Bikepacking round North Macedonia in search of spomeniks

I went bikepacking on a lap of North Macedonia, on a route I devised to connect up a bunch of different 'spomeniks', sculptures and structures built as war memorials in the years after the second world war (when Macedonia was part of communist Yugoslavia).

These spomeniks are in various states of disrepair. Some abandoned in the woods, some kept spick and span, or used for new purposes. One is now a museum.

Spomeniks exist not just in North Macedonia, but across all of former Yugoslavia. They seem to me to speak of a different era, or cultural sensibility. Optimism, the space age. I know that Yugoslavia was far from a perfect place, but these mad statues do give a window into what people thought it could be.

North Macedonia itself is wild. We saw a bear,  dodged lightning storms, wild camped most nights and I got hit by a car driver (who fled the scene).

The photos were all shot by Matt Grayson, a marvellous pro photographer.I put the story of the trip into a 40-page zine with some nice words and more of these banger photos. You can get it on Etsy.

If you've any questions about the route or anything like that I'd be delighted to answer… and also to hear other people's experiences riding in N.M.