May 11, 2023
Kulen Vakuf to Bihac
Lying in be listening to the rain this morning was both comforting - we're glad we decided to stay indoors - and daunting, because we knew we needed to leave our cozy haven at some point.
Packing up took a while, the place was very small so we kept getting under each other's feet. We were also perhaps procrastinating a bit. Eventually loaded up and in our full waterproof kit for the first time this trip we headed out. Tobias seemed happy enough in the back with Bluey audiobooks. He was a bit put out when he worked out he wasn't going to just be sitting in there watching Bluey on TV. Within minutes everything was drenched. The water was running in rivers down the road. The first part of the ride was quite nice ups and downs along the river, and it would have been stunning if not for the pouring rain.
We stopped for a coffee at the last spot before the actual climb. We weren't really ready to stop, having only ridden about 10km in about 45 minutes, but we knew there probably wouldn't be many more options for stopping undercover for the next 10km which we'd be doing a lot more slowly. After unloading, coffee, and reloading then getting 50m down the road we realized we forgot to change Tobias' nappy and had to turn around and go back.
The climb was a pretty nice gradient, and the rain eased up enough that I could take off the waterproofs. It's awful when you're getting wet from both the inside and outside climbing. The bonus of that was James carried on ahead and I could enjoy the climb at my pace without having to sing or talk or pass out snacks for anyone. As we ascended we got higher and higher into the clouds and visibility decreased substantially.
There was a covered picnic table right at the top, and the mist was starting to brighten just a little bit, so we stopped there for lunch of fried bread and cold pizza. Unfortunately the sun didn't make it through and about halfway through lunch it started bucketing down again. It was hard to keep our pent-up kid from running around in the rain, but we didn't have much way to get him warm and dry again if he got cold. We packed up in a rush and he was asleep before we hit the turn off to the main road and the descent proper. We on the other hand were layered up but freezing. It's hard to believe we were sweating away in 30 degree heat in Mostar just 2 days ago.
The first part of the descent was tretcherous and a bit terrifying but exhilarating. The visibility was not more than 1 road marker ahead of us and we were on a busier road. Luckily the traffic was all super respectful, we even had a huge truck following us for some time until we could pull over. As well as being in the cloud we were also being pelted with rain from the sky, drenched from the wet road, and buffeted around by wind. On a good day I think we'd have enjoyed it because when we finally broke through the cloud almost at the bottom the view was stunning.
At the bottom of the hill we turned left and went over a waterfall. That is one advantage of all the rain, the waterfalls were impressive. We then followed a quiet backroad all the way into Bihac. Along the way we noticed more buildings than usual with bullet holes as we got closer to Bihac. The town was the site of the siege of Bihac from 1992-1995 and lots of the infrastructure still bears obvious scars.
We are staying in a big apartment building. Luckily we could borrow an open garage to shelter while we waited for our host to meet us. Even wrapped up in his waterproof trailer a bit of water had leaked in. Tobias was warm enough in 3 layers of merino, plus a woolen vest, plus his merino slaapzak and 2 hats. There is an air vent at the front which lets in the spray from the road and I think some leaked through from having the seat reclined while he slept.
We were all very soggy and quite happy to be warm and dry and showered in the apartment. Thankfully the rain stopped so we could walk into town and get groceries for dinner and help Tobias let off some steam. There was a huge traffic free shopping center which was perfect. He's getting really fast in his strider bike, if he put his mind to it he could definitely escape us which is giving me heart attacks around stairs and roads, but he seems to be learning to stop so we can boost him over/down.
He's off to bed, all the clothes and nappies are strung up on paracord under the heat pump, and we're trying to optimize our route/timing tomorrow so we can stay as dry as possible. It will rain overnight, but we should have a few hour window in the morning so that we can make it up to the border dry.
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Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 778 km (483 miles)
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