is my god for today.

He fixed my frontbreak. For the last to days I could only use one of the two brakes. Not real fun for getting down from the mountains we crossed.

I am happy again, my brakes can be as noisy as they want, as long as they work!
Thanks man, you made my day!

Cycling many smaller hills in Kosovo and assuming to take a shortcut, I went up a longer hill, in the beginning of dawn.

The surprising thing on that day was that each village had on house with open gates and loud music. I did not investigate into this one, it looked as if there was a special festival day going on. As I learnt from another rider, yes special day: Saturday.

I came up to that lonely peak and there was a place looking like a restaurant, as I was looking for one, I could not resist in entering this place. The waiter came out immediately to help me with my bike and showing me the way in.

Having a seat, the guys inside – inside was room for max. 8 people- tried to get me involved in their round. There were already pretty drunk what made them really nice people, probably. As each one of them looked like a bear for himself.

As one guy spent some time in Germany and I remembered some Russian, we could have a rather good conversation. Here one of my basic rules for conversation in the US came in place! No talks about politics and religion. This would make sure that I leave this place as welcomed as I came into it.

One of the guys, he seems to be the head of something, offered me to stay in his house over night. I told him that I only sleep every second night, which was a little lie. They told me that it is not safe riding through the night out here. As I told them for how long time I was already riding through the night, they asked me where my pistol was to protect myself against wild animals. I told them that I do not own a pistol and that I do not need one. At that moment all of the present guys, lifted their shirts and showed me their guns. Hu, this was a really strange moment.

As it is impossible for me to look through these influences of the military onto the people, it is definitely a difficult thing. Each village has big painted walls with their army heroes that protected the villagers. I cannot say anything about the separation of executive and legislative levels in such areas or even countries. Old bosses also remain bosses in the new organisation.

Shortly before I left my dinner place, an escort of three big cars rushed to that restaurant and the guys walked through the restaurant, saying hello to everyone by kissing left and right. Also I got involved in that ceremony, the stinking foreigner. Led out by the guy that I called Boss,  these guys went outside to a separate table to discuss whatever. This was a special moment during my ride and I cannot be certain that these guys were always nice. This is the moment when history and ethnies come into place. For example, if I was a Serbian, definitely I would not have been welcomed at that place, the way I was.

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If you weren’t already blown away on the way to Durmitor, then it gonna happen just there.

I chose a pretty particular way to get there, called r432a. With the help of Ivan I could figure out that this path can be used for border crossing even there was no border control. Before this walk I charged coffeine and carbs in Gacko, full of Börek, I crossed the border. 

The parcours at check point 04 was the longest of all, 40kms with a final pass to be crossed at almost 2000m of elevation.

Dinner in freezing cold Zabeljak, saying goodbye to Camille and John the photographer and leaving. Crazy night ride, only climbing. I think climbing shall really be over now. Endless roads to be climbing, water on the roads and dogs!

I did not plan to stop, but I had to. Really this climbing sucks. It really sucks!