*Collage made from thumbnails of all 4 “Cycling Journey To The Adriatic Sea” parts.*

Last time I was cycling in Bosnia, I was on a route given to me by one of the workers in the store I bought my bicycle at. After two days of cycling, I did about 100km and felt exhausted, as I didn't pace myself correctly. That route has been on my mind for the past two years and this spring I finally decided to try again. I chose to skip half of the initial distance I did and start near the top of one of the mountains, about 50km from Sarajevo. I wanted to begin at the snowy peaks and experience the incredible downhill ride from last time, before cycling the new part of the route.

PART 1

The first day was a bit hectic. To get on the road as soon as possible, I wanted to get a ride to the starting point from the airport and assemble my bike at the beginning of my route. I was functioning with no sleep due to the early flight and was hoping I packed all the necessary bike tools. Surprisingly, everything went according to plan and I was pedalling about two hours after I got out the airport.

The wind was soft and flowers were peaking through the frost - due to warmer weather, the snow wasn’t as thick as last time. The next couple hours of almost constant downhill were amazing and I often stopping to admire the scenery. As I was decending, the snow kept disappearing and the surroundings started changing color.

Soon I was greeted by the first friendly companion of the trip. Once I got all the way off the mountains, I started following the river (coldest in the world), passing villages and “mine-warning” signs. Learning from the previous trip, I decided to pace myself and look for a place to sleep before I got completely exhausted. The spot I found looked prefect…

PART 2

...but it felt terrible. Waking up after a cold, wet and uncomfortable night, I was motivated to get back on the road and get my body temperature up. Scenery was beautiful, doggos - friendly, but the lack of sleep started affecting me after multiple hill climbs. Once I turned on to the new part of the route, I had to take a break and a nap.

Waking up about an hour later, I felt ready. As I started the highest climb of the journey a problem arose - lack of water. Knowing I would only reach civilization by the evening, I started gathering water from dripping moss. This idea helped reach the peak comfortably and enjoy the stunning views along the way.

Once I reached a village, I found an unopened bottle of water in the bushes. This pleasant surprise motivated me to continue towards Mostar. The downhill rides were a great reward for a day of climbing. Once I got to the city, I decided to rent a place to shower, eat and store my bike safely. As I still couldn’t let go of the wilderness feeling, I went to sleep on an abandoned building.

PART 3

Waking up in the center of Mostar, on the roof of an abandoned building, was beautiful and tiring. The songs from the mosques didn't let me sleep long. After visiting the old town, I got back on the route. With the railway to my right and river to my left, the scenery was inspiring and emotions were good.

Following the old railway, I passed towns and went further into the wilderness. The road got harder to pedal and the temperature increased. With extra effort the lack of sleep started affecting me. I was pushing through, but wasn’t sure how much further I could go.

The scenery was amazing, but it was difficult to enjoy it while lacking energy. Realizing I was in control of all my actions, I decided to spend the evening resting and enjoying the serenity abandonment. I settled for the night in an uninhabited village, had dinner and went to sleep early.

PART 4

The final day of cycling was the longest. The weather was perfect and I was full of energy from a good night's rest. Water was scarce again, but luckily I found a well in the first inhabited village I passed. I had many kilometers until the border of Croatia, but I had a feeling I would make it there by the evening.

Closing in on the border, I was running out of water and battery power. Despite this, I was motivated and reached the border by the evening as anticipated. This was my longest day of cycling. Once in Croatia, I found a restaurant to charge my batteries and was excited to head to my sleeping spot.

Last time I was in Dubrovnik, I explored abandoned hotels on the coast of the Adriatic sea. I knew then that it was a perfect place to end a journey. I found the hotels in the same condition as I left them and had a peaceful night on the roof with my bike by my side. In the morning, I finally got to the sea.

This journey went as according to plan as it could. The bicycle carried me the entire way without issues, the roads were reliable and I only had to worry about myself. It was the longest I have ever cycled - in 4 days I did about 200km (half of which I did the final day). It was a nice change of pace from worrying about guards or trains. I am planning to do more of these type of journeys in the future.

BONUS

After I finished filming, decided to ride to Dubrovnik and get a place to clean up and repack before I fly out. With the entire journey wrapped up, pedalling the final stretch to the city felt amazing. The feeling of accomplishment didn’t fade for a while. Along the way I stopped to make breakfast and enjoy the coastal scenery.

Dubrovnik felt hectic. I arrived the day of an event. City was filled with cars and people, but I managed to find a few calms spots to have a relaxing walk. The evening was beautiful and, reluctant to let go of the “journey feeling”, I decided to sleep in the balcony under the full moon. The sunrise was spectacular.

The entire trip was a very fun and rewarding experience!

Retrospective: Cycling Journey To The Adriatic Sea

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

BONUS

Retrospective: Wild Journey Across Montenegro