Day 113
As I approach the border I get the feeling I’m driving into a big cul-de-sac surrounded by huge mountains with no sensible way out.
I stop at Podgorica, a very lame excuse for a capital city. There are more cyclists here and they corroborate the fact that the only way out of here is over the mountains or back the way I came.
Day 114
Podgorica is at 30 m above sea level, so any way out is up. I try planning some routes towards the coast and come up with over 8,000 m of climbing. Yikes. However, jiggling the direct route to Bosnia via Nikšić gives a route that mostly ascends all the way and not too harshly with just 1,500 m climbing.
I start out through the nature park area, then a road that hugs the mountain up to Nikšić where there’s a high plateau with lakes before the final climb to the border. There are quite a few cyclists coming through, there are not so many roads to choose from in this country. I stop to chat to one, an Israeli who flew into Tirana and is making his way to France. This is his first cycling trip and he’s finding the traffic tough — I’m not surprised, the standard of driving in Montenegro is horrendous, probably the worst in Europe.
After crossing the border there’s the long-awaited descent down a twisty hairpin road and the views are amazing.
