May 25: Shkoder - Piva Monastery, 174 km

I have never measured a trip by my Coca-Cola consumption. There is a first time for everything.

Woke up feeling much better and was on the road by 7:15. Through the Serbian enclave in Vraka, Albania and past the new Serbian Orthodox church. School children looked on in amazement and waved as I passed through Koplik before reaching the Montenegrin border at 8:45. I was ahead of schedule.

First Coke was consumed in the 'no-man's land' between the Albanian and Montenegrin border posts at 9 o'clock. The climb into Montenegro was not as harsh as I feared and soon I reached Tuzi, stopping briefly at the Catholic Church memorializing Mother Teresa. The countryside was rollings hills set against a backdrop of mountains and I knew the road would get vertical soon. Vineyards on one side and fig orchards on the other.

I blew through Podgorica and continued on toward Niksic, stopping for a 2nd coke at 11 am. Lots of dates are commemorized in hotel, restaurant names and on busses in Montenegro: 19 Dec., 7 Jan., 5 Dec. Everything was fine until Danilovgrad and I was making good time. Things were looking up. Things literally looked up from this point on as the road climbed for the next 28 km (18 miles). It was hot, with hiding place from the sun and not once did the gradient diminish or flatten. With the extra weight of the trailer it is as near to being 'broken' on a climb as I have come. I was despearate for water and shade and found a restaurant at Ostrog: coke 3, water and a fruit salad followed.

I waved goodbye to the bus load of Hungarian tourists having done 'an interview' for their home movie special - somewhere in Budapest I am a household name!! Back on the road I entered a long tunnel. Unusally there were lights inside and I knew it would be a long, dark ride for the next several minutes. At soem poing I crested the hill in the dark and descended in to the town of Niksic.

Had lunch in the pictureque square and visited the sights. Got back on the bike at 4 pm telling myself to get to Pluzine before nightfall so that I 'only' had 130 km to Sarajevo the next day. Storm!! Out of nowhere I was suddenly in driving rain. The good news: the wind as at my back. The bad news: 4 km later I realised I was on wrong road! Having turned around the road climbed again. And it climbed. And climbed, summiting at 1200 metres.

I was running low on water again and found a roadside store. Time for a coke and dinner supplies. Pasta, ham and fruit. The road soon dipped and I descended at 65 km/h plus toward Piva. I fillled water bottles again and considered going the final 6 km to Pluzine. That was until I saw the sign announcing a 7% climb. I did not have the mental or physical strength to climb again and took the option of dowhill to the monastery.

Abbot Nikifor agreed to let me pitch my tent in the monastery grounds. The stone structure had been moved, stone by stone, from a nearby lake over a period of 12 years between 1970 - 1982. The stone numbers are still visible. I cooked my gourmet meal of plain pasta and ate it with my bananas and apple. The abbout provided bread. Not the greatest post-ride meal, but it was calories. Then I went to bed!

For those that have asked, here are the ride stats: 174 km, average speed of 19.5 km/hr, ride time of 8 hrs 52 mins, 9176 calories burned.