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A day of two halves

I think the first half of the day lulled me into a false sense of security. Easiest 50km I’ve done in a long time, coasting asking flat tarmac to Prizren, the country’s second largest city.

At one point, heading through a rural area, another cycle tourist going in the opposite direction greeted me with the words “Hey, are you Ben?” Except she pronounced it “Bin” because she’s from New Zealand.

Last night I’d written a post on the Trans Dinarica site about my journey that must have algorithmed its way into her feed, hence the greeting.

Prizren was wonderful. There is a beautiful old town by the river, lined with cafes. I sampled the burek (of course) and the Flija, a Kosovan speciality of savoury layered pancakes.

Now the ride reared its head. 18km of uphill and well over 1000m vertical. It’s worth a peek at the ride profile to see the difference between the two parts of the day.

Coming off the top, the hotel for the night was right on the road, perfect.

Tomorrow I head into North Macedonia about 100km. Over a high mountain pass, obviously! I’m going to try to start early so that I can get to Skopje in good time to allow me to look around in the afternoon.