80km 2355m
Oh wow. If I thought that Bosnia had a monopoly on barely believable mountain views I was wrong. Montenegro has entered the chat.
We started at a river, the Drina, as we crossed almost immediately from Bosnia into Montenegro. From a river there is only ever one way to go: up. We did that for about 20kms, adding a kilometer of vertical height.
From that point on Montenegro seemed to smack us with punch after punch of jaw dropping views. Rounding each corner, we would all let out gasps of awe as yet another vista upgraded on the last. We didn’t even know it but the best was it to come.
The track helped. A single strip of tarmac with cambers and twists, it felt like cycling a roller coaster through the deserted uplands.
We pulled up to our lunch stop, a mountain restaurant. Stef the Aussie bikepacker was already there and as we ate, Rasmus the Great Dane pulled up was well. Stories were told, and we all set off together up to the Sedlo Pass. Here’s where it got serious.
Montenegro unfolded. I cycled with Rasmus. He said “I’ve been cycling through mountains for three months straight and I’ve never seen anything likes this.” We ran out of words. At times it was all we could do to laugh at the ridiculousness of the views. Rock formations strewn high above us, ringed by fluted peaks, stretching down into rubble packed valleys with the shadows of cloud scud flighting across.
Seeing your mates screaming down the edge of these hillsides over precarious roads clinging to the side is a sight, I can tell you.
The day ended with a meal and bed in the ski resort or Zabljak, our eyes still wide and incredulous from the experience.
Bencyclopedia - The Mid-life Cyclist 
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