Month: November 2016

The forecast was rain today but I was planning to chance it as it could be just intermittent.  As I woke up I heard raindrops falling on the window pane and I was thinking this is not going to be good. And it wasn’t. The skies looked completely dark and grey and it was raining quite heavily not torrential like in Malaysia but heavy enough to be not comfortable for cycling. I was hoping it would clear up after breakfast and it didn’t. Anyway Tobias said I could stay one more day if I wanted to. So I decided to do so because it will not be fun cycling in the rain and also I do not have a place to stay in the next destination and I dread looking for a suitable place while in the rain. 

I am glad I did as it actually rained the whole day. I did a bit of email and updating of my blog and later went out on a city tour. I first wanted to check out the castle on the hill and I took the cable car up. It was interesting ride up. The tram actually had to negotiate a very step section of an almost 61% incline. That’s incredible. Anyway it was wet, grey and slightly cold so I did not spend too much time at the top of the hill. 

After that I walked around the old town and visited the Christmas bazaar. Well even the Austrian has caught on with the early Christmas events. 

It continued to rain so I decided to return back to apartment and cook a late lunch and chill the rest of the night. Tomorrow the forecast looks good so I will definitely head out. Hopefully I can find a host in my next  place or else I might wild camp as so far there is no hostel or cheap place to stay that I can find on the web. Perhaps I can find something when I am there. 

Lions Project : Same as Day 60

Wow! Two months and almost 3,000 KM on the road already. On paper in looks like a long time and lots of distance but to me it seem to have gone by rather fast. Initially I thought doing a solo tour would give me a lot of free idle time. So I actually brought along my ukele so that I can entertain myself and also learn to play it better. Well I can tell you out of the 60 days I took out uke only once in Macedonia. Actually my days have been very full instead as I find myself either busy sightseeing, interacting with host, updating my blog and planning my next route. 

Today is the the day I say goodbye to the Balkans and start my Western Europe journey. I had a blast and wonderful time in the Balkans. I am hoping that Western Europe will offer the same. Probably in different ways. It will certainly be more expensive and more predictable. Let’s see. 

Damjana and kids need to leave the house at 730am and we planned that we all leave together. I was up already very early and had my breakfast and packed. After taking a selfie of all of us, I was on my way. This time I made sure my navigation app worked and it did. Soon I was on the right track to Austria.

I knew the ride will be at least 95KM and I plan to arrive around 3PM. So I plan to ride with minimal breaks. Probably one coffee break and lunch break in between. 

The day started with cloudy skies but no rain. Temperature was also not too extreme and I think was around 9 or 10 C. After awhile the skies turned more grey and dark clouds start to appear. I believe at some parts it drizzle a bit but nothing uncomfortable. 

As I approached the Austrian border the sun started to appear and right after passing into Austria it was blue skies and everything nice as if to welcome me in the most perfect way. That made me very happy and really pushed me on. So much so that I arrived at Graz around 2 pm which is 1 hour ahead of schedule. 

I had a little trouble finding my hosts apartment. At first I could not find the unit. I was on the right street. The unit number was 37 and on the street there was no 37 at all. There was 35 and then 39, 41 and 43. So I asked a passer by if he knew where 37 is which he say it should be the unit before 35 but it wasn’t. Finally said that 37 could be a unit actually behind 35 and I should go through the door of 35 to find it. True enough that was it. Problem solved. 

I met my host Tobias which is doing an apprentiship in Graz on designing prosthesis for limbs. Interesting stuff. Anyway I am lucky to have him host me in Graz as he actually just moved to Graz and first time hosting guest in this new apartment. He was living in Linz before. Anyway we discussed dinner plans and I suggested I cook a curry for us. We decided to go vegetarian as one of the apartment mate is a vegetarian. 

We had a nice time chatting over dinner and  some beers. I turned in early because I was tired after another long ride. Tobias and his housemate went out to party till late. Young people. 

Lions Project : RM 290.40

Damjana, my host is a mother of 3 kids, 2 daughters and a son. One daughter is in Switzerland studying and the other 2 studying in Ptuj and lives with her. She has a very spacious home and had hosted many travellers both on Warmshowers and Couchsurfing. Damjana is a kindergarten teacher and teaches English. 

Since today is a school day all of them had to leave the house before 8am. I took my time to make myself coffee and some breakfast. I left at around 10am to have a look around town. The first visit will be the Ptuj castle. It’s a museums so well.  So I spent around 1 hour there before taking a walk around town to look at the interesting buildings and shops. It was great weather for walking around. Not too cold and too warm. Just nice. I believe the temperature during noon time was around 15C. 

I had a Burek for lunch and then went to the bank to check if I can exchange my leftover Croation money to Euros. I could and also for the Macedonian Denars. However they did not accept my leftover Albanian Leks. I hope I can change them in bigger cities. 

After that I had a cup of coffee at a local cafe bar before going back to the apartment. Damjana and the kids was home already and she was busy cooking lunch for them. 

After lunch we chatted awhile and had tea. Damjana and the kids usually have a late lunch only. For dinner it is usually something very light if any. So I had to adjust to that as well. 

Tomorrow I have another long ride to Graz, Austria and I will be leaving the Balkans with rich and fond memories. The weather is looking good as well. 

Lions Project : Same as Day 58

Last night Drago my host made some joghurt and I was looking forward to try it. We had it with some oats, dried fruits and some flax seeds and it was great. After breakfast I did my usual packing and was ready to leave. Drago gave me a small sample of tree tea oil to go. He told me that he uses the oil diluted with water to clean himself when wild camping. He said it’s also good to spray it on clothes and attires to keep odors away. I must try this and see if it works. 

After bidding Drago thanks and farewell I was off. Getting out of the city is always a pain. And it was. The night before I tried out an app to plan my route to Austria. However it acted up and was more or less useless for getting me out of the city and on to the right path. I was confident that the app work so I didn’t ask Drago for help. On hindsight perhaps I should always do that as backup. 

Anyway after awhile I saw a gentlemen that looked like a regular cyclist and I hailed him down to ask for help. I am glad I did. Turns out that he belongs to a NGO that is mapping the city’s bicycle path to improve it. Wow. He gave me some fantastic directions and also instructions on how to get where I want to go. With that I was able to get on the right route.

It was not exactly easy going even with the directions as I was trying to avoid highways. At times you have a choice of 3 routes. One is the toll way which has a abbreviation of A and in this case A2 and that I guess the trunk road D1 and then a rural road. I was kind of rushing for time as I need to be in Ptuj pronounced unfortunately as Ptui ! by 4pm. I knew it was tight as I have at least 90KM ride ahead. So I minimized the rural road and went on the D1. It’s really a touch and go situation as some parts of the D1 ,bicycles are not allowed based on road signs but I went ahead anyway. Luckily there wasn’t any issue and I manage to make good time. 

It begins to be trickier as I approach the checkpoints and I asked a passerby how to get to the immigration checkpoint and he told me I need to go up to the A1 for about 100m to get through the check points. It seems there are no other way. In any case I managed to get through again without much problem. After clearing Slovenia side I was told there are no tollway or highway. So I was quite happy about this. Initially it started ok much like the single lane D1 but what I did not know was that we’re building a massive highway on this road and I was trapped inside this semi finished highway and with no exit in sight. I was comforted though to know that I am around 18KM to Ptuj and so I pedaled on. 

After awhile I saw an exit and I estimated that Ptuj must be closed so I stopped and ask the construction worker where I should go to get to Ptuj. Luckily I did and he told me indeed that exit was the one to take. I was making great time and I estimate I would reach Ptuj around 3pm and will give me ample time to search for my host apartment. 

I really need to get a new iPhone when I get back. Battery died and refused to charge up. So I asked another cyclist if he knew the place and he said he did and was too complicated to explain and instead he asked me to follow him as he will show me the way. Once were on the correct street we began to look for the unit and suddenly a lady came up to me and said she was my host. It seems like she was on the way shopping when she spotted me and guessed I must be her guest. Wow again I am so blessed and lucky. 

So she showed me to her apartment and also her cute shack for me to park my bike. On my way into Ptuj, I noticed how charming and interesting town it must be so I decided to explore it tomorrow instead of rushing off. In any case I check my ride distance and it was 103KM ! I think in this case I deserve a rest. 

Lions Project : RM 280.40

Today is a rest day for me and my host was so gracious to let me stay for another day. He was off to work early so I had the whole apartment by myself. After making some eggs for breakfast, I was ready to explore the city. 

I thought took the tram to the city which was relatively straight forward. However just 4 or 5 station away from the city center the tram stopped and everyone started to get off. Something was announced in Croation and of course I didn’t understand what’s it’s about. Thankfully a gentlemen told me I should get off. He told me that this tram is going to the depot and I need to catch the next connecting one. It’s was no big deal as the next one came after a short time. 

As soon as I got off the tram I noticed there was a big group of cyclist with panniers gathered at the corner of the city square. It appears that there was an event going on. So I went to have a closer look and also to ask what’s going on. it seems that it was an organized bike toruing ride by a local bike club to east of Zagreb. The ride would be 400 KM over 3 days. 

After that I proceeded to look at the open farmers market stalls at the city square before moving on to the important city sites. Went to the famous 12th century Zagreb Cathedral. It was a very impressive building. I went inside to have a look around. I noticed that there was a lit of Asian looking people in the front and soon after an Asian looking priest appeared. What startled me further was he started his sermon in Malay ! It sounded like Indonesian Malay. But it was so interesting that there was such a service going on. 

After that I went to explore the towns famous sites including the ride on their cable car which was for me the shortest cable car ride in the world.  The ride lasted 55 seconds. 

It was getting a bit chilly so I decided to get into a coffee shop to have a hot drink and warm up. After thatI decided to return to the apartment. 

On the return tram ride I bumped into the same gentlemen who helped me earlier on. What is coincidence. He is even living on the same street as my host. 

My host cooked a bean soup dinner and we had some wine before winding down for the night. 

Tomorrow I will ride into Solvenia and will bid Croatia goodbye. The weather is forecasted to be good.

Lions Project : Same as Day 56

I was relieved and happy to see that the forecast for the week in these region would improved. It will be cold but at least sunshine and no rain or snow. The hostel in Gradiska is one of the best I stayed in so far. The rooms, toilets and dorms were all very new and spacious. The owners are very friendly also. In fact the owner drove me to a shop to buy Cevapi lunch. For breakfast this morning the owner made coffee and offered me some cakes. That’s a nice touch. 

The border control is around 1KM from the hostel. Clearance was quick on both sides and within 10 minutes I was off riding away from Bosnia and into Croatia again.  

The route is pretty straight forward to Kutina. Kutina is a small industrial town and most folks there work for a large fertilizer plant. I managed to find a Warmshower host so I was under no pressure to get to Kutina early to look for places to stay. Kutina is around 60KM from Gradiska so I should arrive around lunch time. 

The ride was very pleasant but slightly on the cold side. I think the average temperature was around 4 or 5 C with the sun out the whole time. The roads are also very quiet today as its a Sunday.  In terms of the scenary it was ok as I passed by many small towns and villages but mostly devoid of any activity. I wonder where are all people. Well at least there were some interesting townhouses to watch. 

My iPhone started to act up as soon as I arrived in Kutina and that is a problem as I need to go to a pre decided place to meet up and call my host. So I decided to ask someone if they are able to show me where the meeting place is. After finding the place I need to contact my host. Most shops were closed but I spotted a Pekara ( Bakery) that was open so I asked the worker there if she could help call my host. She agreed without a fuss and I managed to contact my host and with that sorted I decided to buy a cup of coffee but did not have small change so the bakery lady bought me a cup instead. 

My host Luka showed me the way to his apartment. He stays with his parents but they live on the ground floor and he has a whole floor to himself upstairs. Luka is a biker as well and have hosted my cycle tourers before. 

I was offered lunch of  homemade soup and Muossaka which was absolutely delicious compliments to his mom. After that I was offered some homemade black berry wine and also grapes from his garden. He has a huge backyard where there is a pond and also fruit trees like plums, apples and grapes. 

Lions Project : RM 260.70

The forecast for today was good. If appears that it will be dry and with a bit of sun. So I was upbeat as I prepare to set off.  However as I set off the temperature was on the cold side at around 3 C. Also it was a bit foggy. What’s a bit of fog anyway after snow rain and wind. The route today follows the great Vrbas River and the good news is I am following it down stream. But it doesn’t mean it’s downhill all the way. However in general it is with a few climbs along the way. I followed the M16 route and boy was it spectacular. The fog made even more so. 

I passed through gorges and spectacular views and I stopped many times for photos. The thing is that this route is very remote and there are only very few towns in between. So after about 2 hours of riding I was ready for some coffee. 

I had a coffee break at a nice river cafe mid way and after that I was annoyed by some creaking sound from my bike. I am not sure what is causing it. I suspect is the seat. I will try to tighten it to see if it will stop the creak later. 

I managed to get a Warmshower host in Bajan Luka so I am happy to not have to stress where I sleep tonight. After arriving at the host’s apartment , I had a delicious lunch cooked by Malinic my host. After that I went out with him to buy a USB wall charger as my current one is broken and later stopped by a local store to buy some Bosnian white wine. 

We had 2 bottles of local Bosnian wine together and then went for a nice Cervapi dinner near his place. Malinic claims Banja Luka has the best Cervapi. And it was really good. Very different too as the meat patties were square instead of the usual sausages shaped.  

I had a nice day riding and also meeting with Malinic. He is also a cyclist and have done a ride from Bosnia to Portugal during the summer. He actually recommended the cycle route called Canal Du Midi in France. I will definitely look that up later. 

I did not get to see much of Banja Luka. It is the second largest city in Bosnia and the capital and administrative center of Republik of Srpska which forms part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It’s sits along the Vrbas River and is well known for being a green city. 

Anyway I must make my way tomorrow to Gradiska which is the boarder passing to Croatia. Rain is forecasted tomorrow so I hope it’s not too heavy and cold. 

Lions Project : RM 249.50

Weather forecasted to be reasonable. Meaning low probability of snow and rain but cold at 3 C. So that made me happy. I woke up to the sound of passing car with no slushing tire sound. So that’s good true enough a quick peek outside my window shows the road dry. 

After a quick breakfast I packed and headed off. There are still snow left over at the sides and some roof tops but none on the roads. Oh yes I decided to choose this time the longer river and valley route. The reason is the mountain route involves climbing to almost 1500m and that would be too risky with this kind of weather. I am trying to keep below 1,000m if I can. 

By the way the valley route also includes some climbing in the middle section from around 500m to a peak of 925m. The climbs were moderate and around 8% gradient at the steepest. The best thing is after the climb of around 10KM or so the rest of 50KM plus is downhill mostly. 

It lightly snowed on my climb and continued to do so on the first part of the descend. So the first cafe I spotted on the way down I dashed in for a couple of expresso to warm up. 

I was feeling a little chilled on the downhills as I was sweating on the climbs and now the dampness is making me cold. Anyway after awhile with some paddling I began to warm up and feel comfortable again. 

What a difference on this side of the hill. There are hardly any snow and the roads seemed dry. In fact as I approached Jajce,  the sun came up and showed me some blue skies. What a treat after so many days of grey weather. 

I arrived Jajce in good time and had a quick lunch before taking a walk around town to see the sights. Jajce is famous for its waterfall in the city and it looked spectacular. I only took pictures from the distance as they charge an entrance fee of 2 Euros just to get close to the waterfall. I think that’s a rip off so I decided against doing that. 

It also has a very well preserved fortress up on the hill which I enjoyed exploring for awhile and also on the outside as the opening hours is past by the time I got there. Still was good enough experiencing it from the outside. 

Went shopping for dinner and had a simple chicken soup for dinner. After that it’s lights off. 

Tomorrow I plan to get to Banja Luka and the weather seems reasonable again.  Yay !

Lions Project : RM 242.00