Day four (Durmitor NP-Tara NP)

Skies remained clear trough the night, no rain this time. However, air was so moist that everything was damp in the morning. Everything left in open that is. Stuff like sleeping bag, riding gear, helmet...

It was pointless to wait for the Sun at the bottom of a canyon so we decided to pack up, leave the canyon and wait for things to dry up there. There is great viewpoint at the edge of a canyon anyway so it will be perfect spot to have breakfast and kill some time.

PJ rearranged some of his stuff so cases were lighter. That meant we could ride at decent pace. To bad we only had to ride 6 or 7 kilometers off-road together...





Lens fogged up from sudden temperature change








Pavement starts at the point were we climb out of canyon. 25-30 kilometers of scenic road takes us to Zabljak, tourist center of Durmitor National Park.





Tara canyon is in the background






Zabljak is only place in this area where you can get fuel and I never miss chance to refill before exploring Durmitor. We are now riding Sedlo pass, probably best known motorcycling road in Balkans. This is only place where you're almost guaranteed to meet other bikers...

There, we decided to switch bikes for a while. First time riding Africa, I'm surprised how maneuverable it is, despite being fully loaded. And the sound of aftermarket exhaust combined with V2 is just killer... Rest of the bike left little impression on me. Ergonomy was off but that's to be expected as both bikes were customized to suit owners.









Notice vertical sediment lines in the background.It amazes me every time I see powers of nature in act...

Descent to Piva canyon is just spectacular. Craziest road I've ever seen. Road is mostly cut into the rock face, there are numerous switchback corners, numerous tunnels and few intersections. Now, combine those elements and you end up with crazy combo. Hairpin trough a tunnel with intersection somewhere in the middle of it all...






We're following lake Pivsko toward Mratinje dam. Numerous tunnels, difference in lightning between blazing sun outside and pitch black inside is challenging for the eyes. Lake is full at this time and scenery is nice. Long break at the dam. I just love places like this. And view from 220 meters...








Time when we'd go our separate ways is almost here. From the dam we could see a parking lot down below and it looked like great place to take few more photos (shhh, don;t tell anybody we were there, access is forbidden). And that's it. PJ went on to further explore Montenegro before crossing to Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Romania... For me it was time to turn back north toward Novi Sad...

First time traveling with somebody, I have to say that I like it. It's great when there is someone to share cool moments with, camping is much more fun this way and having backup in remote areas means a lot. On the other hand it will always be a compromise. Both sides have to adjust riding style and pace, stopping for pictures, food and all that stuff.




Just few kilometers later there is a bridge across Piva. No reason to pass without stopping, staring at water rushing down below relaxes me every time...




I quickly reach border at Scepan Polje and in no time I'm back in Bosnia. Few posts earlier I wrote how narrow and ugly this road is (it is probably only narrow, twisting pavement road that I don't like. Just to much traffic for road like that). At least this time there is no traffic moving in my direction so I can ride at the pace that suits me. Pavement is slippery and in few corners I'm reminded that maybe it's time to slow down a bit. And I do just that.

I'm approaching a corner after short straight. An SUV comes from the opposite direction, mostly on my side of the road. Moment of poor judgement, I hit the brakes and move to the side of a road (I say poor judgement as there was actually enough room for me to pass but fear played its part). Braking goes great until the moment when front wheel reached gravel by the road. In next moment we're sliding... In next moment it's all over, I'm back on my feet and bike is in a ditch. Nothing hurts which is always great. SUV stopped, and so did two others. Black cars, tinted windows, suddenly I'm surrounded by 5-6 guys looking like your typical criminal from movies (huge muscles, bald head, tattoos...). Cars had Kosovo licence plates and for a second I felt like a pig in Tehran. Actually they wanted to see if I was OK and offered help in pulling the bike out. Five people made that job effortless... Before I could turn around they were all gone...

Now to see what the damage is. Bike: cracked and scratched fairings and nothing more. I spent next 20 minutes searching for a missing part of the fairing in tall grass. No luck finding it... Me: left elbow hurts a little. Sleeves of my jacket are wide so protector moved to a safer (well, safer for him) position so hand took the impact. And that's it. Helmet had one scratch and later I saw impact marks on a jacket, right at the shoulder. Protector did its job so I didn't eve feel the impact there.

First crash on pavement, no consequences worth mentioning so I'm happy. It'll take some time to regain confidence thou.



In Foca I leave main road. Plan is to take a shortcut, some local gravel roads, and get back to Drina river close to Visegrad. Villages I'm passing are depressing. This area saw heavy fighting back in the nineties and evidence is still here. At times both sides of the road are full of "Beware, MINES" signs...

Waking up early, in combination with high temperatures, means that by this time of a day I'm riding on autopilot, brain switched off. Not perfect for riding a bike. Nature provides solution: nice meadow and cold stream right on the road side. Amazing what 45 minutes of lying in soft grass while soaking feet in water can do to men's brain

Long long time ago they started paving this road. That means constant changes between poor pavement and decent gravel. Still thinking about the crash, I'm not enjoying the ride...






Reconnecting with main road, near Ustipraca village, comes as welcomed change.




Visegrad, last town before crossing into Serbia. It's a place to refuel and take photos of famous bridge (well, famous in these areas...). Crossing the border only takes couple of minutes and very soon I'm in Mokra Gora village.




I planned to take some shortcuts toward Tara mountain but at this point my enthusiasm was gone. Instead I opt for main gravel road.






As miles roll by my mood improves. By the time I reached another possible shortcut I decide to take it. From the start it's obvious that road is not used regularly. At few places there are steep descends with loose surface. Backtracking might be difficult... Surrounding nature looks great and road remains rideable, soon I'm in a hamlet just below the dam.




Camping at the crown of a dam, dinner, rest. Neighbors are young guys from town nearby. They invite me for some company, newer to be missed. Camp fire, rakija (national drink), good company... Life is great.

Day five (Tara National Park-Novi Sad)

End of this ride is in sight, tonight I'll sleep in my bed. There are several "standard" ways to get from Tara mountain to Novi Sad. Some are less boring than others but non of them goes well with my style of travel...

I've been at Tara mountain few times before but only scratched the surface on those occasions. Today is opportunity to get to know each other in much greater detail... I have plenty of time so I take it easy. Stopping at every viewpoint, exploring every dead end road and many not so dead ended... It all lasts for hours.



View from campsite at the crown of a dam.







One of numerous dead end roads.

View from Biljeska Stena overlook:










In order to reach Banjska Stena overlook you have to hike for some 5-10 minutes. Nobody else is there. Peace, quiet, idyllic... I take a long break at a rocky outcrop. Below me only trees and Drina river...






Exploration has come to an end. 80-90 kilometers of gravel and in Mitrovac (tourist center at Tara mountain). Road leading down to Drina river valley and Bajina Basta town is very attractive. You descend some 500-600 meters in just a few kilometers. All the time you have great views of the valley down below.

For next hour or so I'm following Drina river downstream. Few kilometers before reaching Mali Zvornik town it's time to leave the river. Shortcut to Krupanj taking me over Jagodnja mountain. Mix of gravel, poor dirt roads (luckily it was dry...) and cobblestone. Village here and village there. I'm not stopping that often as there is so much ground yet to be covered.






Last off road section will take me across Cer mountain. As soon as I entered forest GPS lost reception (first time that happened for longer period). Now, I know that road follows main ridge from east to the west side of a mountain. Thing is, west side is to far for me, I don't want to ride that far. That means I'll have to find a road which at some point climbs off the mountain (and do that without map or GPS). Road which follows the ridge is old cobblestone (and I'm not talking about those small granite cubes you can see in some cities), goes trough forest and it's unpleasant to ride...

I finally find a road which looks like it could take me in right direction. It's overgrown, there are no tracks indicating that it is being used. Being stubborn as I am in these situations is the only reason I didn't turn around right away. Few minutes of riding trough the bushes I suddenly found myself on best gravel road I've ever seen. Out of nowhere, perfect gravel... Still no tracks indicating that road is being used at all. Than it hits me, this looks like completely new road. And, sure enough, only few hundred meters later I came across a roller still working. Yep, new as it will ever be.




I emerge back into civilization close to Petkovica monastery. Minor roads trough some villages take me toward Sabac. At this point I'm riding on autopilot. Last hour of riding, between Sabac and Novi Sad, were ridden many times this year. Straights, plains, just boring... And that was it, I'm home


This is end of part one. Part two coming in a week or so.

That KLE is getting lighter

I have to thank you, because in June we were heading to Bosnia. Man! I wish it was June now keep writing n riding