May 2, 2023
Herceg Novi (ME) to Trebinje (BA)
Despite a fair few threatening days with weather warnings, today was actually our first rain day of the trip. Coincidentally also our hardest riding day as we climbed up to almost 900m to cross the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We started off on insane back roads to get from our guesthouse to the road. It was so steep on the downhills that our wheels locked up and we occasionally skidded around corners. It was as steep on the uphills which required James to come back and rescue me at one point because I couldn't ride or push my bike up the gradient, especially in cleat shoes. The surface was also terrible. Thankfully after 1.5km we hit the road and a more reasonable gradient.
It was only lightly drizzling so we both took our jackets off and started grinding up the hill. The climb was better than the last few days. Still steep, but it was possible to maintain some momentum. Tobias was relatively relaxed in the trailer with the rain cover on listening to his audiobook compilation and singing away to us. The views back to the ocean kept getting better and better, but we didn't stop or photograph them because the drizzle hid most of it. We waved goodbye to the coast. I'm not sure when we'll be back by the sea since we haven't planned much after Ljubljana.
For us the advantages of having the seat for Tobias on my bike definitely outweigh the disadvantages. Its amazing to be able to chat away with him and see the world through his eyes a bit. One big con however is that I can't get out of my saddle at all while climbing because it takes up all my space. Descending I can stand up, but I can't pedal while up there. It means that I get a very sore butt after an hour of climbing in the same position. Another thing I'm finding a bit difficult on the climbs is the tent/sleeping mat/Tobias' bed bag. It weighs the same as Tobias so alternates between the trailer or up across my front panniers, depending on who has Tobias. But Tobias in the seat is in a much more stable position than an extra 11kg wobbling out on my front rack. Going very slowly like I was today means I'm fighting quite hard to keep my wheel straight. We might see how it is on the back rack.
The first part of the climb lasted about 5km and took us up to 500m above sea level. At the top of this part we spotted a small market with a doorbell to ring if no one was around. Despite being a holiday the man opened up for us and we got a feast of chocolate croissants and cookies to go with a machine coffee. We could sit and enjoy it under the shelter of the market. Thankfully he also had some cheese, salami, and savory crackers available so we stocked up incase we didn't find anything else for lunch.
We installed Tobias back in the trailer with a stock of strawberries. It's pretty hard to ensure he's having a healthy balanced diet these last few days with all the supermarkets being closed. We need to eat whatever calories we can find to get us up the hill. He doesn't really need to be eating so many chocolate cookies, but the hills sap a bit much of our energy to argue otherwise. We had a nice flat 5km before starting the second part of the climb that would bring us up to the border. It was stunning climbing. Amazingly rocky land with not much sign of civilization. Tobias got a bit sick of the trailer and it stopped raining so he came up front on my bike for a bit to count cars, point out stones, and "uh oh, bin" at the bottles along the side of the road.
The gradient was again fine, just slow. I could see where it flattened out because the road reached the pylons (or power towers, if you are Tobias). There was a big line of cars for the border but we kind of pleaded ignorance and rode up to the front since when we entered the country we had a separate lane for people on foot. It was a bit confusing because we didn't get any stamps or checks, then we realized we had left Montenegro, just not entered Bosnia and Herzegovina yet. So we rode another 3km down the road. It was stunning but we were well past nap time so didn't stop. Again we skipped the queue. Only one car seemed to have a problem with it.
Safely into the country we stopped just outside the customs office for our crackers and salami picnic then got Tobias installed for his sleep. It was a big morning for him. We wanted to get through the border before lunch/nap time so that we didn't wake him up going through. That ended up being lunch at 1.30 and not sleeping until 2, about 1.5hr later than usual. Also a lot more time sitting on our bikes/in the trailer than running around. He coped admirably and didn't grizzle too much at all, as long as we kept him supplied with snacks.
From the border it was all downhill to home. The first descent was steep, about a 10% gradient. I was a bit scared about losing the tent bag off the front and doing myself some serious damage. Then it was almost 10km of a very very gentle downhill gradient with a beautiful tail wind. Our bikes may be a nightmare going uphill, but once we get rolling along the flat they just seem to pedal themselves.
With about 10km to go we rounded a corner and the view opened up completely in front of us. We stopped for a photo then rolled on down to the intersection at the bottom. It was the perfect gradient where you don't need to pedal or brake. We took some backroads into Trebinje and made it to our accommodation before Tobias was even awake.
Unfortunately our apartment isn't all that it promised it would be. It is fine, it was just advertised as having 2 bedrooms and a washing machine, both reasons why I chose this place! It also smells a lot like cigarette smoke. Our host is letting us use her washer so we put our cycling kit on straight away and we will do a load of nappies tomorrow afternoon so that we can be sorted for the next leg to Mostar.
We would have loved to go for a quick walk then pick up supplies and cook at home, but unfortunately everything is still closed. It's a hungry cyclists nightmare trying to find food, and the extra parameter of a kid isn't helpful. The town seems nice though and I look forward to going back tomorrow when I'm not so hangry. The park is huge and has at least 6 slides which Tobias was excited about. We found a bakery and had some amazing pastry things. Like a square croissant with super flaky butter pastry and filled with cheese and ham. For dinner we didn't really feel like pizza so we ended up with burgers with kebab meat or something and a side of a whole sliced raw onion. I'm not sure, but there were no veggies (besides the onion) and my body is crying out for some veggies.
We are spending 2 nights here because our next 3 cycling days to Mostar are going to be pretty long and we need to take a minute to prepare. We are going to ride the Ciro trail which is along an old railway. It's supposed to be great, but is also pretty isolated.
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Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 579 km (360 miles)
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