INTO MACEDONIA*
What a beautiful area…
19th April - 20th April | 2023
In the morning I had a very delicious breakfast and after all was packed up, it was time to say goodbye. Let´s see when I will be here the next time again!
Today I wanted to get to Lake Prespa in Macedonia*. I was surprised at how close the border already was from the hotel as I thought it was still some kilometres to go. All went smoothly and after max. 30mins I was in Macedonia*.
The first impression was not so good, as rubbish was everywhere, but good roads ;-) I went along the river Drin to Deber and from there I wanted to do some offroad I found on google maps. Unfortunately, this road is under construction as they are going to asphalt it. With all the machinery it would have been 20km of mud - no thank you, being alone! So I had to go back to Deber and then follow the river Black Drin all the way to Struga. A nice winding road, but the riverbed is full of rubbish - such a pity! From Struga, I followed the road to Ohrid and from there over the mountains (1200m) to Pretor, where I booked a hotel.
All the way from Resen over to Pretor I was so positively surprised by the scenery with the snow-capped mountains! In Pretor the hotel was right at the lake, but it looked very dark and closed! I started to worry when suddenly the sliding door opened (I must have been in the right position for the sensor then). What a relief as it was already late and I have no internet/roaming in Macedonia*. I was positively surprised about my room, as it was really cheap on booking.com. When I went for dinner to a small restaurant next door, I booked it for another night. The dinner next door was really delicious for small money! I really start to like the area ;-)
The next morning I had my breakfast on the terrace with a panoramic lake and mountain view. I basically can look until Greece on one side and Albania on the other ;-) After breakfast, I had to look into a problem with my bike. Well, not sure if it is a problem, and if it is one, how serious! Since leaving Durrës, I occasionally get a whiff of burning oil from my bike. I checked the oil level, which is fine. When crawling around my bike, I found my gear shifter sliding along its bolt. So I took a small video and since then I was the rest of the morning with James, my mechanic Roberto and Pavel on the phone to find solutions. I also contacted the biker girl Ekaterina (the one here in Macedonia*) to see if she could recommend a bike mechanic here in Ohrid to check it out or crank up the bolt.
I, in the meantime, had pulled out my tools and cranked up the bolt, but I was too scared to crank it more because if that goes wrong I would be stuffed as 1 hrs drive to Ohrid. I also contacted SWmototech in Germany, as I was anyhow looking into their gear shifter as my rubber pad is very worn out, but I wanted to stretch it until this winter. I wanted to know, if they could send it to either Albania, Greece or worst case Italy (which means I would have to go back to Durrës, take the ferry as a passenger, get the part and come back).
After lunch time Ekaterina had a recommendation for a mechanic in Ohrid, so off I go! Again over the mountain road into Ohrid, where I went to Pajo (google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/YfDZpt9G9iu9UB816 ). He already knew about my visit, so I showed him the problem. He checked it and cranked the bolt a bit more up, but he said nothing to worry about, it would be normal... What a relief!! However, three people said I need to replace the gear shifter ... hmmmm, maybe I should get in Greece that gear shifter! He also gave my bike an overview check including rechecking the oil level. All fine! That was a really good and efficient service! And as a bonus, he speaks very well English!
With this knowledge, I drove back to the hotel but now the more scenic route along Lake Ohrid. What a panorama: the lake surrounded by snowcapped mountains! I could stop every 200m to take pictures! Further on the road forked off over a mountain pass through the Galičica natural park. Wow, what a lovely road up there; lots of switchbacks with stunning views! Especially up from the highest point of the road, at 1600m. And then the road down on the other side, back to Lake Prespa. Still all so scenic!
At the hotel, I just unloaded my bike and went to that restaurant next door again as I was really hungry.
After dinner, I spoke to James and he is not happy about the answer from the mechanic, but we agreed that it would be better to order that gear shifter from the Greek SW mototech dealer and then I could pick it up at their shop to change it. Until then I will keep an eye on it, especially if I ride offroad as that would rattle it around more. Street shouldn’t be a problem, as it is so solid that you need a wee bit of force to let it slide along the bolt.
I hope you enjoyed the scenic panorama as much as I did (even though it was cloudy). In the next blog, we will go back to Albania. Whilst you are waiting for the next blog, get your atlas out and mark this area for your next (hiking, motorcycling, cycling, etc) trip.
* short version for Republic of North Macedonia
Places | Cities:
ALBANIA:
Peshkopie
MACEDONIA*:
Deber, Ohrid, Pretor
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 2775 km
Information Border Crossings (in April 2023):
German BI, bike documents and insurance (green card) - easy.
Maintenance | Breakdown:
Loose/sliding gear shifter - recommended to change soon.
Health issues:
./.
Special thanks to:
Ekaterina Dubanevich to help me finding the fantastic mechanic in Ohrid!
The panorama around the lakes in Macedonia* being so scenic.