Bosnia day and weekend trips

Nice report - first one to boot.

I was in the area last Fall. The roads, countryside, towns, people, food, etc. excellent.

We rode from Ljubljana to Plitvice, then on the Dubrovnik. The bit of Bosnia-Herzegovina we rode through tempted me to peel away from the group and head inland, but it'll have to wait until another trip.

You're lucky to have this area as your playground.

Great job, man!

A beautiful part of the world that is almost invisible to us in the USA, thank you for posting.

I appreciate the advice you gave me about uploading pictures. Thanks man!

if you get back down this way, let me know. I will post more ride pics when I have time.

My sister and her husband were visiting us. Kevin and I went for a ride to Lukomir.

Here is a link about the village.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukomir

It is about an hour outside Sarajevo, beyond the Bjelasnica ski mountain.

Pulling into the village of Lukomir.





Looking down into Rakitnica canyon, 800 meters below the village.

This is at the edge of the village.







Here are some buildings in the village.

















These boys were very curious about the bikes.



This is the area leading up to the village. It was nice riding, but very rocky.

I would have been better with more aggressive tires on the DR.

The Yamaha and Kawasaki handled the loose rocks better; I would not trade the DR for either!







My brother-in-law Kevin on the Kawasaki he rented.



Me on my DR.



Moamer and Kevin - I went to get some water.



In case you are thirsty, here is the water!



This was a good, but fairly short, ride. We did not have as much time as we would have liked.

Do you happen to know where one can hire a dual sport in the region?

I don't know of any place here to rent bikes. The machine we got is not normally rented. That place offers tours of the mountain with quads but they let us take the owners Kawasaki because they were short on time and the bike was faster.

YUUUUUM! I luv calamari,


some nice country there

thanks for the wonderful ride report
we appreciate that you shared with us
your thread illustrates one of the main reasons we all love this fine community: getting to see parts of the world to which most of us can never travel.

well done
one thing: i wish you hadn't made your SECOND set of images so much smaller than the first

thanks again

Here are a few radnom shots around Sarajevo from the summer.

Entrance to Sarajevo coming from Pale.



Sarajevo from the hills.



Antenna site above Sarajevo.















My son is waiting for the day the bike becomes his - just a few more years.

I put a new gas tank and seat on the DR and took it for a quick ride this morning to see how it all fits together.



I headed out of the city and up towards Bjelasnica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjela%C5%A1nica)







It was pretty cold, but the bike was running like a race horse.



This is up at the ski area - pardon the finger!



There was snow in the trees up above. I can't wait to hit these slopes with my skis in another month.



Here is the lift.



I wanted to get a rakija to warm up, but the bar was closed.



There is a lot of building going on in preparation for winter.



I decided to head to the back side of the mountain. Here is a view from the road that will take me around to
the back.







Just coming around the back side of the ski mmountain.



The ski area is on the other side of the bald mountain behind the bike.



The road snakes through the valley ahead.



The road is full of these turns.



Coming into a village and a choice to make.



I chose Rakitnica. I had never been here before, but I knew there is a Rakitnica gorge. The village was not in the
gorge though.

Check out the old wooden minaret on the mosque. I like the older, simpler architecture better than the new, modern concrete and glass stuff that is being built.



Coming out of Rakitnica and heading back towards Bjelasnica.



I stopped for a drink of water.



The back side of Bjelasnica.



Obligatory self portrait! My family knows there is one of these in every string of photos I take.



A short break out of the wind and in the sun. It felt good here!



Back towards the city and home!

My family and I really like it here. I have been in and around the region for a few years, but just recently got a bike again. It is a great way to see everything with a new perspective.

The Balkans are a nice place to ride. I have spent a lot of time in Virginia, but never had a bike there. Is there much off-road riding to be had around DC?

The riding must be amazing in South Africa. I have a friend who spent a couple years in Cape Town and never wanted to leave.

One of my favorite things is to ride to the coast for seafood. There is a town called in Croatia called Mali Ston that has oyster beds. There is nothing better than eating oysters fresh from the sea.

The scenary and history are both very dramatic here. It is an exciting place to explore.

I am glad you enjoyed the little bit that I posted. The first pictures I put up were resized on my computer and posted individually. I later learned about hosting photos on another site and using a link to post. That is where the different sizing came from.

I am continuing to learn about posting here and hope to continue contributing.

Thanks for the report Home Brew, I'm considering heading to the Balkans next summer so it's nice to see what's waiting for me.

Would you be kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me?
First, you mentioned the mines. Our government travel advice suggests not leaving the road at all in Bosnia - are they everywhere or are they confined to clearly signed areas?

Second, I'm likely to be on my Amrstrong, an ex-British Army despatch bike. Given the history, do you think I'm likely to offend anyone or have any issues in that part of the world?



Thanks again!

Alex

I am pretty sure you would not offend anyone or have any problems with your bike. You should have it registered and insured to keep from having problems with the police though. In my experience, the people here are very friendly and welcoming to foreigners.

Not all mine fields in Bosnia are marked very well, or the markings have been overgrown, removed or knocked over. I am not certain about how well marked they are in Croatia, but I would use caution in some parts of Croatia too. Most mine fields were placed in the former front line areas of the war though. I will ask around and see what I can find out, but I believe you can get a minefield map from the NATO camp in Butmir. The map changes as they clear fields or find new areas - the map is just a guide and will give you a general idea. You need to use caution if in an area you are not familiar with.

Here are some simple practices that will keep you safe in most places though.

1. This one if obvious, but if there are minefield markings, observe them.
2. Stay out of any abandoned, war damaged buildings whether there are markings or not.
3. If the area looks like nobody goes there, you should not go there either. What I mean is if the trail is overgrown, or the grass is not cut, or the orchard is not tended, you should probably stay out. I would not go onto someone's farm anyway without permission.

There are a lot of dirt tracks where you can ride a bike and be perfectly safe. You may want to think twice about getting off the path in some areas and that is where a map or local friend would help. I would not go blazing trails through the forest, but I would not hesitate to go down a travelled path through the forest.

If you get down this way next summer, look me up!

Thanks for the detailed answer. I have full civilian documentation for the bike so that shouldn't be a problem.

I will!

Nicely done Home Brew... I'll be in Europe this summer for 8 weeks and plan to spend some of that time exploring the Balkins.

Regards, Paul