Las Ciénegas
I’ve been on parts of the Arizona Trail before in my many adventures around Arizona, but last weekend was the first time I completed an entire passage — Passage 7: Las Ciénegas, to be exact. Since I’m not going for a purist approach this time around, I did it by mountain bike.
Sarajevo
It was clear that she was dismayed by international reaction to the siege. She marveled at how a country “right in the middle of Europe, not in Africa or Asia somewhere” could be ignored. She says that the U.S. wanted to intervene early but that France vetoed the action out of fear of starting WWIII. “NATO” stands for “No Action, Talk Only,” according to Sarajevans.
Eastern Europe Route Map
Things have been a little crazy here in Phoenix this past week, so I’m still a bit behind on my blog posts. Mike’s been very busy, but I want some pictures from him before I cover Sarajevo and beyond. You’ll just have to be patient along with me. While I have been waiting, I have created … Continue reading
OK, Mine
After our morning climb out of touristy Dubrovnik, we crossed into Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH). Just after the border, we turned onto a quiet country road. Really quiet. For a couple of hours we biked without seeing more than ten people (and that included the three people driving cars). We passed through several small villages … Continue reading
King’s Landing . . . Er, Dubrovnik
After some steep, heavily trafficked hills welcoming us to Croatia, we made our way to Dubrovnik. It’s a truly beautiful city. The newer houses line the sides of the cliffs, while Stari Grad (Old Town) sits majestically next to the azure waters. High city walls separate the two. I hadn’t known it before, but Dubrovnik … Continue reading
Tiny Montenegro
I admit that before getting to Montenegro, I had been thinking of it only as a stop on the way to Croatia. I didn’t know enough about it to have any must-sees, even. Despite my blasé attitude, Montenegro immediately impressed me. It had nicer roads, less garbage, and better facilities than Albania. I felt like … Continue reading
Albania
Once we passed the crazy construction, our ride in Albania was smooth sailing. Or not so smooth, really. Albania definitely had the worst roads (in terms of surface quality) of any country we biked in. It seems as though they’re working on that, however. There was construction everywhere. In the morning after our … Continue reading
“In One Hour, There Will Be Huge Explosion”
Albania is a country we knew very little about before our visit (though I guess that’s true for most of these countries). In the east, by FYROM, it is pretty mountainous, and we had trouble charting a clear path to take. We came up with a route and set off after our lovely camp stay … Continue reading
“Nice and Flat,” You Said, “Around the Lake.”
After our jaunt in Mavrovo, we headed south toward Macedonia’s number one tourist destination — Lake Ohrid. It was one of our best biking days. Though much of the route was uphill, it was a gentle grade with very little traffic and pretty views of the river throughout the day. When we stopped for … Continue reading
The Five Factors
I know many of you are not that interested in bicycle touring, but it really is a great way to see places. Everything is so intimate. You get to visit all the in-between places that tourists don’t usually see. You get to interact with locals in an entirely atypical way. It’s fun and interesting. You … Continue reading
Traveling Applejax 