Come on, hurry up! I'm enjoying this. 
Mark
Mark
Hardcore Balkan Tour....
- Thread starter Stevie73
- Start date
Stevie73
Registered user
When we got to the other side of the river, we paid the guys there a euro each. One of them asked me where I was from, Manchester I told him..."ROOOOOOONEY!" he shouted. If I had a quid for every time I'd heard that name when I told people where I was from, I'd have needed a sidecar to get the dosh home. Anyway, he asked where we were heading, so I told him. "the border will be closed" he said pointing at his watch. We set off down more tracks and roads trying to find the border. The map didn't seem to have any of the roads on it that we were coming across. I got a weird feeling that maybe we'd already crossed into Greece on one of the dirt tracks without knowing it, but couldn't be sure because the map was shit. It's funny how you get a sense of direction in situations like this. We headed off down one rough track and stopped after a few hundred yards. I was thinking, this doesn't feel right. Keith pulled up and said he didn't think we were on the right track, so we turned round. By now, we were blazing everywhere because we just wanted to get to the border as quickly as possible in the hope they might let us through. I'd decided if it was closed, I was gonna get through somehow anyway. We went past a shack that looked like a little bar. There were a few people in it so we stopped to ask directions. I don't know what these people thought when we pulled up, but everybody came out to have a look. Must have been the most excitement the place had seen in years....two martian looking guys on big bikes all lit up like christmas trees appearing out of the dark tracks at almost midnight...Anyway, they told us which road to follow, so we got a move on.
All of a sudden, in the darkness we could see lights, and something that resembled a modern border crossing. I though it was a bit odd because this was supposed to be a tiny border in the middle of nowhere. As we got closer, it resembled a building site. In fact it was!! All the buildings were under construction and the whole thing was fenced off!! Off came the helmets again for a quick chat. I was all for finding a way in and blasting through. We could see some sheds next to the construction area, but decided these were either construction offices, insurance brokers offices, or security. We'd ridden almost 330 miles to get to Greece, and overcome everything to get the boat tonight, and we couldn't get through the friggin border!!! We were contemplating whether to pitch the tents somewhere, when out of nowhere, a tipsy looking old police man waved at us, and beckoned us over his way. There was a big mound of compacted gravel, so I walked towards him, and then realised that it was a makeshift road to the border control. The sheds that we'd written off, were in fact the bloody border!!!! We rode up the gravel mound and around to the sheds, our faces grinning from ear to ear. We got our docs checked on the Albanian side, then again on the Greek side. Before we knew it we were heading for the port of Iguomenitsa.
We pulled up at the port at 12:30am. The boat sailed at 1am, so I was a tad worried we wouldn't get on, but all went OK at the ticket office and before we knew it we were riding up the ramp onto the boat. So much for getting there at 8pm like we thought we would and having a few beers in one of the nice bars there!! We got into our cabin, dumped the gear, and went and got a sandwich and orange juice. I'd only had one snickers bar all day back in Elbasan. The only time I got to eat one in Albania without having to give it away!!! We'd been on the move for 13 hours in total that day, covered 330 miles over some of the worst terrain and conditions imaginable. We were beat up pretty bad, but felt we'd earned our stripes on a tour worthy of being called hardcore.
All of a sudden, in the darkness we could see lights, and something that resembled a modern border crossing. I though it was a bit odd because this was supposed to be a tiny border in the middle of nowhere. As we got closer, it resembled a building site. In fact it was!! All the buildings were under construction and the whole thing was fenced off!! Off came the helmets again for a quick chat. I was all for finding a way in and blasting through. We could see some sheds next to the construction area, but decided these were either construction offices, insurance brokers offices, or security. We'd ridden almost 330 miles to get to Greece, and overcome everything to get the boat tonight, and we couldn't get through the friggin border!!! We were contemplating whether to pitch the tents somewhere, when out of nowhere, a tipsy looking old police man waved at us, and beckoned us over his way. There was a big mound of compacted gravel, so I walked towards him, and then realised that it was a makeshift road to the border control. The sheds that we'd written off, were in fact the bloody border!!!! We rode up the gravel mound and around to the sheds, our faces grinning from ear to ear. We got our docs checked on the Albanian side, then again on the Greek side. Before we knew it we were heading for the port of Iguomenitsa.
We pulled up at the port at 12:30am. The boat sailed at 1am, so I was a tad worried we wouldn't get on, but all went OK at the ticket office and before we knew it we were riding up the ramp onto the boat. So much for getting there at 8pm like we thought we would and having a few beers in one of the nice bars there!! We got into our cabin, dumped the gear, and went and got a sandwich and orange juice. I'd only had one snickers bar all day back in Elbasan. The only time I got to eat one in Albania without having to give it away!!! We'd been on the move for 13 hours in total that day, covered 330 miles over some of the worst terrain and conditions imaginable. We were beat up pretty bad, but felt we'd earned our stripes on a tour worthy of being called hardcore.
Just very well done. You didn't miss much in Sarajevo and you found plenty in Albania.
Sniper1
Registered user
'kin excellent that Stevie, more to come I hope.
Stevie73
Registered user
As we lay in the beds in the cabin on the boat we were chatting about how much information in a day their is to take in and digest. Not much more than 24 hours ago we were eating steak next to a beach in Montenegro. It seemed like it was days ago as so much had happened since then. In fact even now, there are things that I remember that I'd forgotten about. In Bosnia we caught upto a guy on a 600cc crotch rocket. It was the first bike we'd seen there. This guy was taking the worst lines possible and wobbling around every bend he came to. In fact, he was so bad the only explanation is that he must have been pissed. We just sat a comfortable distance behind him. At some point the road opened up a bit, and he seemingly gunned it. What he didn't seem to notice was the two rather large cows at the side of the road 
One of them shot into his path, and to this day it's a miracle he didn't hit it!! It would have stopped him dead in his tracks, and he probably would have been brown bread himself. Shortly after that, we blasted past him and gave him a wave whilst overtaking him on the bend he was wobbling around.
Another thing that happened in Albania was we were riding over an unpaved section at about 25-30mph when Keith hit a pot hole. This caused his tank bag to bounce up and turn his ignition key to 'off' The back wheel locked up and the bike broadsided, I seriously thought he was going down. He pulled the clutch in, and although releasing the rear wheel, the bike swung round and broadsided on the other side. Somehow, he managed to stay upright. Once he'd managed to compose himself and change his underpants, we got back on our way.
Anyway, back to the cabin. The boat was to arrive at Brindisi at around 7am, so we got our heads down for some kip. Just about then, there was some loud clunking noises, and it definitely wasn't Keith wanking. This continued on and off throughout the night. We probably got around 4 hours sleep in total before we were woken up at 6 by the boat tannoy.
The reason we were going to Italy is that my wife is Italian, and she was there at her family home in Umbria for Easter with our daughter. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Easter to turn up out of the blue, that, and plus I quite wanted a shag. If I'd have had any other choice, I would have turned left at Greece and headed back up through Romania to do the Transfagarasan Highway, but Italy it was. The plan was to ride up to Umbria and stay there the night, then mooch on up into Switzerland, into the black forest, and then to Calais via the Belgian Ardennes.
This was Brindisi port early am...
One of them shot into his path, and to this day it's a miracle he didn't hit it!! It would have stopped him dead in his tracks, and he probably would have been brown bread himself. Shortly after that, we blasted past him and gave him a wave whilst overtaking him on the bend he was wobbling around. Another thing that happened in Albania was we were riding over an unpaved section at about 25-30mph when Keith hit a pot hole. This caused his tank bag to bounce up and turn his ignition key to 'off' The back wheel locked up and the bike broadsided, I seriously thought he was going down. He pulled the clutch in, and although releasing the rear wheel, the bike swung round and broadsided on the other side. Somehow, he managed to stay upright. Once he'd managed to compose himself and change his underpants, we got back on our way.Anyway, back to the cabin. The boat was to arrive at Brindisi at around 7am, so we got our heads down for some kip. Just about then, there was some loud clunking noises, and it definitely wasn't Keith wanking. This continued on and off throughout the night. We probably got around 4 hours sleep in total before we were woken up at 6 by the boat tannoy.
The reason we were going to Italy is that my wife is Italian, and she was there at her family home in Umbria for Easter with our daughter. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Easter to turn up out of the blue, that, and plus I quite wanted a shag. If I'd have had any other choice, I would have turned left at Greece and headed back up through Romania to do the Transfagarasan Highway, but Italy it was. The plan was to ride up to Umbria and stay there the night, then mooch on up into Switzerland, into the black forest, and then to Calais via the Belgian Ardennes.
This was Brindisi port early am...
Irishdude
Registered user
Great ride report ,yez are hardcore for sure with all that night riding.
wideparting
Registered user
great stuff steve
mvs tony
Guest
The centre of Tirane itself is quite modern. The roads are good, even if the driving is hectic, but it was a relief to get out of there to be honest....
Earlier in Albania we'd stopped at a petrol station for a bit to eat and fuel up. With the Exception of Ulcinj, each day we'd seem to skip breakfast and lunch, and have a tin of beans or some noodles for dinner, only eating the odd sandwich at fuel ups. I swear I must have lost a stone on this trip. At the petrol station Keith bought me a Snickers bar which I was looking forward to. When we got to the bikes after paying for fuel we were surrounded by a group of kids. We spent about 10 minutes with them. One was learning English at school and seemed like a good kid. Another was a tubby little gobshite. Knowing Albanians can be quite light fingered I was a bit weary of them grabbing my gloves and running off or something like that, but they were good kids and taught us how to swear in Albanian and say things in Albanian like "I'm a nob" which had them in hysterics! As we got ready to ride off, I gave the clever kid my Snickers bar and told him to share it with his mates. His face was a picture, all lit up like Christmas had come. He put the snickers bar in his pocket and suitably legged it, with his mates all chasing him up the road!! With that, they were gone!
An hour or so after meeting the kids we stopped at another petrol station for a rest. It was 21 degrees and sunny. Keith went in the shop and bought me another Snickers bar and some bits and bobs. All of a sudden this skinny looking scroat of a man just appeared out of nowhere and approached us. He stopped about 6 feet away, and just looked at us for a while, he then got a bit closer and gestured if we could give him some money. "No money" we both said, and waved our index finger at him. The poor guy looked like he hadn't eaten in a week, so Keith did the honourable thing and threw him an orange. Cussing through my teeth, and although I couldn't wait to eat my Snickers bar, I threw it over to him. He didn't waste any time opening it and tucked right in like a man possessed, the caramel all over his chin as he savoured my beloved Snickers....
keith you never said steve was a darky
Yep - you're mad
Was the
pleased to see you?
madWas the
pleased to see you?
Stevie73
Registered user
We got off the boat in Brindisi around 7am in glorious sunshine. We were both jaded from the escapades of yesterday, a lack of sleep, and generally the ride so far. With this we decided to ride up to Umbria on the motorway. It was just a pleasant yet uneventful 400 miles, though to be honest, I knew I'd feel like this once in Italy even though I didn't want to, but for me the ride felt like it was already over. Everything from here on in was just about heading north to go home. I'd gotten into a psychological rut that the weather was going to get progressively shittier. How could I be so blazé about riding through the Alps and Switzerland? We'd already seen so many twisty roads, mountains, and scenery that I just felt like I wasn't bothered anymore. I didn't like feeling like this.
We peeled off the motorway near Pescara and found a beach to take some pics of the bikes next to the Adriatic. Being the sort of mindless gung ho numpty that I am, I rode straight onto the beach as close to the sea as I could get. I quickly realised this was a big mistake, and yes, the bike got well and truly stuck in the sand! What a prick! I took the camera out, snapped some pics and then with a bit of heaving and revving and we got the bike out.
We got to the village where my wife was and had a really nice evening. I was happy to be with the family and the next day we had a big family lunch. It was so tranquil and warm there that neither of us wanted to leave. I think Keith was a bit smitten with my sister in law, but to be honest I reckon by now he could easily have become smitten with a masculine looking pre-op tranny. We got suited and booted and rode out of town at about 3pm heading for the Tuscan coast. When we were almost there we saw signs for Pisa, so did the honourable thing. Luckily, there was a campsite 2 miles outside of the town as well, so we headed there and set up camp for the evening.
Next day we headed up the SP1 coast road aiming for Genova, where we were to turn inland between Turin and Milan. Cracking road! Right over the Passo Del Braccio in Liguria. Surely enough the more north we progressed the weather started to draw in on us. As we climbed into the mountains from Genova, the temperature dropped down to 6 degrees and the heavens opened with torrential rain. This continued until near Turin. We were absolutely drenched by the time we approached the alps. We stopped for a break and to sort visors out and faff around for 20 minutes, and decided that the weather was so shit that we'd leave Switzerland and the scenic stuff out, and just head into France to come home. When we got to Mont Blanc tunnel it was 1 degree with snow in the air. To say we were cold is an understatement. In the tunnel the temps peaked at 24 degrees so we rode through very slowly to try and warm up. You know when you've gone past the mid point in the tunnel because the temp gauge starts dropping again as you near the exit. We just wanted to get as far from the mountains as possible by now, so we ploughed on in the dark and cold until we'd had enough and looked for a hotel. We found a couple of hotels that were closed and borded up, but then luckily ended up at a Formule1 hotel in Bourg En Brasse. we'd ridden around 450 miles that day.
To get home on Monday we had around 770 miles to cover, so we left the hotel around 9am, and rode hard on the motorways stopping for breaks more or less every hour. We really covered some ground, and it made the ride a bit easier. We got to Calais around 4ish, booked onto a sailing at 6:25, got on the boat, ate, and then slept until we got to Dover. The last 300 miles from Dover to get home were tough, but again we stopped every hour, and slowed the speed down so we weren't getting overly tired. I got home around 12:30am, put the bike in the garage, sent a quick text to Keith, and went to bed. The tour was over.
About to leave Brindisi...
We peeled off the motorway near Pescara and found a beach to take some pics of the bikes next to the Adriatic. Being the sort of mindless gung ho numpty that I am, I rode straight onto the beach as close to the sea as I could get. I quickly realised this was a big mistake, and yes, the bike got well and truly stuck in the sand! What a prick! I took the camera out, snapped some pics and then with a bit of heaving and revving and we got the bike out.
We got to the village where my wife was and had a really nice evening. I was happy to be with the family and the next day we had a big family lunch. It was so tranquil and warm there that neither of us wanted to leave. I think Keith was a bit smitten with my sister in law, but to be honest I reckon by now he could easily have become smitten with a masculine looking pre-op tranny. We got suited and booted and rode out of town at about 3pm heading for the Tuscan coast. When we were almost there we saw signs for Pisa, so did the honourable thing. Luckily, there was a campsite 2 miles outside of the town as well, so we headed there and set up camp for the evening.
Next day we headed up the SP1 coast road aiming for Genova, where we were to turn inland between Turin and Milan. Cracking road! Right over the Passo Del Braccio in Liguria. Surely enough the more north we progressed the weather started to draw in on us. As we climbed into the mountains from Genova, the temperature dropped down to 6 degrees and the heavens opened with torrential rain. This continued until near Turin. We were absolutely drenched by the time we approached the alps. We stopped for a break and to sort visors out and faff around for 20 minutes, and decided that the weather was so shit that we'd leave Switzerland and the scenic stuff out, and just head into France to come home. When we got to Mont Blanc tunnel it was 1 degree with snow in the air. To say we were cold is an understatement. In the tunnel the temps peaked at 24 degrees so we rode through very slowly to try and warm up. You know when you've gone past the mid point in the tunnel because the temp gauge starts dropping again as you near the exit. We just wanted to get as far from the mountains as possible by now, so we ploughed on in the dark and cold until we'd had enough and looked for a hotel. We found a couple of hotels that were closed and borded up, but then luckily ended up at a Formule1 hotel in Bourg En Brasse. we'd ridden around 450 miles that day.
To get home on Monday we had around 770 miles to cover, so we left the hotel around 9am, and rode hard on the motorways stopping for breaks more or less every hour. We really covered some ground, and it made the ride a bit easier. We got to Calais around 4ish, booked onto a sailing at 6:25, got on the boat, ate, and then slept until we got to Dover. The last 300 miles from Dover to get home were tough, but again we stopped every hour, and slowed the speed down so we weren't getting overly tired. I got home around 12:30am, put the bike in the garage, sent a quick text to Keith, and went to bed. The tour was over.
About to leave Brindisi...
Stevie73
Registered user
Thanks for all the positive comments y'all....
Some random pics...
Some random pics...
everywherevirtually
Registered user
Great pics Steve and good right up. I see Albania is still celebrating its entry into Nato a year on 
If you rode from Tirana to Elbasan you could not have avoided this place...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/everywherevirtually/3431357693/" title="Mullet City - Albania by everywherevirtually, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3596/3431357693_dedab4fcca.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Mullet City - Albania" /></a>
If you rode from Tirana to Elbasan you could not have avoided this place...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/everywherevirtually/3431357693/" title="Mullet City - Albania by everywherevirtually, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3596/3431357693_dedab4fcca.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Mullet City - Albania" /></a>
everywherevirtually
Registered user
Stevie73
Registered user
ste....cheers mate, what a fecking adventure,its a pleasure rideing with you
Bet you say that to all the boys!!! You pissed!!??
Stevie73
Registered user
Just a final comment for anyone venturing down that way...
Most will know you need a vignette for Austria which costs pittance from any roadside service station near the Austrian border in Germany, this is the same for Slovenia. Seriously consider Slovenia as it is truly a stunning country. Getting into Bosnia is no problem at all. They only checked passport and registration docs at the border, but check with your insurers beforehand if Bosnia is covered on your insurance. Mine wasn't, and there was no where to buy insurance at the border where we crossed at Bihac, it wasn't even obligatory, so that was a bit risky.
Crossing any other borders was a cinch. Insurance at the Albanian border was €13 for two weeks, and about the same for Montenegro. Not once was I asked for my international drivers license (Take one just in case though!). At the most, passport, V5, and insurance certificate was checked at Montenegro where they keep your passport until you've bought insurance from an office at the border control....other than that, it's all easy as pie and there's nothing to worry about
Most will know you need a vignette for Austria which costs pittance from any roadside service station near the Austrian border in Germany, this is the same for Slovenia. Seriously consider Slovenia as it is truly a stunning country. Getting into Bosnia is no problem at all. They only checked passport and registration docs at the border, but check with your insurers beforehand if Bosnia is covered on your insurance. Mine wasn't, and there was no where to buy insurance at the border where we crossed at Bihac, it wasn't even obligatory, so that was a bit risky.
Crossing any other borders was a cinch. Insurance at the Albanian border was €13 for two weeks, and about the same for Montenegro. Not once was I asked for my international drivers license (Take one just in case though!). At the most, passport, V5, and insurance certificate was checked at Montenegro where they keep your passport until you've bought insurance from an office at the border control....other than that, it's all easy as pie and there's nothing to worry about
Great report. Did much the same thing the other way round in September/October last year. Brings back fond memories of black mercedes with dark windows blasting past on the narrow roads of Albania.
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