26 May 2022
Another big climbing day…so another early start…
Today…it has turned out is Martin’s last cycling day…and it was certainly the most dramatic and exciting of the trip thus far!!
A lovely meander alongside a dammed river first thing….
…before we turned off to the road to the Montenegro border. A road which became narrower and narrower as we approached. We cycled though the barrier…hoping to find the passport man in a wee building alongside….only to see a policeman waving at us frantically, and rushing out to tell us to stop!! It turned out that this border crossing was closed!! Montenegro so close!!
The 10km detour was not so bad…and probably a good thing given what was to follow!!
A long, long climb up to the ‘open’ border was now on a larger and beautifully graded road…up and up and up…..a climb of around 1,000m! But very little traffic…so we could enjoy the stunning scenery!
The Bosnian exit border was before the top…so we had a good few kms in no-man’s land over the top of the hill, before reaching Montenegro!
We knew we had a 1,000 or so decent into the Bay of Kotor…so we were pleased to find relatively flat land for the 20kms or so before the drop. Look at the speed…a new record…..!!
Just lovely!!
We stopped at a cafe just before the zig-zag descent, where we met a German cyclist coming up (he was riding ex-Istanbul). He was the first cyclist we had seen since leaving Croatia!! Given the big country we had had to bike through…maybe it was not surprising!! He and I swapped SIM cards (Montenegro for Albania…!)….and then we headed down “the old road”. Two vertigo challenged cyclists clinging to the landward side of the road…with precipitous drop-offs! Sweaty palms…but altogether fantastic! A dramatic arrival!!
Once at the bottom…it was only 6kms to our overnight stop at Perast. A place I fell in love with those ten years or so ago! Still picture-perfect gorgeous (photos tomorrow!)..but it has developed hugely…with the many derelict buildings now housing posh hotels. Spoilt? No…just different!! There is even a beach now…where we were ’stalked’ by our landlady…who took our picture and sent it through…!!
And a great apartment…with a terrace view to die for….and the occasional cruise liner sailing past. So weird…for it feels like we are on a lake!!
Good dinner…and at around 10pm….Iain arrived!! Great to see him…but we were all so knackered…it was not long before we headed to bed!! Nearly 400km and 6,000m of climbing in four days! Phew!
Looks amazing… and good hill climbing!
And your downhill speed record is pretty scary!