Tirana

Day 11: Elbasan  – Tirana 
Time: 3:12:46
Distance: 53.62 km
Average Speed: 16.6 km/h

A 5km downhill roll in the sun before 15km uphill where we climbed an altitude of 700m. The roads of Albania have proven to be as good as the rest of the Balkans even though we were advised that the road surfaces would be poor. As with all of these countries almost every 20km or so there is a roadside memorial to a local person. I assume it is because of car accidents so it makes you remember to stay alert and not take too many risks on the descents. We found the hostel pretty soon after we arrived (Tirana Backpackers Hostel). We took a walk around the city and ate beside the Taiwan building in the Youth Park. Tirana is a lot nicer than I expected and looks similar to many cities in Western Europe. The public bikes they have look much better than the ones in Dublin. Tonight we will have a bbq and beers in the hostel.

Shqipëria

Day 10: Ohrid  – Elbasan 
Time: 6:01:50
Distance: 121.6 km
Average Speed 20.1 km/h

The first 27km along the shores of Lake Ohrid were some of the best of the trip, as good as the Bay of  Kotor. The narrow road had very little traffic and hugged the shoreline most of the way. It also included 2 10% climbs. Once we crossed into Albania (I learned today that the Albanians call it  Shqipëria) we only had one big climb and the rest of the day was mostly downhill. We are being treated  like celebrities again similar to when we were in Kosovo. All the kids on the street are waving and cheering us on as we pass by. Every few km a man with a fish tank on the side of the road takes a big fish out as we pass and tries to sell it to us. Albania may be the cheapest country of the trip. We paid only 35 cent for a Machiato today. Tonight we'll stay in Elbasan.

Rest Day

Day 9: Rest Day, Ohrid 

We didn't do much today. Just a walk around the town.

Lake Ohrid

Day 8: Kichevo  – Ohrid 
Time: 3:16:28
Distance: 62.42 km
Average Speed 19 km/h

The town that we stayed in was undergoing a lot of road works so maybe it wasn't the best time to visit. They had a huge food market which we visited before breakfast. Another 20km climb awaited us as soon as we left Kichevo today but only the last 4-5km were steep. The rest of the road was easy though we also had to contend with a headwind. Ohrid is the main tourist town of Macedonia but it's off season so the crowds aren't too bad. We had a few beers in the hostel and then went out to a few bars and a club. Tomorrow we'll take a day off to see the town a bit more.

The Longest Day

Day 7: Skopje  – Kichevo 
Time: 7:31:42
Distance: 133.48 km
Average Speed 17.7 km/h


We were out late with some people we met from the hostel drinking Skopsko, Lasko (beers) and Raki (Macedonian Brandy) so our start time was about 12.30 today. We spent a few minutes retracing our steps of the night before. The Irish bar St. Patrick, the bridges with about 50 statues and Macedonia Square with a giant statue of Alexander the Great. Our hostel owner told us that none of these buildings and statues were here 3 years ago. What they've built so far is impressive. It's still a work in progress and once they finish it should look amazing.
A few km outside Skopje we visited Matka Canyon adding an extra 10km to the trip but it was worth it.
The first 60km were flat on great roads so we didn't stop until Tetovo for a foodstop of chicken kebabs. The next 30km were on the old road from Tetovo to Gostivar. Then the climbing started. 20km up to a height of 1200m. The descent was tricky since it was so dark but we had lights on our bike so we could just about make out where we were going. We are staying in the first hotel we saw in the town centre. There seems to be about 100 rooms but I think we are the only guests.