1 Day - 3 Breaks 17/5

Proceeding happily on smooth tarmac the back of my bike started swinging about alarmingly. I assumed it was my second puncture in 4500 km but the tyre was fine and the wheel was not buckled. Eventually discovered the frame had snapped where the chain stay meets the rear drop-out. Although we are in sight of shops it was Saturday morning and everything closes at midday until Monday.

The first break occurred during breakfast. Wendy crunched into her muesli and discovered what she at first thought was a stone but was half of one of her front teeth. Soon after I break the plastic pump on the petrol stove. Its not critical as it will still work but makes life a little tedious.

Later, after buying superglue I carry out emergency roadside dental repairs. With Wendy lying flat on her back I am kneeling over her superglue in one hand, tooth in the other when a van pulls up to ask if everything is ok!

We wheeled the bike to 4 auto repair shops before we found a willing mechanic who spent the best part of an hour with his assistant filing, welding and grinding to fix the frame. Initially I thought it would be a time consuming problem but we were away again in less than 2 hours. And Wendy's tooth is still in place...

Balkan Reflections 13/5

From the high heeled Saturday night of Bitola, Macedonia, through intriguing Albania, to the awesome beauty of Slovenia, the Balkans has been a memorable journey. But what shall remain imprinted most firmly on my brain is the recent suffering of Croatia and especially Bosnia as well as the warmth and helpfulness of the people.

Its remarkable that 10 years ago, although the conflict had officially finished, Bosnia was a lawless land of random and organised violence. Yet now, although the scars of war are all too visible we felt as safe free camping there as anywhere. Although the warnings about land mine caused some concern...

With Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia having majority Muslim populations it is surprising that, apart from the rocket shaped minarets attached to mosques, the call to prayer, headscarves, beards and prayer mats are absent, while alcohol is drunk with vigour and betting is a national pastime.

Slovenia, with its high standard of living, pristine mountains and quaint alpine villages was like moving into a comfort zone before we tackled those high alps ahead.

Italian Alps 10/5

Now we are back in the big hills and once again doing classic mountain passes. Stopped in Cortina yesterday which seems inhabited by ultra thin over made up 50-60 year old women. From there started up the Passo di Giau until we stopped to camp in the woods among patches of snow. Up early to continue our climb and we reached the top at 2232m before 9. These roads are tough, not the easy gradients of the Pyrenees with slopes which go up to 15% forcing me down through the gears. But what a treat we received on the way up. A blue and white pristine world with awesome peaks all around. The sort of snow filled, high altitude, isolated mountain world which is only usually experienced skiing before the crowds arrive. And the 29 hairpins on the downhill were a thrill.
In the afternoon we tackled the Passo di Fedaia, a mere 2057m but adjacent to the Marmolada ski area. This was probably our hardest road climb yet, coming as our second of the day, but we did pass a group of mountain bikers who were walking up which gave us some satisfaction...

5 Simple Things We Should Have Brought 7/5

OK we can't bring everything with us but there are a few things which would have been helpful, taken up very little space and weighed virtually nothing.

1) Needle and Cotton. We did bring a needle but it broke early on so a few of these would have been a good idea. Eventually found a shop selling them but ended up with 30...

2) Aerial Lead. A top tip is using a 1 metre length of wire and crocodile clip to extend the radio aerial. This increases the chances of getting the world service by about 50% but I failed to bring one.

3) Latex Gloves. Great for servicing the bikes and the petrol stove so that you stay away from the indelible blackness. I did try some plastic gloves from a petrol station but they quickly disintegrate.

4) Small Jubilee Clips. Fantastic for running repairs. Wendy has now got a broken front and rear rack and we could have done a permanent job instead of a tape and cable tie lash-up.

5) Bank Card Pin Code. What sort of idiot leaves home without remembering what his pin code is..?

I do realise that all of the above (except 5) could be bought given the time and inclination. But cycling intervenes and we will not get to Bilbao by June 11th if we start trawling around shops.

Winking Man 6/5

The blog has been necessarily a bit dark lately so I include this photo of a wooden statue outside a house in the north of Slovenia to lighten things. We have seen many similar carvings but usually are of giants pulling up trees.
This one is a little different in that he appears to be winking, or he could just have something in his eye...

Upsetting the Border Police 2/5 (Bosnia-Croatia)

Shortly after crossing into Croatia we headed north along a track which followed a railway and river up a narrow, beautiful, wooded valley. Warning signs alerted us that this was a restricted area as the road crossed the border several times. But after taking advice from some locals who said that it was only 18km and the border police had recently passed through we decided to risk it.
It was a fantastic ride up a remote unpopulated track. After leaving the main track and crossing the river into Croatia over a narrow bridge we found the condition of the track deteriorate before it crossed back into Bosnia. We emerged into a farm yard where we caused great astonishment to a potbellied Bosnian farmer who saw us emerge from nowhere.
What we hadn't been told was that further up was a customs post. The Bosnian guy was fine but the Croatian border guard was unhappy that we had travelled along the track. Luckily he had no English so although he was using 'illegal entry' in his stream of words we just pretended that we didn't understand. Eventually when he realised we had cycled from Greece he forgot not only about our indiscretion but also to check our passports.
Soon after we camped down a side road on a hairpin bend as there was little flat ground. No traffic came through before 6.30 in the morning when a border patrol came past. We were up and having breakfast and after checking our passports he was only satisfied after we assured him that we had no intention of going to Bosnia.

Conflict Aftermath, N. Bosnia 1/5

A flat Bosnian plain, around 1km wide bordered on our left by a dark ridge and further away to our right, mountains which disappear into the clouds. It´s mainly pasture with few trees but houses are randomly scattered around both close to the road and towards the ridge.

We are heading north towards the Croatian border and are seeing for the first time the wide scale devastation which has occurred in rural Bosnia as a result of the ethnic conflict. The houses are simple brick structures of varying sizes but all have been damaged in the war. Many are reduced to brick shells, roofs and windows missing while others have been patched up to provide shelter.

There is an EU "Program for Return" in operation but what a place to go back to. The worst sight was a house where the upstairs had been burnt out and the windows once sealed with polythene with people downstairs. In the distance to our right, all that is left of a village is the tightly packed crumbling gable ends pointing towards the sky. And this goes on for mile after mile, hundreds of properties all with the scars of war.

With no escape it´s a mentally gruelling ride. Those that survived the 'ethnic cleansing' that occurred have had to endure destruction, displacement and dispossession. And this was a war fought between neighbours, a conflict setting groups of people against each other who one lived peacefully.

Very similar to the chaos we have created in Iraq.

Bosnian Snow 30/5

We hit the snow at what I thought was the summit at around 1400m. However 3km later when we were still dragging the bikes across the long pass I realised how wrong I had been. And this was supposed to be a simple day. Up and over a pass, then another lower one before we hit the tarmac and put in some distance before finding a bar to watch the football in.
There was no easy way to get through the snow. It was fairly old and had melted and frozen again and we could see that no vehicle had passed this way for some time. It was a remote spot. Riding on the flat or uphill sections was impossible and pushing the bikes involved either finding a ridge to avoid the front wheel slipping sideways on the frozen sections, or where the snow was softer, trudging through ankle deep. The slightly downhill sections I did develop a technique for which involved keeping the front wheel absolutely straight which is not as easy as it sounds.
Eventually the snow ended and we decided against the second pass and were rewarded with 10s of kms of tailwind which zoomed us towards Livno in time for kickoff and gave us a record mileage of 118km.

Mostar, Bosnia 29/4

We visited the bridge, the symbol of conflict and renewal and strolled around the quaint rebuilt area of the old town. But it was the shattered homes which brought home some of the realities of the conflict that had taken place. Blocks of flats battered by gunfire and artillery which are still occupied. Windows bricked up except for small holes at the top to reduce blast damage. A road junction where the intensity of the fighting had left walls crazed with bullet holes.
I can hardly begin to imagine what it must have been like to have lived through this mayhem and it makes me realise how hard we must strive to avoid conflict and promote tolerance.
The previous day we had been in the village of Stolac where a young man approached, proud to show off his place to tourists. He told us that camping was safe as they were all good people there. And I'm sure he is right but the evidence of the derelict houses and pockmarked walls demonstrated what terrible forces within us can be unleashed when conflict starts.

Avoiding the Exploding Rim 28/4

I didn't see the pothole. I was concentrating on cars coming around blind bends on the single track Montenegran mountain road. But I certainly felt it. And my front wheel developed a distortion which increased through the day. Close inspection later revealed a small split in the braking surface of the rim.
What to do? The nearest town was 25km away and I have experienced exploding rims before which sound like gunfire and rip the tube to shreds. We set off early in the morning with deflated tyre and reduced weight. After 5km, while stopping to photograph frogs, an empty van pulled up and we accepted the offer of the ride to Bileca, crossing into Bosnia on the way.
No bike shop in town but after many enquiries we found a man with a van full off stuff who was quickly on his mobile and first a back and eventually a front wheel arrived. With free fitting and a spanner thrown in I am now the proud owner of a heavyweight Bosnian front wheel which should survive the Balkan road system. And we were off cycling again by 10.30...