A big day!
Have I said that before?
But the graphic above gives an idea about how the day panned out! A first…after all my rides…..100km of riding…..wobbling up and down hills (500m of ascent which barely registered!)…and THEN a monster 1,000m 10% climb from sea level…and then a plummet back down again!
A real test for the body!! But we made it!! That descent….pure exhilaration…I even passed two trucks….more on that later! This is the route today……(made up of two bits because the Strava stopped mid-ride)
To start…my tyre was soft and squidgy again in the morning. It is such a niggle! For you do worry that you will not make it to wherever you need to go! But I pumped it up again…and it held for the 80km to Vlore!
An extraordinary house-boat en route…haha…
Great coffee stop en route…at a shed of the place…but truly great coffee!! Now down to under 60 cents (Euros)….same beans, same origin etc etc! Go figure!
And thence to a bike shop I had been in touch with…who apparently understood about tube-less tyres!
No sooner had we arrived…
…..the bike was propped on some wooden blocks (no bike lifters here!)…and within ten minutes, the wheel was off….tyre was off….and we had a new valve fitted…sealant added…and he left…rolling the wheel down the road to a nearby fountain for a leakage test!!
No english at all….but it all worked! But the message…to please review us on Google…was loud and clear! The suggested price…was a bit high….and he picked up on my raised eye brows…and asked me how much I thought I should pay. I told him. And we shook hands!! Haha
Fingers crossed!! So far so good!!
A 20km cruise down the coast South of Vlore…and we are now in Albanian Riviera territory! And it was extraordinary! For at least 10km…it was a full blown building site! Buildings. Infrastructure. New roads. One day…it might be wonderful (but possibly not!!)
All the traffic was travelling so slowly with all the bumps and trenches across the road…we were the fastest vehicles on the road!
And then thankfully….the road left the coast…and we stopped for lunch.
You can see the challenge ahead.
An odd sign en route. Reminding us that you do not need to travel very far for beautiful beaches perhaps?
And then the climb started….a gentle beginning….
……but then a straight 10%! Steep.
But beautiful!
Many false horizons….but eventually we topped out just above 1,000m…and had a beer to celebrate! Hahaha! Well, I did! I was buggared!
And then the plummet!
And it really was one of the wildest rides! Largely tree covered on the way up…but completely open and precipitous on the way down!
One scary moment…when a boy racer (they drive brand new Audis here!) on the way up had not seen me and was overtaking a number of cars…fast…and we both screeched to a halt..literally! I even had time to give him the full two finger salute!
Otherwise…the hurtle was simply exhilarating! As noted I passed two trucks….understandably braking a lot!…
……then I stopped 75% of the way down. Had a cigarette…and finished it!…before the more cautious (sensible!?) Martin arrived!! Hahaha
Dramatic scenery…
And just as Martin arrived…a bang….a broken spoke! (I thought it might be because he was braking too much!). Weird! Slightly wobbly front wheel. But not too serious. Another bike shop visit due though! Unlikely in Albania…….
And so to Dhermi…recognised as one of the three “go-to” places on the southern Albanian coast.
We had booked a relative bargain of a place to sleep…eventually found our host (early season..it felt kind of closed!) …and then headed straight to the beach for the first swim!!
I was burning up after too much sun (I am not complaining!)…so it was a serious chill!! Water temperature of around 16 degrees…so it was a bit of a shock! (Martin swims all year in Seaford for goodness sake…so he thought it was tropical!!) But once in…it was great…clear clear water too.
Quick showers then off to find a beer!
It is another construction site. Seriously!
We found a “lovely” bar/restaurant though amongst the rubble…with a wonderful outlook….
……but the service was dire…and the prices were simply extraordinary…for Albania!!
We did not stay….and instead found a wee local family run bar which was great!!
Martin ate early. I had too many beers!! And wrote this!
Story of my life!!
To finish today…how about this as a new development on the Albanian Riviera!
What were they thinking?
Fingers crossed for a fully inflated tyre….still…in the morning!
