Balkans cycling trip, Day 21

26 July 2017: Ura Vajgurorë – Greshicë
My bicycle is finally repaired properly and after a short stop in historical Berat we continue south across the mountains. The route offers a row of surprises, good and bad, as we learn to ride our bikes on roads with potholes and huge stones covered with ten centimetres of fine dust.

Distance: 70 km
Total distance: 1218 km

Crossing the central mountains of Albania is not an easy feat unless you have a 4-wheel drive because there are very few paved roads. This was the reason why I abandoned the plan to continue from Ulez through Burrel to Tirana. Now we were about to reach Bellsh through Berat without taking the highway to Fier and eventually get to Vlorë county in the south. The map showed that it was possible but I didn’t know what those roads would be like. (If I’d known, probably I would never have gone that way.)

We had our breakfast in a small byrek bar in the centre of Ura Vajgurore and then we wanted to go on to Berat via Veternik and Velabisht but it soon turned out that this road was again of very bad quality so we chose the highway instead. After all, it’s only 10 kilometres and the traffic was not so bad in the morning.

You would never guess what he first thing we had to do in Berat was. We had to find a bicycle repair shop because… because of the same problem again. This time I didn’t have to ask anyone as we rode past the small workshop (Ani’s Bicycle Shop). The elderly owner removed the pedals and fastened the bolts but then he said there was something wrong as it didn’t turn smoothly. Soon his son arrived and he could speak English because he had spent 3 years working in a London fast food restaurant. He removed the monoblock and declared it dead.

Waiting with an espresso

Apparently, the mechanic in Lezhë made a big mistake: he took the new part apart to add extra grease, which is something you just don’t do to a monoblock. So now they replaced it again after only a week but at least at a much lower price. While his son was working, the owner ordered coffee and fruit juice for us from the nearby cafe. It was fun sitting on the steps of the workshop drinking our coffee and answering the questions of curious passers-by.

The bike was ready around 9 but we didn’t want to leave Berat without admiring its beauty so we rode into the centre and sat down for a wine (apart from its well-preserved old town, Berat is famous for the local wine). It was good to see the Ottoman houses are still intact and the high street has been turned into a pedestrian zone. When we were here in 2009 it was only closed down from traffic in the evenings.

After the drinks and a few photos we found the road that leads out of the city and started the long uphill to Mbreshtan. We were gaining elevation fast and we had to stop by a supermarket to get some energy before we carried on towards Sadovicë and Paftal. 

The road was still very good, though very difficult at some places. We could see the valley and Berat below us and the weather was very pleasant: for the first time since Shkoder there were clouds and a cool breeze.

Gravel and dust

Then we arrived in Sinjë, where the road turns right to continue in another valley, and saw that the asphalt was replaced by gravel… By now it was way too late to turn back and we hoped it wouldn’t be long so we carried on.

Apart from the few uphill bits, it wasn’t that bad and we quickly reached the tiny village of Mbjeshovë, not more than a collection of old houses and a lake, where the local children can play. And cows, goats and sheep everywhere.

Then as we moved on to the southern flanks of the mountain the road changed once agan and this strech was extremely dfficult: the road was covered in 10-15 cm of very fine dust. We couldn’t see the rocks under the dust and we knew the chains and cogwheels weren’t happy, either.

We got tired and hungry and Anita had the idea to see what food we had left and try to cook something. Fortunately, we had some vegetables, pasta and a package of spaghetti bolognese powder base. We even cooked Turkish coffee for dessert.

Just a few hundred metres from our lunch spot, we had a pleasant surprise: the asphalt road started again! It felt great to ride on the smooth surface but our joy didn’t last long. It soon turned out that only a short section was paved and the damned gravel road (and the dust) returned just as the road started to descend steeply.

We could hardly move our fingers when we finally reached the main road and it was no question that we deserved a coke. Then we continued to the industrial city of Ballsh. I will always remember this city for the piercing smell of fart that accompanied us everywhere: past the ageing factory, into the centre, where we bought food for dinner and out to the south.

Lightning McQueen wanted

We passed several bars and restaurants but they were all closed and the whole region looked like it was in a Cinderella dream. We thought maybe the odour had to do with this or perhaps the oil wells dried up.

We were hoping to find a brook or a spring where we could camp for the night but it was getting late and in the end we asked some young guys at one of the closed restaurants. They said we could put up our tent anywhere but it was either concrete or thich shrub (or bloody dust) there. Finally, one of them, Emiljano, offered to take me to his closed restaurant to see if the terrain was better there. There was a pleasant spot behind the building so we decided to stay.

We were busy preparing the place for the tent when Emiljano’s sister arrived with three cups of coffee and a big bottle of ice-cold water. She spoke some English so we could ask her why the area looked so abandoned. They experienced the story of Cars in real life: this route used to be frequented by people heading to the southern beaches but then a new road was built by the coast and all the restaurants and motels had to close.

We cooked our dinner, marvelled at the stars in the sky and hoped one day these people will be visited by their McQueen…