Join us on our summer cycle across Albania. In this episode we leave the Albanian capital Tirana, heading for Elbasan then crossing the border into Macedonia where we spent a few nights by Lake Ohrid.
A beautiful start to a wonderful trip!
[Music] [Applause] [Music] How we doing, boys? Last minute preparations, then we’re off. Good. That way. And we’re off. It’s day one. We have just left Tana, the capital of Albania. It’s a beautiful city. Got to say, you got to go. Really, really should go to Tana for a city break or a weekend break. incredibly cycle friendly city as well. Bike lanes everywhere, people who are just very accommodating towards cyclists. We are a couple of kilometers out of the city now and we’re onto this very cycle unfriendly dual carriageway. So hopefully these are just the necessary evils that you’ve got to do to get out of the city usually. And then hopefully we’ll have something much nicer to look at in a few kilometers. Now it feels like we’re getting somewhere. This is beautiful. Those mountains, man. Whoa. Whoa. properly out in the sticks here, man. It’s weird. You’ve got bunch of international schools and universities, embassies, new build like complexes, and then just nothing. Guess the city’s expanding. Reckon we’re officially out of the city now. Beautiful. So Paul has lost a water bottle. Where do you reckon it is? Down that ravine. Teach Paul to do the zooies. Thought he was better going faster than us. Now look at him. Tail between his legs. He’s come across. Oh man. Powell has not been kind to me. Same [ __ ] You need to tape them on. Yeah, I got cable ties. Oh dear. Oh dear. How far do we go? Look, I’ll tell you what you’re doing. You’re drinking from the wrong ones, dude. Your middle one’s nearly empty. Yeah, I know. I had that as we set up. All the weight is moving around at the front. That’s like less than 2 kilos, Danny. Imagine the weight I’m putting through the handlebars. It’s not affecting it. Less weight. They won’t fall out. Oh, they will. These are [ __ ] [ __ ] They’re so [ __ ] Look. Like that’s about half full. One pothole was just made it go. Made it 10k until we had the first disaster though. That’s all right. Only another 50 to go. Yeah. Who’s next? What we saying? What’s going to fall off Danny’s bike next? Me, I reckon. That pink bag is looking a bit precarious. It’s tied onto the thing, so Okay, it should be all right. And it’s only uh electrolytes and energy, so nothing too important. I’ve lost all trust in those. That water’s going in the back. They’ll slip out, I reckon. I mean, they’re definitely slipping out of there. Yeah, fair enough. Let’s go. Oh, wait. My seat’s bent. Let’s go. Take two. Yeah, your bag’s hanging off practically. Uh, we’re only 15 km into this ride. 15 km outside of Tana. But this is, you have to get used to me saying this, I reckon over the next few weeks. This is stunning. Mountains either side. Looking forward to a lot more of this. We’re going to be in Macedonia tomorrow. Just realize that. We’ll be in Macedonia tomorrow. It’s mad that essential nutrition for a trip like this. Get your hydration tabs. It’s not a particularly good one. It’s like, is it espresso? That’s all right. So, are we going to Elbasan or Elbasan? I tell you what, you go that way. No, I think this one looks a lot nicer. How long do you reckon we were in that place? Half an hour. Yeah. Half hour was And that fella knocked back four beers. And it’s what time? 10. 10. 10. Yeah. 10:30. That’s good effort that isn’t it? It’s dedication to the craft like Oh yes. Yeah. She’ll be going up it at some point I think. Be careful. Have dangerous dog. Wow. Yeah. proper nice. [Music] break. Oh, sweet. Yeah. Tiny bit of down before straight back up, I imagine. Yeah. Up. Yeah, we can do that. 200 m and a bit of scran at the top. Hopefully get some [ __ ] hill. Yeah. Officially leaving Tana when you’ve spent the morning cycling uphill bread satiki salad feta rice. Let’s get stuck it in. Nice lamb lunch and some watermelon. Watermelon. Struggling a bit now though. I feel really full. Yeah, I’m thinking that too. Maybe was a good choice. It’s the good good thing about eating in these countries though, man. It’s just Yeah. Just all great food, but it’s all really heavy. 30 €30 for like a full plate of lamb. Like half a kilo of lamb. Good bit of like homemade feta, satiki, bread, rice, salad. That’s not bad quality. [Music] Bit risky with no no barriers here. Wouldn’t fancy that. [Music] Woo! This is more like it. Oh my god, that was so much fun. The speeds of like mid 40s, maybe into the 50s. Just downhill for 10 minutes, man. That was unbelievable. My ears are popping. Can’t need to equalize. It’s ridiculous. You see only 14ks to Albasan as well. Almost there. [Music] Yeah, I’m gone and all. Oh, poor thing. Praise be to the big man. Wow. Guess that’s Elvis, son. Back to the city. That’s cool. Day one in the books. Good ride today. 55 km. Moving time about 4 hours. Pretty good considering it was mostly uphill. Lovely little guest house in the castle walls. So, it’s time for a shower and then we’ll see what the city has to offer. Got a big day tomorrow. Touching 100ks uphill and a border crossing into Macedonia. So, just a quiet look around the town tonight. I think maybe a little celebratory beer for the journey being underway. First day done. Cheers. These legs beer festival on tonight. But we have the biggest ride of the trip tomorrow. 1,800 m of incline elevation. So going to have to skip on the booze, I reckon, tonight. Day two. Two over there. Done. Done. Number three. Sacrificing navigation for some good footage today. Big day today, boys. How are we feeling? Good. Just got a bit of a brutal one ahead of us today. 108 km, which isn’t too bad, but 1,800 m of elevation. Um, so it’s looking like it’s going to be a heavy one today. Now, we’ve got a few kilometers on this road just out of Elbasan, and the map is telling us that we need to go up into the mountains to avoid some construction. However, Google is saying you can still drive on that road, and you can still walk on it. So, we’re wondering whether we take the risk and go on this construction road in the hope of avoiding at least one mountain range because before we get to the Macedonia border, there’s going to be another huge mountain anyway. So, want to save our legs for that. But, let’s see. We got about 6 km until we have to figure that one out. Albasan was a nice city. I enjoyed Elvisan for one night. Very quiet. Not really much to do, but nice city walls, beer festival, just a good vibe. Nice city to hang around in, chill out for a night. Having to spend a lot of time today stood up. We’re only 5 or 6 km in, but my ass is killing. I always get that on day two because I very rarely cycle two days in a row except on these big trips. Day two is always an absolute killer for your backside. So that one that turnoff that we just went past was the one to go up to the mountains and that’s the road that it would have been up there. Just big steep winding road. So yeah. Just keep going. Yeah. Yeah. As far as we can and if we if it becomes unbearable, then at least we know what the alternative is, right? And we can make an informed decision then. I was the one who was probably the most hesitant about taking this route, but reckon we might be on to a winner here. just cut out a mountain. Nice freshly laid tarmac and a hard shoulder to cycle in and [ __ ] beautiful scenery as well. Those mountains are just stunning. This tarmac is so fresh. You can actually smell it. It can’t be doing much good for your insides, but it’s good for the legs. Here we go. Skinny tires. Look at those skinny little tires. Tell you what though, the scenery is all right. So, we’ve actually caught up with the route that we were supposed to be taking that would go through the mountains. It’s only taken us about 30 minutes, whereas if we’d have followed that route through the mountains, it would have taken us about 2 hours. So, it’s definitely worth a bit of a sore ass and a wobbly head for a while. Here we go again. I don’t think I’ve actually explained where we’re going today. Uh so we’ve left Elbasan and now we’re heading towards the Albania Macedonia border and we’re going to cross into Macedonia and we’re going to stay in Offid and ride around Lake Orid for a few days which is a world heritage site, UNESCO World Heritage site. Apparently absolutely beautiful. Um but we just need to get there first. So, we’ve managed to cut out quite a lot of the elevation from the first part of the cycle by going through that under construction road. And now we’re heading towards the border. We’ve still got quite a while to go, probably about another 50 60k. And we got a huge mountain to climb as well. Uh but for now, let’s enjoy coming down. It’s coming from somewhere up there. God knows where. That’s really cold. Yep. Woo. just had a very nice moment of Albanian generosity. I uh we I finished a big bottle of water, so I went into a roadside sort of restaurant, coffee shop to ask if they could put it in the bin, and they were like, “Ah, even better. I’ll fill you back up.” So, that’s two free lers of cold water, which is very nice. Uh, I don’t know if it’s an English thing, but I’m just not used to getting things for free without having to do something in return. Like, I would never have asked for that. And I would assume like if you walked into a place in a number of different places, they’d be like, “Oh, well, you got to buy something first or if you want to use the toilet or if you want to get a glass of water.” Also, quite funny, I was chatting to the guy that owns the place. He was like, “Oh, where are you from?” So I said, “I’m from England.” And he laughed and went, “Oh, England. So you’ve come to a dangerous country then.” Uh, which I thought was quite funny. Kind of I guess the perception that a lot of people may have about Albania. Seems like the Albanians, Albanian people are aware of it. Uh it’s kind of weird because you know you say to you say to people I’m going to Albania and they don’t really know anything but they assume it’s a really dangerous country and the the I don’t think the opposite could be more true. Like I’ve never felt more welcome I think in a place ever than I have in the first sort of 5 days in Albania. Back we are. I guess this is just going to be the theme of this stretch. Got a little incline coming up. Just stopping to take on some essential sugars before the incline. Before the big climb. Jelly rings. Oh, Danny called me. So right yet so wrong. Or is it so wrong yet so right? I don’t know. Hey. Hello. Hello. Hello. Maconia. Have a good day. Macalonia. Hey. He could have been saying, “What’s that?” That was a full conversation. Yeah. He could have either been saying Macedonia is great or don’t go there. Couldn’t quite decide whether he was saying, “Hey, you’re going to Macedonia. Nice one.” or ah don’t go there. Stay in Albania where Albanians are superior. I don’t know, man. Happy guy, though. Happy guy. And the good vibes are all that matter. Got some real vintage train lines there. Don’t know how often they’re used. I assume that mountain in the distance is the one that we need to get over. That’s also where the border is at the top of a mountain, I think. So, stop in this town for some lunch and then tackle the mountain and hopefully a smooth border crossing and then we’ll be into Macedonia. Just little town called Prenz. I think about 400 500 m above sea level. What we say this one? I mean, they’re all going to be much of a muchness, right? It’s going to be hot tomorrow. You’re right. Yeah. Just go here. Yeah. You Yeah. I don’t know where we used to go. Enjoy, boys. Thanks. I think after a very confusing ordering service, we’ve ended up with three bowls of soup, a basket of bread, three plates of rice, and potentially some potato salad coming. Or potatoes and salad, and maybe an espresso. Maybe an espresso. Or maybe she’s just I think she was just saying that she gave us express service. No, I think she’s saying that you got to drink it afterwards. Oh, okay. I think that’s what she’s like, “Oh, here we drink it after we eat.” But my point is, I want it now. She had a lovely lunch in there. Those are the really funny moments when like it’s so difficult to communicate, but then you just end up having a real laugh. Like that lady that you just saw in the video, she was such a good laugh. And then at the end I uh I was up giving Danny some money that I owed him from yesterday and she was like looking really confused cuz we just paid the bill and she was like pointing at the bill to show Danny how much it was and then I just Google translated like oh I owe him money from yesterday and she just pointed at him and went hu or something like that. I don’t know what it actually means but she said like bush I think. So I don’t know if that’s like money lender or tight ass. I don’t know. But uh hopefully it’s nothing too offensive. But anyone knows, let me know in the comments what it means. You ready? Yeah. It’s not too much of a climb. Like 470. Yeah. It’s just It’s only Yeah. It’s like It’s quite steep. Yeah. Like if it was 400 over a few like 10 20 km, that’s Yeah. Yeah. Well, once we’re up there though, that’s that’s pretty much it, right? Yeah. It’s pretty smooth from there providing we get across the border. Decent set of downhill. Decent section of downhill after. Yeah. Yeah. I guess that’s the one. Here’s the start. Just see a big lorry in the distance. Looks tiny. It’s going between the mountains. Jo that little kids turn is to go through there passport. Yeah. That would have been quite nice if it weren’t for the passport and the phones. My god, my thighs are killing. It’s a real burner. Thighs are killing, man. Kill me. [Music] Where should we go today? Should we go to Macedonia? Should we go to Greece or should we stay in Albania? Take your pick. Yeah. So, we’re over the worst of the climb now. Up at the top. Almost at the top. Still got a little bit to go. As you can see in the distance, about 3 kilometers to the Macedonia Albania border. And right over there in the distance is where we’re heading, Lake Okrid. Boy, oh boy, what a trip. What a view. That’s where we’re heading. Here we are. Border Tang. Okay, time to leave Albania temporarily. Let’s see. Thank god we’re not in a car. So, we got Macedonian citizens, EU citizens. Where do we fall after Brexit? Let’s go and see. So, we made it to the border in pretty good time. Systems down. Yeah. Going to stop filming now, just in case I get locked up. And we are in Macedonia finally. Looks a lot like Albania thus far. Finally some downhill. Let’s go. Wow. Look at this. Wow. Macedonia instantly feels like notice noticeably different. Maybe it’s the cerillic alphabet. Don’t know. Just a very different vibe in a good way. I do like it. It feels I felt Albania felt a little like comfortable, easy. This feels a little bit more different, you know. Great insight. Here we go. Damn. So, how how often do you guys come here? Man, that was such a good way to just like cool down after a long hot day of cycling. So good. So good. All right, onwards to back on the road. Please tell me there’s a cycle lane the whole way. That would be delightful. So many of these little beach clubs. It’s kind of cool. There’s the castle. Getting close. One more hill and we’re almost there. 750 m. Here we are. Orid old town. Actually struggling to find our accommodation. Guess this must be the place. All right. and give it a big knock on the door. Yeah. Let’s have a cheers. Cheers, lads. Another good day. 6 p.m. It’s a beautiful spot for a rest day. Yeah, same. Right. Man, this is ridiculous. Probably one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever been, Danny. Most pictures. One of the most pictures. Probably one of the most pictures. Blue water, green hills. Do you know how many mirrors in your house? Right. Orange church, tiles. Wow. Come on. Step back a bit, sunshine. Yeah, right. We’re done now. What? Yeah. What’s going on? What’s going on? Are we going up? Anybody here? I think it would be special. [Music] [Applause] [Music]
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