Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
The Balkans: Bikepacking Albania and Montenegro (Video)
“The Balkans” is a 30-minute video from More Stories Tomorrow that follows three friends on a bikepacking journey across enchanting Albania and Montenegro. Watch it and find a handful of photos and some written insights here…
Words by Tom Hardie and Anna Christian, film and photos by Tom Hardie and Lawrence Carpenter
I’d been reading Robert Carver’s Journeys in Albania during our trip to Iceland, and before we’d even left Reykjavik, I’d convinced Lawrence and Anna that the southeastern corner of Europe was the perfect amphitheatre for our next melodrama together.
Fast-forward some time, and the three of us were back together for a 500-kilometre journey through some of the less-travelled roads in a couple of stunning but often overlooked countries in Europe. We hope the film below conveys the special bonds that are formed through shared adventure.
Another central theme of the story is Anna’s transformation from from bikepacking sceptic to full-on convert. Here’s what she had to say after we’d successfully complete the trip together and could look back on it:
“Cycling is very familiar for me, having spent the last decade racing, but bikepacking was a completely new experience and I took a lot from our Balkans trip. The most unexpected being my new love for bikepacking, which I hadn’t seen coming after my baptism of fire in Iceland.
We rode through some hectic towns and cities, met some of the loveliest people, and ate some of the best food in the most beautiful, unusual dining spots. I learnt to really love the excitement of not knowing what’s to come the next day. Even if that day contains a never ending gravel climb, wild dogs, and food poisoning. Each day really was a ‘once in a lifetime’ type of experience.
Even just briefly passing through these countries, I would wholeheartedly encourage people to add the Balkans to their list of trip ideas. I can count on one hand the amount of other cyclists we passed, but there’s some amazing cycling there.”
The Route
Further Reading
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