Road to Shkodër
05 14 24Words Weronika Szalas, photos Weronika Szalas and Alexander Kopp
The inaugural edition of The Accursed Race officially started today. Lost Dot's first fixed route exploring the Balkans, riders will cover 1,600km through Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. For many of the riders on the startline though, their adventure and their experience started days, even weeks ago.
With a 'no fly' policy in place for the race, riders have travelled from far flung places just to make it to the beginning of the race and for many this has been a special experience. Instead of landing with a bike box and the adventure starting afterwards, it's been days since they left home and they've seen so much in that time.
Weronika Szalas is one of those riders, having traveled from Poland to the Balkans to take part. No stranger to travelling by bike, she's still blown away by the experience due to the incredible hospitality she's encountered, and experiences with the land and locals which have already made this a very special journey. We caught up with her in the days building up to the race.
"The first challenge of The Accursed is getting to the start line. The race has a no fly policy. My journey started two weeks ago by taking a few buses from my hometown Katowice, Poland to Knin, Croatia. From there I pedalled 820 km with over 15,000m of elevation through the mountains of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro to finally reach Shköder in Albania where the race starts. I followed the Transbalkan race route with some road detours along the way.
I've never been to the Balkans by bike and I wanted to get to know the countries in a slow travel fashion and soak up the culture before tackling the course with the cut off time ticking in the background.
I wouldn't be myself if I didn't stop for photos and talk to locals on every possible occasion. This resulted in making friends with Peja and riding a horse in Durmitor for the first time in my life, drinking rakija with Serbs in Bosnia, staying in a beautiful bivouac with the view to Maglić, the highest peak of Bosnia, and camping in the middle of very spectacular high plateau in Montenegro.
The way was physically demanding on a fully loaded bike and I had to walk and push quite a few times but the effort was definitely worth it - what a beautiful land those countries are with such friendly and hospitable people. Their lives aren't easy, especially in rural areas and often powered by tourism which in many places is still developing. Political topics are better not to be touched around here and the signs of past conflicts are still quite visible, especially in Bosnia where not all the land has been fully de-mined yet.
Other than that, the Balkans feel wild and a lot of nature is still unspoiled. Food is simple and delicious, fruits and vegetables full of flavour, and a very welcoming culture. The mountains I've encountered have been one massive playground for cycling - both on road and off road.
As for the race itself? I'm not a racer by heart - as in I don't feel gratification from being fast, but... I do enjoy riding my bike for long periods, especially in the mountains. I've never ridden on rocky and rough terrain like I've experienced here, and I've never attempted to ride 1,600km in one go under the constraints of a time limit, so I'm definitely looking forward to attempting this challenge. I would love to be able to complete it within the time limit - that's the goal. The idea is to stay on the road after the race and explore the Balkans for a bit longer, but I will see what the legs are saying and, as usual, just go with the flow."
