We've been looking forward to this eight-day cycling tour for months; it's the only thing we've booked in advance. 


Inspired by Martin and Katye, a couple we shared a hostel within Mendoza in our first few weeks of travel, we booked this 10-Day Albanian cycling tour. Martin and Katye are cycling from the southern tip of South America (Ushuaia) to Vancouver. After spending a few nights in the otherwise empty hostel, learning about their plans, we decided to make our own, albeit shorter, cycling trip. Adventure we sought and adventure we found.


Going into the trip, we had very little information. To "sign up," all we did was email a guy and say we were interested; he gave us the name of a hotel to show up to on September 22. Their website had good reviews and gave a general overview of the route, but we were excited to know 'what kind of accommodation would we have?', 'how many other people would be joining us?', 'who would be on this trip with us?'. No information was ever provided, other than a response to our inquiry that the trip was still happening.


Day 1

"You're here for the cycling trip? You're my age, but that's ok it's good to learn from those who are older; they have experience," said the 25 year old working the check-in desk at the hotel.


Later in the evening, we showed up for the intro dinner; sure enough, we were the youngest members of the group...where the average age was 65. The first person of note was, of course, the only other American. Wendy, a retired marketer born and raised in Seattle, was the epitome of a Portlandia character. The Germans and Kelsey formed fast bonds as none of us could hide our facial reactions, a trend that lasted the trip.


Day 2

The cycling begins! We start with a leisurely day cycling around Lake Ohrid, a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. It reminded us of Lake Tahoe minus the multi-million dollar private estates. Wendy had her first of many flat tires. After arriving at the hotel, we did another short ride over the border to North Macedonia to tour a monastery. The personalities of the group definitely began to show. During dinner, we received a history lecture about "The Kingdom of Denmark!" from Stig, a former professor from Denmark; presumed age at least 75.


Day 3

The route from Pogradec to Korce was relatively uneventful. We toured Korce's old bazaars, dating back 500 years, and had a couple of beers at the most popular brewery in Albania. Gareth, a retired Geography teacher from Wales aged 65ish, noted the label would likely be canceled in England. After dinner, we immediately retired to sleep. We've been traveling for months & the activity has caught up to us. However, our elders were clearly more fit and continued onto the bars. Rumor has it Stig and Helma, a recently retired teacher from Germany & Kelsey's favorite, even partake in some dancing later in the night.


Day 4

On the 42-mile ride from Korce to Sotirë, we were delayed by sheep on the road. Not just 10 or 15, but what seemed like thousands of sheep stretching as far as the eye could see. This day also, pre-sheep, included a hard & long climb leading Kelsey to question everything about her decision to join. During dinner, a heated debate emerged between the Danish, Germans, and Welsh over the lineage of the British Royal Family and whether or not they were descendants of the Germans or Danish. After dinner, we celebrated Enes' birthday, our 25 year old sag van driver. More beer, wine, and raki were consumed as we sat around a campfire and listened to several German campfire songs.


Day 5

This was one of the most scenic days of cycling through mountains and along rivers. Overall our ride through Albania was beautiful, but this day was really special. Every day we were extremely well fed with coffee & lunch stops. Maybe breakfast & lunch were a bit lighter than normal, maybe it was the remainder of the hard ride the day prior, but dinner was a very serious affair. There was hardly any chatting & only frequent passing of serving dishes around the table as we cleared the house of all bites offered. 


Day 6

We had great weather with no rain for the first few days. However, on this journey, we encountered rain. Sadly, this trend would continue for the rest of the trip. Each day we would take a rest stop for coffee and then a few hours later for lunch. On this lunch break, we met the coolest mountain goat ever. This goat chilled in a green chair along the road for hours while his friend would sell honey and hairdryer grilled corn on the cob. We ended in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Gjirokaster, a village that shows a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman village built by farmers of large estates. We toured the old castle, used most recently as a prison during Communism, and an original Ottoman-style house inhabited until 1981.


Day 7

Our day started by running into town for a quick espresso before the ride; the hotel's coffee was awful. The morning's ride was eventful; a bit of rain, a brief sunny break, torrential downpour. However, the sun was negated by biking through swarms of gnats for miles. Finally arriving at a coffee shop for shelter, we wiped off the bugs from our clothes, hair, & faces, stripped out as much of our wet clothing as possible, and posted up with double espressos. We tried to wait out the rain for a couple of hours but ultimately decided to take the shorter route to end early in Sarande. The guide's hand was forced as our group reviewed the map & prepared to mutiny. Through all the rain, we learned which weather app was the most accurate; we now strongly recommend Yr. Fortunately, the weather improved after lunch! We did a short ride to see Butrint, an ancient Greek and later Roman city.


Day 8 

At breakfast, it started raining. Kelsey immediately bailed & instead "helped" load the van with Stig, who is also anti-rain and anti-hill. Hoping it would subside, everyone else decided to go through with cycling, but after only 10 minutes of torrential downpours, the rain became too much. We took shelter and texted the bus driver. However, the rain was too much for even the bus as it couldn't climb the hill, temporarily waterfall, to pick up the four new deserters until the rain died down. When we finally arrived at our hotel for the night, the sky had cleared up! We did a short 10-mile ride along the coast during golden hour. The highlight of the ride was catching a glimpse of the submarine tunnel. The day ended with great contrast from the morning: one of the best sunsets we've seen on our trip. During the sunset happy hour, Andre, a German in his mid-50s, gave us his nod of approval for being adventurous, adept travelers despite being American.


Day 9

This was our final day and the most demanding day of cycling. Over 40 miles, we climbed nearly a mile in elevation. At the top of the climb, was some of the densest fog we've ever seen, and that's saying something considering our time in SF. The descent down was clear and beautiful. We ended the day and the tour at a beachside hotel where we swam & grabbed a few cocktails to celebrate our success with the whole group. The 300-mile cycling journey is complete!


Day 10

We departed the hotel early for Vlorë where we would find some much-needed R&R.


Reading:

  • Kyle: Sampling a few books
  • Kelsey: The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Listening To: