CHASING Views In ALBANIA – Total DISASTER!

I set out on a mission to chase views in the Albanian mountains – with nothing but a bike, camera, and a bit too much optimism.

The plan? Cycle 20km to Bovilla Lake, one of Albania’s most scenic spots. But with the summer heat rising fast, no water, no food, and some questionable navigation… things didn’t go to plan.

Somewhere off a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, I meet a man on an ATV who tries to help – but what happens next sends this adventure in a very different direction.

After hours in the sun, covered in dust and sweat, there’s only one way to recover:
Traditional Albanian food and some ice-cold Albanian beers.
Not the day I expected – but one I won’t forget.

– Shot around the rural backroads near Tirana
– A real test of endurance, fitness and decision-making
– Featuring authentic Albanian cuisine
– And some well-earned cold Albanian beers

#albania #tirana #travel #europe #cycling #gravelbike #solotravel #albanianfood

Today I want to get outside of the city and see some views. Today I want views, views, and more views. I also want to test my fitness on the bike, which may be questionable. But before we do any of that, first I want to go and get some coffee and get the day started that way. So, let’s go. Hey, you’re back, mate. Where have you been? I’ve been here every day and you haven’t been here. No, I I was a second shift already. Second shift. Ah, you were in the afternoon. I’ve been coming in the morning. Yeah, but good to see you’re alive. Yeah, thank you. Good to see you, too. American. Thank you. Hello. Good morning to you, too. Sorry. 20 km from here, apparently hidden in the Albanian Mountains, is a gorgeous lake with incredible views. So, coffeey’s done. Let’s go pay. Let’s go grab the bike and let’s head to Pavilla Lake. Yeah, brother. Oh, sorry, mate. Give you the money. Thank you, mate. Have a good day. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Yeah, the guy at Bike Point is the guy that recommended Billa Lake, but he also said the last 3 km of that track to the lake is pretty technical. So, I’m really keen to test the bike out, but like I said, I’m also really keen to test my fitness out and let’s see how technically good I am. Let’s see how technically difficult this last 3 km of track is heading into Bavilla Lake. I really have no idea what to expect on this ride. It’s over 20 km one way and the last 3 km of this ride around Bavilla Lake is meant to be a really good test on the gravel is meant to be pretty technically difficult. So, it’s going to be a really good test of my fitness. It’s going to be a really good test of this bike. Riding 20 plus kilometers one way, but hitting the tarmac as well as the gravel uh in the heat as well. So, it’s like 29° C today. It’s just gone 11:00 a.m. So, it’s getting warmer as the day goes on. And here I am. Haven’t even left yet. So, haven’t eaten. Couple of cups of coffee at that cafe. But, let’s hit the road. Let’s get something to eat. Let’s meet some people. And let’s get to Bavilla Lake and check out the views. So, let’s go, Jack. Let’s get these wheels rolling. See how we go. [Applause] I got 13 km to go. So, I’m about 7 8 km in. The most exciting thing about riding through the city of Tana is that nobody uses their blinker. That’s the most exciting part because you got to kind of play guess every time you see a car in front of you. What are they going to do? Are they going to turn left or right or go straight ahead? I’ve just stopped here because the views are quickly, very quickly getting so beautiful. And I’m not kidding when I say this is genuinely going to be a test. The gears are skipping on this bike. The brakes aren’t the best. So, let’s carry on and see how we go. The uphill grind has definitely started. This is going to test my match fitness a lot more than what I thought. My phone has switched off and gone into emergency mode cuz it’s too damn hot. It’s not surviving the heat. And my chain decided to fall off as well. Half fall off, but she’s back on and we’re moving. There’s a chance I underestimated this whole thing for my current capabilities. I’ve stopped for a little break. Haven’t brought any water with me either because I didn’t want to lug it. I’ve got I’ve got that black canister down there, but I tested it yesterday. I put half frozen water in it, put the canister in the bike, went for a ride. Within half an hour, not only was the ice melted, but it was also hot. So, there we go. Oh, someone’s pulling over. Maybe they’re struggling with the heat as well. Color of the water is awesome, too. We got a short tunnel coming up, Jack. Mate, this isn’t any ordinary tunnel. It’s a wind tunnel and the wind is just blowing through here which is beautiful right now. I don’t know if I’m going to make it. But look at this view. Just going to check and see if it turns on whether or not it’s cool down. So, I don’t actually know where I’m going. So, you definitely need Google Maps to be able to know where I’m going. So, let’s turn it on. Oh, no. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve done, man. Oh, Jack, what have you done? I missed the lefthand turn. I’ve now got 24 km to go. Oh, man. I’ve taken the wrong turn, man. I remember it earlier saying that I had to take a left-hand turn, but it said like 5 km and I was going already uphill and going super slow. I figured like it hadn’t happened yet, but I’ve clearly missed the turn, man. Oh, [ __ ] man. Starting route to Lake. There’s a 24 km route and there’s a 27 km route. I’m not giving up. We’re going to get to Pavilla Lake. I’ve set out to get there, so I’m getting there. So man, it’s like [ __ ] I think I’ve got further to go than when I started. I I’ve wasted so many calories and I haven’t had a drink since before I left. And for reference, it’s now4 to 1. I need my phone to stay on in the heat cuz I had to like it switched itself off and then I turned it off because it overheated. I went into emergency mode and I couldn’t see my maps anyway. Is it popular? Lots of people stop to buy. Yeah. They’re cooking corn on the side of the road. Let the fire in there. They put the corn in front of it and it’s really, really soft when you touch it. But that’s super cool. Are you selling water? You sell water? Anyway, let’s carry on. I keep going. Nice to meet you. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Yeah. No wonder I missed my lefthand turn before. or I’m assuming it was a left-hand turn onto a road like that. It’s a full dirt road. That’s where it’s turn telling me to turn left. So, I’m assuming that’s what I missed before, but looks like that’s what we’re going to do. Look at this view. This is proper gravel bike. And now, man, my camera keeps switching off because it’s too hot. So, I’m just going to switch it off now. Put it in this little bag, this black little box. See if it cools it down. But keep missioning up this gravel track. Pavilla Lake. We’re going to get there one way or another. This is proper hard, Jack. I’m definitely struggling. It’s a rough road, man. And it’s steep, but look at the views. We’re heading that way. I got to keep following this road for another kilometer. I haven’t eaten today either, and it’s past 1:00. It’s not so much the food that I’m worried about. There’s plenty of fat on the body to sustain me, but I haven’t brought any water with me either. That’s probably the part that worries me the most. One hell of a view while I suck in some deep ones. Check this out. This is a mission, man. I definitely [ __ ] this up. Took a wrong turn. I’ll tell you right now. Echart Tol says, “Your consciousness will always have the experience it needs most in order to evolve.” So clearly, this is the experience that I needed today in order to evolve. And I haven’t seen a single person since I got off that main drag. Let’s just hope I don’t die of heat exhaustion before I get to some kind of restaurant or get some water into me. But let’s keep moving, eh? We’re either going that way, back up the hill, or we’re going down that way. Let’s check. We’re going down that way by the looks of it. Look at that. From here, it doesn’t look too bad. The best bit about it is looks like it might be downhill for a bit. They’re the first people I’ve seen since I got off the main track. I definitely rather be on one of them than this. But no, that’s not true. That’s not true, Jack. I want to be on this. I want to be tested. Hello, brother. All right. Yeah, I’m all right. Thanks for asking, man. Just having a break. I’m heading to Beilla Lake. Be Lake that way. My My maps is telling me Bavilla Lake that way. Okay. Bel lake is another day. Really? How are you, brother? You good? Yeah, I’m good, man. I I Australia. Australia. I come from Tana. I’m staying in Tana. All right. I missed the left hand turn and then all ended up all the way up here. You have to go another side. Don’t go with bike. Don’t go with bike that way. Go to one for you can see it from the top. So you go. Which way should I go? Back that way. Go back that way. And you see is the sign there going south to now. Right. Back down there and then go that way. Right around 100 m. Take left. Uh-huh. And right. and just go straight after it. You’re going to see all of my bikes after that again. Okay, cool. You’re a legend, brother. Thanks for checking on me. What a legend. Well, there you go. He said, “Don’t go that way. It’ll get me to Bavilla Lake, but I’ll only be able to see a view from one side.” He said, “Go back down that way and then take a left, man. If I had some water, it’ be okay. But I’m definitely getting thirsty. So, let’s see how we go. I’ve come back down the hill way more than 100 m. There is no left-hand turn. I don’t remember there being any turns on the way up. We breathe deep. We enjoy the journey. It’s not just about the destination. getting real real thirsty. I bet you I’m going to end up back where I started at the main [ __ ] road. Anyway, let’s keep heading down. There’s no point in going back up now. Hit the road, Jack. Yep. What’s that? That’s the main road. I just did that whole gravel track for like the last hour and a half and nothing. There was no left-hand turn. Every left-hand turn would have taken me off the side of a cliff. There was no left-hand turn whatsoever. If he meant turn left onto the highway, surely he would have said the highway, right? Oh man, every route that I just checked on my Google maps, well, there’s two that it gives me and both take me back up the hill. There’s no chance, man. I’m getting back onto the tarmac and I’m heading back the way I came. [Applause] I’m getting to Billa Lake. no matter what. I’m getting back on the tarmac and I’m heading back that way. I got to get a drink and work out the best way to get there. But I’m going to try and go the original route when I missed the lefthand turn coming up from Tana. I’m going to head back that way. That’s the only way I’m going to go. Let’s go. Pavilla Lake, here we come. No matter what. Let’s go, Jack. There’s the boys with the corn, brother. Hello. I never thought I’d be so happy to see restaurant Shakala Tujanit. Hello. You work here? How are you? I’m good, thank you. How are you? I’m thirsty. I just want a drink. Maybe a coffee as well. Is that possible? Outside. You want me outside? Yes. Water. The biggest water you have. Water. Water. Yeah. And do you have Coke? Coca-Cola? Yes. And big Coke as well, please. Thank you. I just left that restaurant. One can of Red Bull, one can of Coke, and two bottles of water later. I couldn’t film me drinking it because I got told off for having my camera in there. And then I got a pretty cold shoulder and some rudeness because I tried to pay with my card instead of using cash and I had le which is the Albanian money. They were pretty pissed off that I didn’t have Uro Uro as they said. So I didn’t have any euro and I’m pretty upset about that. But anyway, we carry on. Going to head back down the hill and I’m going to reassess cuz I still want to get to the lake and I want to check out these views. But now we’re approaching 300 p.m. and it’s damn hot and I still haven’t eaten. But the mission must go on, Jack. Let’s hit the road. Man, I’m back down the bottom of the hill. I got no idea where that original lefthand turn was that I was meant to take that I thought I missed until I got to that gravel track. Now I look at Google Maps and everything tells me to go back up to where I was. I should have just kept following that gravel track before that ATV guy told me to head back 100 m and turn left. What a failed [ __ ] mission this has been. Just spent hours getting to nowhere. I must admit that the views and the ride out here has been awesome. I don’t think I’m going to get to Lake Villa today. Maybe it’s time for a cold beer. [Music] That’s a failed mission if ever I’ve had one. Back at the apartment, I’m going to park the bike up. Going to go and get some authentic Albanian food and I’m going to drink some Albanian alcohol because that’s what I feel like doing. And I’m going to walk there because I don’t have a bike chain for the bike. And the way today’s gone, I don’t want my bike to get stolen. So, we’re going to do a mission. And if we punch a couple of beers, I don’t really want to be riding back either. And I got to blow my nose as well. Hello. Open. Yeah. Let’s go there. So, we can all because I started the shift yet. Ah, sorry, mate. Sorry. Sorry. That smells good. Hello. How are you? I’m good. Can I eat and drink beer? Yes. Never mind. Perfect. Okay. In the garden. You can go in the garden. Garden be good. Thank you. Legend. Thank you. What is it called? What is the beer called? Cool. What is the name? Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Puka beer. Puka. It’s from the north Albania. Beautiful. Thank you. Enjoy. That’s really really good, man. What What do you recommend? The first one. The first one. So, I will take your recommendation. I’ll take the lamb. And are the meatballs good? Normal is good for you. Maybe it’s too much meat for you. No, I like a lot of meat. Okay, half maybe half portion of bun, half portion pepper. You can do that. Yes, normally. Thank you. I’ll do that. Half and half lamb and the meatballs. Okay. Beer number two. No, you’re right, man. Where you from? Uh, I live in England, but I’m from the US. From the US? Yeah. I couldn’t pick the accent, but no, obviously the English is very good. I just I picked up a little bit of Aussie for a second, but Australian Australian. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hello. How are you? Good. How are you? Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Nice to meet you. Thank you. I’ll bring you a beer right away. Yeah. Yeah. No worry. That’s the meatballs there. That’s the lamb there. That’s the eggplant. And that’s the that’s the stuffed pepper with rice. That’s good. So so fatty. So so tasty. That’s amazing. Yeah. So so good. Thank you. Albania just gets better and better and better. Look at that. It just falls off the bone without any effort. Try the meatballs. They’re not really balls. That’s okay. It’s all about the flavor. That flavor is amazing. Maybe this is the country I meant to live the rest of my life in. I love raw onion. We just serve raw onion with my meatball. Yeah, take it easy. All the best. It’s so good. Beautiful. It’s amazing, man. So good. I can’t fit that in, but can I take it home? Yeah. Yes. Let’s talk about the failed mission today. So, I set out to get to the lake or Villa Lake, but I failed. I’m going to chalk this up as a mission that I failed. It is what it is. And it ended with an unbelievable meal. Sometimes you fail a mission, sometimes you win. This was an epic failure, but not a failure cuz I still had a great day. I’ll see you in the next one.