UNFIT & Unprepared for the Dinaric Alps ⛰️ BRUTAL Bike Touring in Bosnia

Day 203. 67km (90,694kms 8yrs)

Only the sound of the trickling stream in my campspot, no wind, perfectly still. Before leaving I checked the tightness of the screws one day after the rebuild, and gathered up the little rubbish left behind by someone else. It’s such a lovely spot a hope the next person finds it even lovlier.

I hadn’t completed the descent when I stopped here yesterday so I began the day sailing down into the valley, mildly alarmed at the gradient of the roads zigzagging up the mountains in front of me. In no time I began the morning’s ascent which quickly became a very steep 10% but the surface was buttery smooth so I was able to ride it, even in my presently unfit condition. But when it increased to 12-13% it was time to get off and push.

It didn’t help that I was rationing food; I hadn’t brought enough calories for this level of effort. At last, a flag signalled the top of the pass. From here I descended over 1000 metres initially having to constantly ride the brakes such was the steepness of the gradient.

It’s bike touring season so I passed half a dozen or so tourers, mostly in pairs, all packed far lighter than I, on the way up. I envied their lighter setups but suspect it’s a factor of a short summer tour.

Part way down I bought some some carbs in a village with a bucolically situated mosque and a little convenience store with a giant pallet of beer cans in the centre of the tiny floor. Bosnia is truly a singular place!

In the afternoon I began the second arduous climb of the day. Another 1200+ metres up, I tried to tell myself it was just the same as yesterday afternoon. But I was coming at this one much more tired, plus this began steeper, and turned to a loose surface of snooker ball size rocks making the going slow even by foot.

I’d filled by bottles at the bottom but when I came to a steam part way up where I thought I might camp I found it dry. With no water refill, no flat spot, and a couple of hours of sunlight left I pushed on alternating between walking and riding the easier sections. The valley is sheer on both sides of the road here offering nowhere at all to camp. So I was aiming at a zigzagging track which I reasoned would still be steep but at least off the road. In fact in the dying light on the track’s second apex I found a flat sized spot which – once cleared of brambles – was perfect. It was dark by the time I crawled into the tent but with no one about I didn’t mind using my head torch to see my dinner.

Many thanks to Ahmed for buying me coffees on the Buy Me A Coffee app ! If you too enjoy my vlogs, blogs, and photogs please consider buying me a coffee or joining me on Patreon 😃
helsonwheels.bio.link

#bosnia #biketour #travelvlog