ALBANIA: DISGUSTING & BEAUTIFUL, at the same time

I’ve been to Albania 4 times. I’ve biked it, rented a car and via public transportation. I followed an environmental group on Facebook who are from Shkoder. They clean up areas of garbage, that is found everywhere. They posted photos showcasing the amazing natural areas: waterfalls, trails, mountains and rivers. I tagged the areas they visited. I made an attempt to visit when I had the car. The gravel road was so unbearable, I turned around. They finally finished a paved road all the way to Theth in the past year. Time for a bike tour.

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BRING YOUR BIKE ON THE TRAIN

I had a bike trip planned to ride the Soca Valley here in Slovenia. The weather was perfect, rain. Not so perfect for biking, but awesome towards helping during the severe drought we’re having. So I changed my plans and headed to the bike friendly weather of Brežice. I’m able to rent a private room at the MC hostel, with bathroom for 20 euro per night.

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GERMANY AND AUSTRIA

I read about Tubingen, Germany on BBC travel. College town, fiercely Vegan, average age 40 and to my delight a HUGE biking town. Camping Tubingen Neckarcamping, just 3 km from town is a great place to set up for exploring. The camp was full of individuals and families mostly bike touring! There’s so many paved off road biking opportunities in Germany, I see why it’s so popular here.

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SPAIN: San Sebastián & Madrid

SAN SEBASTIAN

I’m staying at Camping Oliden, about 11km from the city center. The first 2 people I meet in Spain? Juan & Jose (you can’t make this stuff up). I start setting up camp, they decide it’s now time to mow the grass,. 2 hours of mowing later it’s finally quiet again. I have all 6 sites to myself. Good thing, its time to recharge everything, 6 outlets and I’m using 4 of them, glad no one else is here.

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BORDEAUX, FRANCE TO SAN SEBASTAIN, SPAIN via VELO 1🚴‍♀️

BREAKING DOWN BIKE FOR BORDEAUX TRAIN RIDE

BORDEAUX

I re-assembled the bike in the Bordeaux train station and rode to my AirB&B. I have no idea how people travelled without a smart phone: translations, route directions, photos, connecting around the world, even by video. On the fly travel is made easy with a smart phone. Travelling? Buy a used phone, I got a sim with 45gb for 20€ with Spain iPhone number, great for reservations.

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“First Bike Tour of the 2022”

7 months ago I made a “climate change catastrophe” comment on Facebook. Someone said “what catastrophe?” I explained that, “just because your house hasn’t burned down or been flooded, you have food and you still have water coming out of your faucet, doesn’t mean climate change isn’t real.” I ended with “You’re an idiot.” They turned me into Facebook for bullying, then Facebook bullied me. I stopped using Facebook, now just messenger for chatting with friends around the world.

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BLOKE LAKE, FLOATING CASTLE FESTIVAL, 300 SKATEBOARDERS

CAR FREE BIKING

Ebike touring is more fun than I could have imagined. I’ve toured the world twice by bicycle. At 65 Ebike touring has taken the experience to a whole new level of FUN! The pandemic has kept me touring in Slovenia only. Every trip I take, there’s always a road that is the “The best touring roads in Slovenia” .

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E-Bike tour Northeast Slovenia: Jezersko, Velenje, Ptuj, Gornja Radgona, Murska Sobota, Maribor & Celje

E-Bike tour Northeast Slovenia: Jezersko, Velenje, Ptuj, Gornja Radgona, Murska Sobota, Maribor & Celje

I’ve ridden to Jezersko many times. If you’re avoiding the crowds in July & August, this is a great escape for some great hiking and biking. I have some friends who live here. They gather wild herbs, grow mint and grow raspberries for making syrup and jams. I volunteered to help clean-up the raspberry rows. Doing this kind of work makes you realize how much work growing food is and how lucky we are There’s a super (somewhat new) pizza restaurant too.

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FIRST E-BIKE TOUR, SOCA VALLEY, SLOVENIA

FIRST BIG CLIMB WITH LOADED E-BIKE

Loaded up the new e-bike and headed first to Bohinj Lake, then to Kobarid and Bovec in Soca Valley. I’ve ridden this route several times before and usually stayed just one night at each campground. I’m staying 3-4 nights at each campground and doing some of the activities while I’m there: canyoning, rafting and local bike rides.

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