Milot to LORD Hotel

June 25, 2023

I was the ONLY guest at the hotel last night!! How weird is that? They said earlier in the week they were sold out. Makes me wonder if the first hotel I passed that had lots of car was THAT much cheaper. I’ll never know. At any rate, I enjoyed my stay.

After consulting with the guys this morning about how to get to the side road I needed to be on, they basically said to just ride on the freeway. So I did. 😂Thankfully only for about 1.5 miles past the warning side ahead that clearly indicated “no bikes.” 😳 The funny thing is, I had a shoulder and that was probably safer than the roads I’ve been cycling in this entire trip.

I don’t know a lot about Albania other than it used to be a communist country. I’m still not sure how to read the people here. The men crowd the cafes in the morning. No women in sight. Where are they and do they have gatherings as well? I can see everyone staring at me. Sometimes I smile or wave. It’s not always acknowledged. However, I got three separate thumbs up signs from the men today. I’m guessing they aren’t used to seeing independent women — especially on a bicycle!

Then today a little girl sees me and says, “Hello! How are you?” and you could tell she was so proud of herself. Super cute!! I should have stopped, but I did yell back to her!

The other thing that takes some getting used to is the honking. It’s one or two beeps. It’s the drivers way of telling you they are behind me. I usually see them coming anyways, but the ones that annoy me are the ones that lay on the horn at the last minute and startle me. 😂

Pleasant ride through villages today and I absolutely love the mountain scenery. My pictures don’t do it justice. I had a pretty good ride today despite my stomach rumblings and yes, listened to my Corey Hart playlist again.

Best view of the day. The flower is like a dandelion on drugs 😂

I see a lot missing manhole covers and grates. Big enough holes to swallow a front tire!

Also see lots of garbage on the roadside, fields, and waterways. Sad

After the crazy busy city of Fushe Kruje, (where I thought I was buying milk and took a big swig of some nasty sour concoction) the road tuen into the SH52 highway, but I actually had a shoulder. I could see huge swaths of rain falling from the sky off ahead and off to my left. Eventually I beard thunder and saw lightning as well. I clearly was riding into it. I pulled off at a gas station and took a break just as thunder boomed all around. My stomach hasn’t been great the last. couple of days and has been rumbling all day. A trip to the bathroom with another major bout of diarrhea confirmed things are not well with my digestive system. I went to pull out more Pepto Bismol, but discovered I was out. Thankfully, I have some rx strength Imodium from my Mexico travels and took those.

I had looked at hotel options just in case as I wasn’t feeling well. I could easily make it to Durres but I was a little nervous to continue on in case I needed a bathroom. 😂.

I ended up stopping at a hotel that have excellent reviews. Let’s just say, my negotiating skills are alive and well. Booking showed $51, he said $45, I countered $40 since I am just one person. At first he said no, but after we chatted a bit, he said he could do $40 if I really needed him too. I told him my budget is $35/per day average, so yes. 😀

And best yet, this afternoon manager’s parents run a guesthouse in the section ahead that there’s no where to stay for the most part. I now have that semi-arranged and his contact information.

Later, I ate some pizza from the restaurant at the hotel, I’m watching Corey Hart videos as the tv is actually set up with YouTube. Other than feeling like I need a nap, life is good.

Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 664 miles (1,069 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	2
Comment on this entry	Comment	0