Skip to main content

//Day 62 /12-05-22 /Konjic-Sarajevo

A day late again….cycling with someone clearly impacts  my posting routine…

Robert and I cycled from Konjic to Sarajevo via a small road over the mountains climbing to 1600 meters. We left Konjic after a substantial breakfast and buying supplies for the day. We were not expecting to find a shop on the road, which seemed indeed through. We left Konjic via a busy main road for about 5 K before we were send into the mountains and our climb would start. 
The next 25 K would be only climbing…the sky was blue and the sun shining….The first 15 K the road was asphalt afterwards the it became a gravel path with a lot (a lot) of rocks and pebbles.







The higher we climbed the condition of the road deteriorated further, sometimes becoming to steep to cycle and had to push our bicycles. For Robert, cycling a lightweight gravel bike, a lesser problem than for me with Black Horse and all my packs…I was lucky that Robert helped to push Black Horse otherwise I may still be in the mountains….


When we climbed above 1400 meters there was also still some snow, sometimes on the road with the only option to push our bikes through the snow. 



The climbing, the snow, the bad road and the pushing were more than compensated by the great views, the scenery and the sense of adventure. It was just a great cycling day…









Progress though was slower then expected. In the morning I thought we would be reaching a small village around noon. Eventually it was not before 14.00 we reached Lukomir. Lukomir is more a settlement then a village and is the highest and most remote village of the country. It even had a small cafe where you could buy some (not to cold) drinks.Also some tourists (10)  which came by minivan from the valley. Keeping the road condition in mind it must have probably been a very bumpy ride…the surroundings and views again….great. 




By 14.30 It was time to leave Lukomir as we still had to cycle to Sarajevo. Some 45 K further. Including another climb of 250 meters and probably another 15 K on the rocky gravel road…The climb was not to bad and after 12 K we found a normal road, which changed regularly in a gravel/rock road again….On our way we passed some shepherds, luckily their big dogs only interested if we had something to eat….






We started our descent towards Sarajevo including a surprise climb of another 300 meters…But after that climb we covered the the remaining 25 K really quickly as we had to descent around 1000 meters….No new speeding record but with 55 K/hour we made good progress. 



Before entering Sarajevo we had to climb a last hill (poor Robert).I had booked a hotel in the old city center for 2 nights and Robert had arranged an apartment. It was already past 6 when we arrived. It took some time to check but around 19.30 I was showered and had done some laundry. In the evening I met Robert for a dinner of Cevapi, one the national dishes, small oblong-shaped kebabs served with pita bread. A perfect combination with a well deserved beer…..85 K, 10 hours on the road, around 40 K of gravel and rocks , 2250 meters climbed not bad for a Thursday…..

Tomorrow I plan to chill and visit Sarajevo. Saturday I will cycle to Zenica headings towards Zagreb…Robert, my unexpected cycling compagnon of the last 3 days will be flying home. This evening we will meet to have a farewell dinner. 



Lessons learned :
  • It’s great to cycle alone but is is also great to cycle (some days) with a compagnon.
  • Nothing better to ride 2 days on gravel/rocks to cure puncture anxiety.








Comments

  1. Leentje Vanlee5/13/22, 9:45 AM

    Mmmm ćevapi and a beer... that's so good!
    Loved the views on your route! Curious about the next days!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5/13/22, 10:53 AM

    In 1 woord: geweldig. Lieve H.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Liliane vanlee5/13/22, 7:56 PM

    Dat moet nogal een dag geweest zijn, maar ziet er wel geweldig uit.
    Hopelijk heb je het vandaag een beetje rustig aan kunnen doen en genoten van Sarajevo.
    Wens je ook voor morgen een aangename dag en veel fietsplezier.
    Groetjes

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lieve meirsman5/14/22, 8:04 AM

    weer heel prachtige foto's, jij komt op plekken waar anderen nooit komen, wel niet gemakkelijk geweest als je de staat van de weg zag, het zal raar doen om weer alleen te fietsen, nog een gezellige avond met Robert

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

/Day 86 /05 -06-22 /Halle-Gent (Home)

Pip the home-rabbit didn’t kill me. At least not yet, but I probably will as result of sleep deprivation. I learned the hard way that rabbits are nocturnal animals, during the night the Pip made a lot of noise drinking and scratching…Today a good rabbit is a rabbit in combination with prunes… After breakfast I left Hannah, Alec and Oscar around 9.00 and cycled to Dilbeek to pick up Maarten and Inge who would join me cycling to Gent. On the way to Dilbeek another friend, Jurriaan, informed me that he would join as well. For my last TBBCA cycling day the weather gods have foreseen most of the day rain  but eventually it was only the last 20 K that I needed to cycle in the rain. Not to to bad.  Thanks to Maarten leading the way we soon arrived in Schellebelle to say hello to another friend, Nico to have some refreshments and chocolate waffles….The last 20 K I cycled along the Schelde to home…I took the scenic route through the city center… and surprised the kids with my arrival…....
8 comments
Read more

/Day 85 /04 -06-22 /Remersdaal-Halle

The roosters of the nearby farm thought it was a good idea to wake me up at 5.15. I waited until 6.30 to get out of my bed and breaking up my tent. There was nothing to eat so early on the camping so I left on an empty stomach around 7.20. For the first time in 85 days I misread my GPS and started descending a road, unfortunate the wrong road…After I realised I took the wrong road I climbed the hill back up via an other road to eventually arrive on the correct cyclepath. Today I would cycle to Halle, 140 K away,  via the outskirts of Liege, through Limburg, Haspengouw, Heuvel land and “the green ring” around Brussel. I also passed Borgloon to say halo to Rudi, a docent of my art academy, who has a solo  exhibition  in the Graethempoort. It was great cycling most of the day ; mostly small roads, through fruit orchards, 2 bigger forests, great views, small villages.The closer I came to Brussels though the more I was confronted with the lack of decent and safe cycling infras...
4 comments
Read more

/Day 84 /03 -06-22 /Remagen-Remersdaal

I was awake by 5.30 thanks to many birds making a lot of noice. I stayed in bed until 7.00 and was ready to go by 8.00. In Remagen I bought breakfast at the bakery and cycled afterwards the last kilometers along the Rhine.I also passed the remnants of the Remagen bridge which was was captured intact by the allies during WWII and scene for heavy battle as the Germans tried to destroy the bridge, which  it eventually did.  Leaving the Rhine required some climbing to get out of the Rhine Valley. A short but steep climb brought me in a different landscape. Big fields, low rolling hills…Most of the day this would be the landscape, not  to bad but also nothing extra-ordinary. The cycle path often ran parallel to quite busy roads which spoiled somewhat the fun.  In the afternoon I cycled though Aachen. I had never been to Aachen before and the  city center  looked very pleasant. The icecream was also of reasonable quality, no Amerena and Malaga this time but yoghu...
4 comments
Read more