Biking the Balkans

Here riders can gaze out over the city of Athens and contemplate their next 19 days on the road to Sarajevo. After cycling through the city’s awakening streets, the tour will head northwest towards the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Delphi and their first rest day. Here they can explore the 4th Century Temple of Apollo and prepare for the hilly days ahead.

Two days of moderate climbing will bring the cyclists to another rest day in the small town of Kastraki, the jumping off point for visiting the incredible monasteries of Meteora. Seemingly suspended in mid-air atop sheer rock faces, these religious buildings are certainly worth a visit. You may recognize them from the James Bond film, ‘For Your Eyes Only’. Over the next 3 days riders will now pass through the Pindhos Mountains on aspectacular road with numerous switchbacks surrounded by towering peaks.

The tour then enters little-known Albania and enjoys a rest day in Sarande, a town on what is known locally as the Albanian Riviera. Refreshed, the riders will pedal north along the scenic coast to Vlora, one of the country’s oldest cities and the site of Albania’s 1912 Declaration of Independence. The route then turns inland and follows some little-used rural roads to Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, beautifully situated on the banks of the Osum River with the imposing Tomorr Mountains in the background.

Another day of spinning through the Albanian countryside brings the riders to the nation’s capital Tirana and a well-deserved rest day. After exploring the city’s colourful Soviet-era architecture, the riders continue their Odyssey, pedalling northwards through the historic city of Shkodër and onto the border with Montenegro. Two days later the tour crosses into Bosnia. After some challenging climbs, the section then comes to an end in Sarajevo, host city of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Highlights

• Acropolis in Athens
• Temple of Apollo in Delphi
• Mountaintop monasteries in Meteora
• Enigmatic Albania