In this video Bill and I set off from Tušila in Bosnia and begin what turns out to be one of the most varied and memorable few days of the trip so far.
The first day is a welcome change of pace after the big climbing days that ended the last video, a steady climb and reasonable mileage. We end that first day at what can only be described as a couple’s home that doubles as a guesthouse up in the hills, and they feed us incredibly well. This is exactly the kind of experience I was hoping for on this trip, meeting warm, generous people in the more rural parts of the Balkans.
The next day we ride into Kalinovik and then ride on to a riverside campsite, ready for a white water rafting day off. From there we head towards the Montenegrin border. After another guesthouse stay, Bill and I ride what might be one of the most stunning sections of trail on the whole route so far, finishing the day with a wild camp by Lake Valovito. From there we ride into Žabljak for food and supplies before a big day by recent standards (over 80km and 1000m of climbing) ending in an apartment in Kolašin.
Montenegro has been jaw dropping. By the end of this video we only have a couple of days left in the country, and we’re already sad about it.
The Trans Dinarica is a 5,500km bikepacking route crossing eight countries through the Balkans — Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania.
Thank you for watching.
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00:00. Good Morning
07:49. PUPPIES!
12:51. Camp for a day off
18:03. Thunderstorm on a mountain pass
25:44. Incredible wild camp
32:22. Ready for a climb
37:45. Goodbye from Montenegro
4 Comments
Good job boys , another great video
👍
hi Mat! Great video again, I didint expect to hear you say "im going to enter the Atlas Mountain race" 😅 not because i think its not your place but it is one of the big three ultra races! Hats off if you manage to get the ticket and are at the start line!
Im entering next year for the Kaldoaivi Ultra Trail (worlds northernmost Ultra race) in the Lapland tundra with a Mountain bike, my first race. Im 42 now and currently best shape in 15 years. But i have been suffering from age crisis, not enough time and i get old before i get to do this and that. But watching your videos since the GDMBR serie and seeing (slightly older) Matt and friends beating climb after climb makes me believe i still have time.
ps. Do you take some kind of supplements with your drinking water? electrolytes, magnesium or salt etc?
Great video, as usual. You can fix the noisy belt by applying a bit of silicon spray to the belt (just like you would lubricate a chain). Water helps for 15 minutes, a single application of silicone spray lasts for months or even forever (I do it once per year just as a habit)