02/09/2019 – Attack dogs, bad traffic and my first crash

Getting to Podgorica looked to be a big but manageable day. The omelettes went down a treat (not as good as the omelette baguette) and I hopped on the bike following the Wahoo to the border.

The border didn’t seem as big as the previous ones I’d encountered, maybe they were quite relaxed about it all.

Upon reaching the guard he asked where I was going, with an awful pronunciation of the city, he informed me that this was the border for locals and I needed to go to the international border.

Not looking forward to the answer, I asked him how far away it was, it was 3km back the way I came then another 7km up the mountain. I had to cross them at some point so maybe the sooner the better.

Begrudgingly I turned around and made my way up the mountain.

This border seemed more like the real thing. After a short queue I was through but in dire need of water.

Down the other side of the mountain I asked a policeman where the nearest shops were. He indicated by drawing on a piece of paper that they were 35km away… This wasn’t good. With my head held low I pushed off distraught that I’d have to go thirsty in this heat for a while.

I hadn’t cycled more than 300m when I turned a corner and there was a petrol station. Sometimes dreams come true.

Unsure of the currency they use or the exchange rate, I made my way in and was surprised when I saw that they use the Euro. I really should have done more planning and research before leaving.

I made my way back to the original route which added on 15km but stopped for a fantastic risotto and pancakes with summer fruits (got to get my 5 a day).

Sadly the day went from bad to worse. The route which is picked followed a mountain road which turned into nothing more than a track then a path at most. Unable to cycle on it I was forced to walk for about 2 hours pushing the bike up and downhill. The thunderstorm didn’t help either. It’s not all sunshine and swimming in the sea this trip.

Getting through the other side to tarmac was met with a huge sigh of relief. My fortunes swiftly turned again on the descent down the mountain.

It was a fantastic single lane road weaving through incredible scenery. I decided to take a look behind me and saw 2 huge dogs running behind me. They didn’t seem as friendly as the puppy a few days ago so I put the hammer down and got away from them.

Shortly after I hear some barking, 2 more dogs are charging through the field at me clearly thinking I’m going to steal one of their sheep (hold off on the welsh jokes please).

Putting down a few more watts I tried to get away but they were going fast and gaining on me only a meter or so behind my back wheel. I decided to (attempt to) go full on Peter Sagan and spring like hell to get away. This was working and I was pulling away. They were almost out of sight when I decided to ease off and suddenly a corner was a lot tighter than it seemed.

Slamming on the breaks in the wet meant my back wheel locked up and started to skid. I was heading to the edge of the road where there was a short drop to the field below. Somehow I managed to unclip and jump off and neither the bike or myself went off the edge or damaged anything.

I frantically picked up the bike and ride straight off worried that the attack dogs would catch up.

The road surface then got really bumpy and it was taking a toll on my hands and wrists. The hostel couldn’t come soon enough.

Having reached Podgorica, I checked in and saw that there was another cyclist there. Turns out he was heading to istanbul and we seemed to get on so I was going to ride with him for the next few days.

The next morning was a relaxed start as we didn’t have that big of a day. A quick stop by the city’s cathedral and we set off for Albania.

The border wasn’t very far away and it seems that they are now intent on scanning the passports and giving me stamps. This was far from the days of Europe where I wouldn’t even realise I’d crossed a border until I got a text from Voxi telling me that there were no roaming charges in the new country.

We put the hammer down and made good time to Shkodër. The roads in Albania weren’t what I expected at all. They were perfectly smooth. The drivers on the other hand seemed to be content with driving on the wrong side of the road overtaking several cars whenever they got the chance. It probably helps that the roads are dead straight for as far as the eye can see.

It was nice to have someone else to cycle with for a while, especially as the landscape here was so flat besides some incredible mountains in the distance (I’m sure I have to go over them in a couple of days).

After a walk around Shkodër and a decent meal at a very good price, an early night was in order as we were going to leave early to make the most of the cooler weather the next day.

The destination was Tirana and looked to be an uneventful day. Flat pretty much the whole way and about 110k meant that we got there mid afternoon.

I experienced the first real occurrence of ‘dire traffic’ on the main road into Tirana. Having cycled around Cardiff for several years was easy as people obey the rules of the road. In Eastern Europe I don’t think people even know the rules that they’re supposed to follow let alone actually abiding by them.

Cars would pull out for no reason where there wasn’t a gap, horns were blaring all over the place and police were directing the traffic at roundabouts (presumably because if they used traffic lights, they’d be ignored too).

It seems like this won’t be a one off. Supposedly most cities on Eastern Europe are similar to this and Istanbul will be the worst of them all.

Fortunately I have something rather big to look forward to. My mum is travelling out to Istanbul to see me for a couple of days. I haven’t seen her in about 6 weeks and it’ll be great to spend some time together. I’ve got a couple of big days to get to Istanbul for the 10th so I’ll certainly have to earn those rest days.