Today was miserable. Beautiful but miserable. Cold rain and wind for the first 100Km of a total of 130Km. Lunch was at 73Km and people were coming in to lunch shivering so much that they had to get in the van with the heater on to warm up. The ride started in Sarajevo going through the city where there was a lot of traffic. The rain was coming down pretty heavy and there were puddles everywhere, and of course, when cars and trucks go through them bicyclists get drenched. Eventually we got out of the city and started climbing. The rain kept coming. Then, when we got to the top we had a very steep downhill ahead of us. Cold wind and rain amplified by the fact that we were travelling 25 to 35 mph down the mountain. It was very cold. There was also quite a lot of traffic on a narrow two lane road with no shoulder for most of the route. My hands were so cold that I couldn’t feel the brakes that I needed to be holding the whole way down. I stopped several times to try and get feeling back in my hands.
It wasn’t until about 100Km into the ride that the rain started letting up and finally stopped. It also warmed up a bit as we got to the lower elevations. As we came down the mountain we had to go through at least a dozen tunnels ranging from a few hundred feet long to close to a half mile long. These are scary. Drivers have trouble seeing the bikes even though we have lights and the side of the road where we are riding tends to be the roughest part of the road so it is definitely white knuckle riding. Which brings me to something that puzzles me. If drivers are behind a big slow moving vehicle, such as a truck, old car, or tractor, or even an animal such as a donkey or cow, they slow down and wait for an opportunity to pass. Yet, for some reason that does not seem to be an option if the vehicle in front is a bicycle. Somehow drivers seem compelled to not slow down and if there is a car in the other lane they choose to try to squeeze between the bicycle and the car. I don’t know why bicycles are treated differently but it is nerve racking.
OK, having complained, I must say the ride for the most part was beautiful. Lush green mountains with streams and gorgeous farms along the way. Then, for most of the last part of the ride, we were in a deep canyon with a lake covering the bottom of the canyon for miles. It was very nice. Unfortunately my hands were so cold that I couldn’t manage the phone to take pictures.
We are in the town of Mostar. It is evidently a tourist destination and I will take a walk through the old town in a bit. Tomorrow we head into our next country Croatia. Another 100Km ride with rain in the forecast. At least it should be warmer.
