May 13, 2023
Day 87: Sarajevo to Zenica
Down the Bosna River Valley
“I’m not even going to ask about the bikes, but just take them to the room,” Patrick says after checking into Hotel Richi. There are dark clouds on the horizon, so we unload quickly.
Today is not the most scenic day with few pictures partly due to the constant threat of rain and busy roads. We leave the hotel dressed in our raingear and waterproof socks convinced that we will have rain today. We are getting on the move again, today is about getting from Point A to Point B. It rains a little bit on us, but considering the forecast it could have been a lot worse.
After 12km of zig-zagging, we finally officially leave Sarajevo but not the “suburbs”. Sarajevo’s old town is a very special place. On the walking tour yesterday, the guide mentioned that the Barcelona 2030 Winter Olympics will use the bobsledding venue in Sarajevo, the facility will be renovated and re-used. She also mentioned the first tram in Europe was built here, and we follow the rails out of town. At a junction at about 18km we stop for coffee and eat one of the donuts we bought yesterday.
The trend of the day is downhill with a few bumps, following the Bosna River downstream. We are mostly on R445 which forms the frontage road to the interstate: First, on one side of the river, then crossing over or under the interstate or a bridge to the other side of the river. Then back again.
After about fifty kilometers we stop for lunch. We each have a veal soup perfect for an overcast day, and share an omelet. Only we take half the omelet in bread for two sandwiches later. About the only memorable thing today, we see a mosque up on a hillside overlooking a valley we hear the melodic call to prayer.
Zenica is a steel town, just before we get there we pass several coal mines and a large steel recycling plant. The town looks gritty and rough, very eastern European. Our hotel is across from the soccer stadium, there seems to be a game on tonight. By 2:30, we are settled into our room at the Richi Motel. It’s spacious with a separate sitting room where we watch Stage 8 of Giro d’Italia. Patrick picked up a menu from the hotel restaurant; they have some good sounding dishes so no need to head out for dinner.
Several journals we read rode from Sarajevo to Travnik in one day; about 100km on a different road we chose today. The other road sound busier and certainly not any more scenic. Travnik is a nice town and we did not want to arrive too tired to explore it. So we decided to go here first and then a short, be it hilly day to Travnik tomorrow. We had a nice cheap place booked for tomorrow night, but received a surprise email cancelling the booking this evening. So quickly online and finding another place.
Today's ride: 85 km (53 miles)
Total: 3,142 km (1,951 miles)
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