An easy day with a painful back feels the same as a hard day. I’d love to know what caused this. To be fair, after nearly thirty thousand kilometres on three continents, I’ve had very little sickness or injury and I’m really thankful for that, but it doesn’t help me now
The smart thing to do would be to have more rest, but I’d rather do that after I reach Dubrovnik. So, it really can’t be too bad, eh ? It’s an issue off the bike and if I have to lift it. Otherwise it’s simply a good excuse to have a lie down and that’s never a bad thing.
Today, I’m going to Skopje and I’ll have a day off there to look around. There are some hills along the way and then a long flat run into the capital of North Macedonia.
I left Veles through some industrial areas but was soon in the countryside and going uphill. I was expecting a very quiet road, but it seemed to be a popular route up the first climb. As I neared the top, a car ran me off the road. I came to a hard stop with my front wheel against the guard rail and an idiot and his family in their car a couple of centimetres from my left knee. I yelled obscenities at him as loud as I could and he quickly drove away after initially hesitating. My outburst was enough for three cars to stop and shake their heads at the stupid driver.
A local couple then came past on their ebikes and we had a conversation across the road. Sooo friendly.
Pretty soon, I could see why there were so many cars on the road. There is a resort by the lake. On the way to the lake, I went past the guy who nearly hit me. They were setting up near the lake and got a wave from me.
It was coffee time, so I stopped at the resort and also used their wireless to book a room in Skopje. (I thought I’d solved my phone issues in Negotino, but success is only temporary).
Back on the road, I started on the climb of the day, and the road was almost empty. It was fantastic – beautiful weather, no traffic and things to look at the whole way up. Then, my favourite drive came past and this time he gave me heaps of room. Looks like he learned how to treat cyclists today.
The road surface deteriorated but that’s fine. It makes things even quieter, and the only other road users were a couple of touring motorbikes. At the top, I stopped and took in the view of the 30kms of flat country into Skopje.
The view was breathtaking and it’s at places like this that I remind myself how lucky I am to be able to do this, and what a privilege it is to simply look around various parts of the world and observe the daily life of locals.
The flat ride into Skopje sounded far better than it was in reality. It was busy and narrow and bumpy but luckily, most drivers were pretty good.
The last few kms into town were on a path alongside the river. I’d been here in the eighties while backpacking. Then, it was March and the road to Dubrovnik was still closed due to snow, so I spent the day in Skopje and took the night train to Jesenice near the border with Austria. Now, I recognised almost nothing of the place. I was far more timid then, and it was still Yugoslavia, so I didn’t poke around as much as I do now.
The address of the BnB was confusing – both to me and Maps.me. The answer is nearly always to get a coffee and some wifi and sort it out – which I did.
Skopje is a little strange. It’s full of oversized statues, there’s tourists, there’s an old town section and a really modern area, but there seems to be a Casino every hundred metres – with the obligatory sad faces outside. I hate seeing that.
Where I stayed, had a Casino downstairs and another two within two hundred metres.
Anyway, I was pleased to have a rest day and see if my back improved.
