkoder, we started searching for bike shops to buy a replacement a rear derailleur hanger. The one that the tour leader had sent me was closed. The next closest on Google Maps didn’t sell them but recommended another place. That bike mechanic didn’t have the specific hangar for my bike but recommended me to a fourth place. There, the owner didn’t have the specific hangar for my bike but offered to make one out of aluminum. We also had some neighbor kids come by for something on their bike as well as to check out mine. Feeling that we’d expended sufficient energy and that we weren’t going to find any better options, I’ve decided to ride with my bike as it is currently for Albania and North Macedonia.

Stolia Coffee house lunch

By this time, my friend who’d come with me to find a bike shop and I were very hungry. We biked up to the cafe where the other cyclists were eating, stopping at a bank first to withdraw some leks. The meal at Stolia Coffeehouse has been my favorite so far in the trip: a matcha latte (!) and a greens salad with tomatoes, cheese and shrimp.

Rozafa Fortress

Feeling reinvigorated, we picked up some water for brushing our teeth and for our water bottles in the morning. (It’s recommended to avoid drinking the tap water in Albania.) Then, we slowly cycled a little around central Shkoder, a town first built in 400 BCE! On our way out of town, we stopped for a photo of Rozafa Fortress, also from 4th century BCE, although rebuilt by the Venetians and the Turks. We needed to save our legs for tomorrow; and, it was already almost 5 pm, so, we didn’t attempt cycling up to it. 

View from tonight's hotel 

Plus, we knew that there was one more steep hill up to our hotel tonight. There was also a hot tub. Hopefully sitting in the water jets will give me legs the extra energy needed for tomorrow’s long day of climbing.

Cycling Muo to Podgorica (Montenegro)

Bay of Kotor

It was another wet morning. The rain had stopped long enough to get us prepped and on our bikes. However, as soon as we got on the road, it started sprinkling. We stopped to put on raincoats. Today’s route took us along the bay to Kotor. Then we started climbing the switchbacks out of town up to Lovcen Park.  I’m very thankful that the climb was gradual enough that I could grind up in my second to last gear, the lowest gear currently working on my bike. Thankfully, the rain stopped; and, we soon removed our raincoats. It ended up being perfect cycling weather for the long climb up at the entrance: overcast and cool. Our tour leader was waiting at the entrance; and, she informed us that we’d need to skip Lovcen Park and take the alternative route, or we wouldn’t make it to our hotel before it was dark today. That saved us 10 km of distance and 500 meters of climbing elevation. 

Bay of Kotor

The rest stop at the entrance wasn’t open, so, we followed the alternate route to the next cafe. The door was locked but a server on the level below said that they were open if we came downstairs. They were closing for the season tomorrow. Inside, there was even a cozy fireplace! After quick hot drinks, we were on our way.

Former French Embassy

Today we went through three different tunnels, all well paved and well lit. Our lunch stop was in the historic city of Cetinje, which was originally the capital of Montenegro. As we were getting close to the lunch stop, there was a very unique building that made us stop. It was the former French Embassy, completed in 1910. Beautiful architecture! We lunched at Gradska, where I ate a ricotta cheese salad with beets and oranges as well as a delicious piece of chocolate cake and drank hot chocolate. 

Cetinje Monastery 

After lunch, we wandered over to the outside of the Njegos Museum of Biljards, the medieval castle church and the Cetinje Monastery. Lots of fun architecture with informational signs! Then, we hopped back on our bicycles and headed out of town for some more climbing. By now, the sun was peeking out. We were on a busier road but then turned onto a narrow road through wine country. The road could barely fit a car and a bike across yet was a two way road. Along the edge, wild pomegranate bushes grew. When the vegetation cleared, the views were magnificent!

Rural vista

However, a rain cloud caught up to us, which cut short one of our photo breaks. Rain jackets back on, we cycled until we got out of the rain. At that point, we were in a small town, next to a monument that looked to be for soldiers from WWII. We looked up some Yugoslavian history on Encyclopedia Britannica while we ate. Then the rain caught up to us again; and, we were back on our bicycles, climbing up through the wet. 

WWII monument?

When we eventually escaped the rain again, we could hear loud music coming from a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. It was a happening place full of cars. We pulled off nearby to get photos of yet another terrific view, this one of the Pavlova Strana River.

Pavlova Strana River

It was time to make up some mileage, though. We had to get back on a busy road. Our shadows were beginning to grow longer. At least we were cruising downhill into Podgorica, before turning off into an
industrial area on the edge of town. We had to make one final photo stop for the rainbow behind us. Then, the wind picked up; and, too late, we realized that we’d soaked in the scenery too long today, as the rain pelted us all the way to the hotel.

Cycling Cavtat (Croatia) to Muo (Montenegro)

Waking up to overcast skies and wet sidewalks is never a good start to a day of cycling. Today was the first cycling day of our three week tour. All of the contents of my suitcase had ended up outside of my suitcase by breakfast. I ran downstairs, inhaled some food from the buffet, then, returned to squeeze everything back into my carryon suitcase and squish it into zippered closure. Then, we dropped off our suitcases at the van, pulled our bikes out of storage to load water bottles, pump up tires, attach cycling computers, and stuff our bike bags. It started raining. The tour guide gave us a briefing indoors.  By the time she’d finished, the rain had mostly cleared to heavy humidity. Off we rode!

First we climbed back to the main road and turned toward the airport. That was a stressful ride on a wet, two-way road with no shoulders and much traffic due to the airport. Finally we turned off onto a quieter road. I felt pretty strong at the beginning of the climbing. However, it was getting tougher and tougher as we kept going. Eventually, even my bike was making sounds of protest. Then, my radar light fell off. When I stopped to pick it up, I noticed that my under saddle bag was rubbing the back tire. Upon assembling the bike yesterday, I hadn’t tightened done the seat post bolt enough; and, the saddle was slowly sinking. Had a good laugh about that while fixing it on the side of the road!

The wet roads made me paranoid about falling. In my training, I never cycled when it was wet or raining. Unfortunately, that meant that I was braking even more than usual and falling further and further behind. In addition, after spending so much time on Garmin Express to download European background maps on my cycling computer, none of them were working. Often, my computer simply showed a blue arrow in a blank background, without even a red line to follow. Thankfully, for me, the sweep and my friend fell back to cycle along with me. 

Our border crossing between Croatia and Montenegro was uneventful. Then, we cycled on to meet the rest of the group at the coffee stop. As we pulled up, I was so grateful to be off the bike after all the wet roads, that I absent mindedly leaned the bike against myself while attempting to take off my rain jacket. BAM! The bike fell on the pavement in the derailleur side. Picking it up, I stashed it next to a planter, then went to use the washroom. All the other cyclists had been sitting around for ages and started packing up as soon as we arrived. My friend and the sweep slurped their coffees; and, then, we were back on our bikes, too. Unfortunately, at this point, I started to realize that something was wrong with my shifters. Shifting down to climb, my chain fell off into my wheel. I stopped to get it back on, but then it happened again a bit further on. By then, I’d lost everyone; and, the Garmin was a blank screen. I started walking the bike to the upcoming roundabout, decided to turn right and hope for the red line to reappear on the Garmin. Then, the sweep came back down the sidewalk to find me. 

We made it to lunch last, got my bike on a stand and assumed it was a bent hanger. Ate lunch, biked back to the ferry, crossed over and then biked the final 10 km to the hotel in a narrow road wide enough for one car that was actually a two way road. Near the end, it started to rain. At the hotel, one of the other cyclists was nice enough to try to fix the bent hangar since this tour has tools that we can use but no mechanic. Unfortunately, once reassembled, the gears were still wonky. The tour leader then sent me to ask the receptionist to find out if there was a bike mechanic in town. The receptionist was very helpful calling and texting around. However, she couldn’t find anyone, not even in nearby Kotor. It’s Saturday; and, the bike shop there had closed at 4 pm today for the weekend. The tour leader asked if I couldn’t just cycle to Podgorica tomorrow (2500 meters climbing) where there’s a bike shop. It is a frustrating set of circumstances caused by my own folly, yet, I’ve learned now that I won’t book another tour without a mechanic support person.

Dubrovnik Old Town (Croatia)

Every European vacation seems to involve running for public transportation. Yesterday afternoon, my bicycle (in a box) and I arrived in Cavtat, Croatia, after an overnight flight from Toronto, with a layover in Munich, of which the highlight was an hour nap in a reclining chair. It had been a long day of travel; and, even the excitement of meeting up with my friend could barely keep me awake through dinner. We delayed assembling our bicycles until this morning after breakfast. Other cyclists helped us; yet, it took longer than expected; and, then another person on the tour asked if we’d be ready to catch the bus in 12 minutes, which involved frantically stuffing our packaging materials into bike boxes, haphazardly attaching bike bags, entrusting our bikes to others to stash in the hotel while we disappeared down the maze of stairways to the street. Ahead we saw the bus crossing the street, which is when our fast walk turned into a jog to make it to the stop while the bus cleared the roundabout. (Libertas bus number 10 from Cavtat to Dubrovnik costs 4 Euro. Can be paid for by credit card. Approximately 45 minute ride.)

It’s been 12 years since I’ve visited Dubrovnik. In September 2014, I had purchased a Dubrovnik Pass in order to walk the walls and visit several small museums. At that time Croatia still had its own currency. And while still there is still the option to simply walk the walls or to purchase a Dubrovnik Pass which includes both the walls and several museums, the cost has gone up to 40 Euros for either option.

Fort Lovrjenac

Today before entering into the walls, we hiked up to the entrance of Fort Lovrjenac to get a view of the Old Town across the water. 

Old Town

Then we descended to wander through the streets in the Old Town. Much of it was damaged during Siege of Dubrovnik in 1991. However, it has been well restored. Up from the central main street, pedestrian paths are ascending stairs with stone ditches along the sides. The further the climb, the fewer restaurants, shops, and accommodations. Laundry hung on lines between buildings, high above the many steps. Eventually we came to the inside edge of the southern side the city walls. As we continued walking, we saw people emerging from the wall and followed others through the narrow opening to a beautiful view of Lokrum Island and the Adriatic Sea.

Lokrum Island in Adriatic Sea

Back within the city walls, we entered two different churches, both completed in the 1700s, albeit in different styles. The first was St Ignatius Church. It had a gloomy interior with the smell of incense. However, in the dim light, we were still impressed by the magnificent painted frescoes behind the alter. The second church was the Cathedral Treasury, which was filled with light from many windows. Inside, the most interesting art work was a modern version of the stations of the cross.

By this point, we were hungry. Stopping at Fox Bros, we ordered loaded fries. They were just the right amount of food for us to continue our Old Town meandering. (I have a premonition that I’ll be eating lots of versions of potatoes this trip.)

Bell Tower

We continued walking toward a square, which was edged by the bell tower. There is a sphere in the middle which I assume is showing the phases of the moon. Below it, there is a Roman numeral for the hour and digits for every five minutes. Accurate enough.

 

Continuing on, we ambled through the streets on the north edge of the Old City, eventually hearing the sound of a dribbling basketball. Peeking through a doorway, we saw a basketball hoop installed apin the city walls. The edge of the court had an unobstructed view of the Adriatic Sea, with the breeze cooling off the players.

After our Old Town peregrinations, all there was left to do was climb all the stairs back up to the road to the number 10 bus back to Cavtat. We made it back in time to the meetup with the other cyclists participating in the tour. There are twelve of us: five women and seven men. 

Exploring Nanaimo

After a week on Denman Island (population approximately 1500), Nanaimo feels like a big city! I walked down to the Bastion, a tower used as a trading post which was also fortified with cannons in case anyone tried to take over the rich coal mining area. Coal became even more important once the gold rush started on the west coast. Interestingly, one of the tools on the inside walls was the same type of draw knife that I used yesterday for shaving bark off a tree.

Next, I did a whirlwind tour through the Nanaimo Museum in the 30 minutes before they closed. They had a very nice exhibit on coal mining, with a staged coal mine. There were lanterns outside the entrance that visitors could take to walk through the dark mine and read the placards.

In addition, there were many artifacts from the Salish people, including from an archaeological dig on formerly Salish land. There were drawers of stone tools; however, my favorite pieces were the beautifully woven baskets and hats.

A very well done traveling exhibit was of all the Japanese Canadians forced into internment camps during World War 2. There was a map of all the blocks in Vancouver where Japanese-Canadians lived, listing all the inhabitants. There were many different stories from individual Japanese-Canadians. After they were allowed to leave the interment camps, they were banned from returning home. Instead, their options were to go to Japan or east of the Rocky Mountains. A wall map shows how many migrated where.

At the ground floor of the museum was the Nanaimo tourist information desk. They had a much better map with walking trails listed. Google hasn't figured out walking trails in the parks in Denman Island or Nanaimo. Thankfully, maps are still printed! I walked all the way to Morrell Nature Preserve, which had maps signed throughout the trails. It was a very beautiful park to walk through. There were salal berries, Oregon grapes, turkey tail mushrooms and arbutus trees (with the peeling bark). On the trail, there was the largest slug I've ever seen! It was about the size of 15 garden slugs, just a big black mass on the trail that I thought was a large pinecone until it started moving.

My goal had been to walk around Westwood Lake as well, yet, after a bit of backtracking in Morrell, I decided to head back to the roads once I reached the lake. Westoowd Lake trails were printed on the map at the information center. However, there weren't any trail names listed. I tried to decipher the few sign posts that I saw against the paper map. There were very few people hiking or cycling on the trails.

Eventually, I made it back to a residential neighborhood. Yet, then, I tried to do a shortcut which appeared to work on the printed map which Google maps wasnt showing. Walked downhill a long gravel path. It didn't go through. Ate a blackberry as consolation and then walked back up that hill. At least there was a good view from the top.

By this time, it was time to start booking it to get back to my Airbnb by sunset.  After a very long steep downhill, I walked along a paved path by the main road. It looked almost brand new! Only saw one person on it while walking there. Didn't see the sunset but made it back before dark.