Athens and Back Season 2 - Trip Report

[kevm]

So a slightly delayed start to this trip report. I’m now on day 5 so this will be a bit of a catch up. Days 1-3 were boring in terms of places, roads, etc. but may be interesting because of everything that went wrong. And there are few if any photos, for reasons that will become apparent. So here goes.

Day 1 Epping to Is-sur-Tille (near Dijon) 423 miles

This should have been easy (and was in the end). I set off about 7:00am for the circa 10am train. I stopped for a pre-tunnel refuel and pee at Tesco in Folkstone where I luckily spotted the roofing-felt nail in my brand new front tyre. Pulled it out, spat on the hole (!) and there it was, a tiny bubble. I do have a repair kit, which I’d have a go with in an emergency. But instead I phoned Cheriton Motorcycles who were brilliant and dropped everything to do me a proper inside out plug and send me on my way. In the end I got to my intended stop in plenty of time. A pretty little town, typically French.

Day 2 Is-sur-Tille to Asti, Italy 359 miles

OK if a bit dull (motorways), expensive (tolls, the Frejus tunnel and motorway petrol prices) and wet, very, very wet. This was the cause of my next mishap. I managed to get my main phone and backup phone/satnav wet enough to break them both. This was a huge pain in the backside. Then just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Nationwide blocked my debit card for online purchases, so no Booking.com. No problem, I’ll just call them and get it unblocked. Oh wait …

To cut a long story short I got one phone fixed and bought a new one to replace the unfixable one.

Day 3 Asti to Rimini 250 miles

Weather still not great but I made good time. I bought my new phone here and also some oil as I needed a small top up. Once that was sorted I thought I was back on track so took the short ride to San Marino to have a look (I wouldn’t bother, crowded, shops full of expensive tat. Nice view though). I was walking through the town to the top when the sole of my left boot fell off. And I mean right off. I’d had enough by then so retired to my seedy seaside hotel (Rimini is a bit of a s*&$hole TBH. More Southend than St Tropez)

Day 4 Rimini to Ancona 65 miles

An easy day with a vague plan to find a cobblers to fix my boots (note the plural; yes the other sole was hanging off too). The weather was nice. No cobbler available so I bought some glue to do it myself (more later!). The Ancona - Bar ferry was nice, very quiet, nice cabin, etc. although their WiFi was broken. Hopefully the trip proper starts now. And I can take some pictures.

 

[kevm]

Day 5 Bar (Montenegro) to Rosaje 170 miles

An early start; the ferry landed at 6am. Bar ferry port is just a big concrete slab for the ramp to rest on and not a lot else. We got off the ferry, drove a few hundred metres to the border post, showed the friendly policeman passport and V5 and I was off.

I'd planned some routes/stops already so I knew roughly where I was going. Which was for breakfast and a coffee to start with!

I'm now in Rosaje, a small town in the mountains near the Kosovo border. Montenegro is lovely, fantastic roads, friendly people and very cheap. I'm in a sort of Eco lodge cabin, which is really nice and cost about £40 for the night. It's a bit chillier here than in Italy but we're at about 1000m altitude.

Tomorrow I'll cross the border into Kosovo, where I'm planning to spend a couple of nights. One good thing is that these Balkan countries are small so no need to spend all day on the road. The plan is to start early and get to where I'm going with a few hours to look around. I'll try and post a couple of pics.

Oh, the boots. The one whose sole came right off is fine. The one that was half off that I tried to glue back on isn't. I had to do a roadside repair with gaffer taper and ripped it all off and redid it when I got here. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

 

[Tinytim]

Day 5 Bar (Montenegro) to Rosaje 170 miles

An early start; the ferry landed at 6am. Bar ferry port is just a big concrete slab for the ramp to rest on and not a lot else. We got off the ferry, drove a few hundred metres to the border post, showed the friendly policeman passport and V5 and I was off.

I'd planned some routes/stops already so I knew roughly where I was going. Which was for breakfast and a coffee to start with!

I'm now in Rosaje, a small town in the mountains near the Kosovo border. Montenegro is lovely, fantastic roads, friendly people and very cheap. I'm in a sort of Eco lodge cabin, which is really nice and cost about £40 for the night. It's a bit chillier here than in Italy but we're at about 1000m altitude.

Tomorrow I'll cross the border into Kosovo, where I'm planning to spend a couple of nights. One good thing is that these Balkan countries are small so no need to spend all day on the road. The plan is to start early and get to where I'm going with a few hours to look around. I'll try and post a couple of pics.

Oh, the boots. The one whose sole came right off is fine. The one that was half off that I tried to glue back on isn't. I had to do a roadside repair with gaffer taper and ripped it all off and redid it when I got here. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Are you a mate of @rovert57's perchance?

 

[kevm]

Are you a mate of @rovert57's perchance?

I take it he was the chap I spoke to on the ferry?

 

[kevm]

Day 6 Rozaje to Prizren (Kosovo) 155 miles

A leisurely start after a nice breakfast. The border was only about 20km away and was very easy and friendly. I had to buy insurance for Kosovo though, which was 6 euro. But when I was trying to find a dropped earplug at the border post I found a 5 euro note - result!

I did a few detours on my way to Prizren and the roads and scenery are just stunning. Very quiet too. It was a bit chilly in the morning (15-20 deg) but warmed up nicely later. By the time I arrived it was quite warm and very busy and annoyingly the police had closed off the old town, including all access to my hotel (which has a garage for bikes). I asked if I could get past but it was a firm and definite no. I phoned the hotel and they said the police would be gone in an hour or so. I had a look around for a bit and decided to park up and carry my bags to the hotel because the police were still there. After a sweaty walk through the crowds I got to the hotel just as my phone rang; it was the hotel telling me the cops had gone.

Prizren is really nice; busy but a good vibe. Lots of families and kids enjoying the sunshine. It's a strange place in a way because although it's a Muslim country with mosques, imams and hijabs, it also has plenty of very western looking people. In fact Prizren is a lot more western than quite a few English towns I can think of.

My boot repairs are going well and I think they'll stay the course now. Unfortunately I have another tyre-related problem. I noticed the handling was a bit off and to cut a long story, with lots of catastrophizing and swearing, short, the rear tyre valve is visibly and audibly leaking. Screwing the valve cap on tighter keeps the air in so I was able to get where I was going. I'll get it looked at tomorrow; there are plenty car and bike shops here.

Not sure about tomorrow yet. The priority is fixing the tyre and if that happens I'm probably going to go to the capital Pristina via some nice roads. Watch this space!

 

[Mongoose]

How are you finding the R9 for touring on? I think the various models came top on the recent ‘Most uncomfortable bike’ thread!

 

[kevm]

How are you finding the R9 for touring on? I think the various models came top on the recent ‘Most uncomfortable bike’ thread!

It's not too bad. I think it helps that I'm relatively small/slim. Not too scrunched up and less weight on the arse than taller/porkier riders. I've also got bar risers, which I'm glad of.

 

[kevm]

Day 7 Prizren to Pristina via Restelica 116 miles

A short day in terms of miles. I was advised that the road to Restelica was a good one and it didn't disappoint. I ended up nearly 1500m up and it was very different there; much more ramshackle and a lot poorer looking. The roads in the town were very steep, narrow and cobbled. I ended up doing several 3 point turns trying to find my way out and I was glad of the lower seat compared to my last 2 bikes (Triumph Scrambler and BMW GS).

After Restelica it was an easy, relaxing hour and a bit on the motorway to Pristina. The driving here is quite laid back and nobody seems in a rush. I'm in a nice boutique hotel, (at least that's what it says it is) which was £42 including breakfast. Pristina is nice enough but definitely has a grim eastern bloc look to it.

Unfortunately my tyre troubles are still ongoing; the rear is still losing air. I got the valve tightened, which I thought would do the trick but it lost about half its air during the day. I've got a battery pump and managed with one air stop but the plan is to get it sorted properly tomorrow. I'm going to go to Skopje in N Macedonia, which is a bigger, more developed place and I've found a couple of places who look like they could sort me out. It's an easy 45km trip so planning getting there nice and early.

Some pictures; the toilet is what they are all like here. Muslim country you see... (and no bogroll in public loos either).

 

[kevm]

Day 8 Pristina to Ohrid (North Macenonia) 190 miles

The day started for me at 5am with a call to morning prayers from the mosque across the road. After another couple of hours sleep and breakfast I had an easy hour's drive to Moto Group in Skopje, a bike service shop and Triumph dealer. It's a very nice place, well run and friendly. They fitted me in straight away, diagnosed a leaking tyre valve stem with their special tool (a squirty bottle with soapy water in it), cleaned and tightened it and added an extra locking nut. And charged me..... nothing. Hopefully that's the end of my tyre issues. I suppose I could have fixed it myself but hey-ho.

I then headed south in search of some nice roads and ended up at Ohrid, a very nice lakeside town near the Albanian border. The roads were again stunning, although a bit busier than before. For some reason Ohrid has a strong Turkish influence and there were lots of kebab style eateries - nice ones, not horrible greasy doner houses like at home. The people here speak (obviously) Macedonian, which is apparently like Bulgarian. Nearly everybody speaks English though and it's a very friendly place. A few pictures.

 

[kevm]

Before I do days 9 and 10 I'll cover the ongoing (but now resolved) rear tyre leak saga. This is a brief summary:

1. Valve was leaking. Took it to a car tyre place in Kosovo who tightened it and it seemed to stop. Off I went
2. Still leaking so took it to a bike shop in Skopje N Macedonia who fiddled with, cleaned and tightened the valve. Seemed OK. Off I went
3. Still leaking so took it to another bike shop in Ohrid N Macedonia and they removed the wheel and tyre and 'improvised' a repair with heat shrink wrap as they didn't have the valve/seal I needed. Amazingly this seemed to work. Off I went
4. I wasn't really happy so I took it to a proper bike tyre shop in Thessaloniki, Greece. They said the heat shrink botch was pretty good but they had the correct bits in so they replaced the seal. After a full day on the road no air lost. Phew.

Day 9 Ohrid N Macedonia to Thessaloniki (Greece) 165 miles

The border was uneventful and N Macedonia and Greece look very similar and very empty. The Greeks in that part of Greece (Macedonia) are very touchy about their new neighbour who has stolen their name; The petrol pump attendant asked me where I had travelled from and when I told him N Macedonia he said, "you mean Skopje? This is Macedonia. The guy in the tyre shop in Thessaloniki said something similar.

I hadn't originally planned to go to Thessaloniki but it was kind of on my way (to Athens). It's actually very nice, although a big, busy city. I had a decent little apartment with an underground car park next door (10 Euro). Satnav is a real godsend; I would have been lost (literally) without it. I had a bit of a walk along the seafront before retiring early to hit the tyre shop first thing.

 

[HGS]

Very good, but stressed me out

 

[kevm]

Day 10 Thessaloniki to Lefkandi, Evia, Greece 314 miles

Back to the long days. I wanted to either get to or be within an easy ride of Athens so ended up on Greece's second biggest island (after Crete). It's only just an island; you could almost spit across to the mainland. So after sorting the tyre, I set off for Mount Olympus, which was not a big detour. It's very pretty with a nice twisty road up to the end of the tarmac. It was then a bit of a slog down a very hot motorway to my little seaside hotel. Greek motorways have a lot of toll stops, a couple of Euros a time but lots of them. And the attendants are all women. Funny that...

Tomorrow is just over an hour to Athens, where the bike will be garaged and the family holiday starts. No more updates until just over a week when I need to figure out how I'm going to get home. Bye for now.

 

[kevm]

Very good, but stressed me out

Yes it was an emotional rollercoaster for sure.

 

[geotim]

Nice!

Ohrid is beautiful, there were several soviet era ‘holiday camps’ on the lake shore when I was working in Macedonia.

The Greeks hate the whole ‘Macedonia’ thing…

 

[G&T]

@kevm Was it just at the Kosovo border at €6 you needed insurance for or Nnrth Macedonia too?

 

[kevm]

@kevm Was it just at the Kosovo border at €6 you needed insurance for or Nnrth Macedonia too?

Yes. Kosovo is the only Balkan country where I had to buy at the border. I think everybody does. I got my Nth Macedonia insurance via a green card (actually a certificate printed on white paper) from my insurer Bikesure. All the others I tried didn't have a clue and said green cards don't exist/aren't needed any more. They do and they are. I had read that (Nth Macedonia) was expensive at the border at about 50 Euro which is why I wanted to sort it out in the UK. I'm also covered for Albania, where I'm going next (I'm in Greece now). FYI my green card doesn't cover Serbia or Bosnia Hertz - but then again I didn't ask because I'm not going.

At the Nth Macedonia/Greece border the Greek guy asked if I had insurance. I said yes and he just waved me through.

 

[kevm]

Vrilissia Athens to Paralia Saranti and back 170 miles

A cheeky little trip to the seaside and a name day party (it's a Greek thing). It was a family & friends day out in the cars but one of the party wanted to go on his Harley and persuaded me to tag along. A nice ride out if a bit hot. The beach was nice and the party food was home made and delicious. The riding pace was 'relaxing' as my friend's HD has a 260 rear tyre and a 21 inch front wheel. It was nice riding through the city at night in the warm. Contrary to what you might think, Greek driving is pretty laid back.

 

[G&T]

Yes. Kosovo is the only Balkan country where I had to buy at the border. I think everybody does. I got my Nth Macedonia insurance via a green card (actually a certificate printed on white paper) from my insurer Bikesure. All the others I tried didn't have a clue and said green cards don't exist/aren't needed any more. They do and they are. I had read that (Nth Macedonia) was expensive at the border at about 50 Euro which is why I wanted to sort it out in the UK. I'm also covered for Albania, where I'm going next (I'm in Greece now). FYI my green card doesn't cover Serbia or Bosnia Hertz - but then again I didn't ask because I'm not going.

At the Nth Macedonia/Greece border the Greek guy asked if I had insurance. I said yes and he just waved me through.

Thanks Kev, I’m with Bikesure, just looked on my certificate. N Macedonia is not on it, neither Kosovo, but Bosnia & Herzegovina & Serbia is. I guess different insurers, different countries.

 

[kevm]

Thanks Kev, I’m with Bikesure, just looked on my certificate. N Macedonia is not on it, neither Kosovo, but Bosnia & Herzegovina & Serbia is. I guess different insurers, different countries.

Probably. It was a new policy; I asked for the countries I wanted and that's what I got.

 

[Orinoco]

A good read, and sounds like a great adventure.