Our fifth border crossing in just seven days!
Sadly…only the one full day in Kosovo. And so to Montenegro.
What a great day of riding…
To Peja (source of Kosovan beer!)….where we tried again to find a bike shop which was open! (Andrew’s bike rubbing somewhere…axle or brakes…not too serious…) but closed again!! The Muslim holiday of Eidh lasts three days!
Next stop… the police station!!
We had to pass through Peja en route to the border?..so I was looking up about the place…& the main reason to visit was the neighbouring Rugova canyon. And I saw that this road actually went up to the Montenegro border as well…..
But not an official crossing!! Illegal.. many said..etc! So..a challenge…!!!
So…we went to the police station…& they had no problem with us leaving Kosovo by this route….but could not confirm if the Montenegro police felt the same!! Have you been to Albania? Oh dear..was the response! Not sure why!!
Anyway…we thought…what was the worst thing which could happen? Turned back at the border?…& 1,000m of climbing wasted!!? Let’s do it!
Best decision though!! Have a look at this!!
One of the best gorge rides ever!
Up…& up…..
There is a ski field here!! Is this the cheapest place to go skiing in Europe? Quite possibly!!
And then the tarmac stopped!
Not for long though! Here is the border!!!
So funny… gravel road meets tarmac.. on the other side of the border!!
A closed border???
We can squeeze through…but no cars allowed!
1,250 metres or thereabouts!!
We met a young German guy here…walking…to Istanbul!! We are heading North…he is heading South!!! (??? Bonkers!) I did not like to question him too hard!! Lovely guy though…just finished school! Geography might not have been his strong point!! Planning to be an aerospace engineer!!!! Haha…I guess North/South doesn’t come into it!!!
Funny though..talking about geography…there was a very wiggly road (on the map) after the border…& I had just assumed that this was going down again…given most Balkan borders are either at the top of a hill (often)…or at the bottom (ie a river!)
But no!! This was an exception…! So it was another 600m of climbing before we crossed over into the next valley!
What a beautiful ride though!!!
And this beautiful road…was a road to nowhere!! Dead end! To a border no one was allowed to cross!!
Just stunning! (..are you getting bored of the wonder??..I am not going to apologise…it really is wondrous..day after day!!)
As we neared the top…oh fuck!!! A police car!! And we really were illegal immigrants at this moment!!
“Where are you going?”
Berane
“Where from?”
Gjakova
“Really??”….expressing surprise that an old fart had made it up 1,800 metres….
…then……“Electric bike?”
…at which point the ice was broken…& we all just laughed!
Seriously..not many ‘acoustic’ cyclists would venture here!!
“Do you want to see passports?” I asked nervously!.
“No…no worries” was the reply!!
Phew….a bit of a relief really! There they are…heading down towards that border (& our German friend!)
And so to the top!!
Great views as ever…….
…before one of those classic 1,000m 25km descents……
Not precipitous…just lovely…& long!!!
We stopped at the first cafe…for an unusual afternoon beer…& had a good gas with a Dutch couple on their first e-bike adventure.
…before a slow 30km ongoing descent..to our overnight stop at Berane. This is our profile for the day:
Somehow Andrew’s Strava recorded 30 metres more climbing for him…..so another triple-tonner!!
Day 54 today…and we have only had one booking.com fuck up! (…remember…?…the one so wonderfully resolved by Sylvia and Ken in Nocera Umbra in Italy). Today was the second!!
I had been a bit suspicious…for there had been no host communication at all…no replies to my queries about bikes…no information about access etc! Only three glowing reviews! A full 10 rating etc!
Anyway… without going into all the boring details… we waited an hour before we ‘found’ the host…the apartment was nowhere near where it was supposed to be…cobwebs blocked the door onto a disgusting balcony… no linen etc..so we left!!
And found a hotel nearby for 5 euros more…great rooms..including breakfast!! Hahaha!
Tight bike storage!!
But the hour and a half of farting around had been a bit painful after ten hours on the road…& it was HOT!!
So a quick shower..& we found this delightful family ‘grill’ restaurant…which was a perfect end to a great day!!
Enjoyed this sign…as everyone around us drank and smoked!…
And have a close look at the menu…and compare prices for 250ml beers and 500ml beers. Or 750mls of wine….and 1,000mls! Classic really! If you’re a lightweight, you pay!! Hahaha
And our first squat toilet of 2025!
Andrew had not come across one before!! Funny to reflect that back in the day…70’s…these were the toilets we worried about in France..let alone everywhere else! Hahaha!
Thankfully…a relative rarity now…
And a funny postscript about the Rugova Gorge: the son of our host at the grill restaurant had ventured up the gorge four years ago in his camper van. As he turned around….the ground gave way…..!!
Terrifying!
But the photos are amazing! And he found a competition to find ‘the toughest’ campervan…..and his entry came second!! Hahaha
They pulled it out…and he drove off back down the gorge!!
Looks like a top day ! – loving the scenery – esp the gorge