Let’s go cycling

26th September, 85km, Bataszek to Bilje, a  couple of hills and a thousand trucks
The cycle trail became less and less evident as we approached the Hungary/Croatia border. Almost as though they just didn’t care anymore…
And combined with the lack of cycle infrastructure, the trucks became quite a bit more noticeable. Over the border into Croatia and it was a bit unbearable. So, even with the prospect of a few too many extra kms added to the day, we took the first available turnoff to avoid the constant “swoosh” of trucks passing at great speed and small, scary distance

Booked a worryingly cheap accomm for the night, and turned up to the welcome of tea and home made cake, plus pats for the resident doggie.   Such a great place! A short walk into town,  where beer was about $2.50 and a Croatian feed was also very reasonable 🙂

27th Sept, Bilje to Babina Greda, 77km of headwind

A brutal day with constant headwinds.  We booked our accomm at lunchtime and committed to the 45km we had left to ride. Sigh.  But a lovely spot once we got there- great meal, clean and modern rooms and perfectly quiet.

28th Sept. Babina Greda to Doboj, 79km- into Bosnia

Enjoyed a Croatian breakfast with eggs and sausage before hitting the road.

Just a few km from the border, then a surprisingly quick entry into Bosnia- Hertzigovna and on our way again.

We were pleased and surprised with the quiet roads for the first 20km or so in Bosnia…but the next turn took us on to busier roads which we complained about for the rest of the day.  Along with the drizzling rain…first we’ve seen since Austria!

Some how we stuffed up our internet expectations for Bosnia.  Telstra is a no-go. And our Europe E-Sim quit as well. So no internet for the day, which also meant no way of searching or booking accomm for the night.  But we needn’t have worried as the options were plentiful when we arrived into Doboj.

29th September, Doboj to Zepce, 45km

Apparently Bosnia is “trying” to be cycle friendly.  So they’ve designated a cycle route crossing the breadth of the country.  You’d think it would be a good option, right?

Seems the plan is to build a new super highway, and turn the old highway, the M17, into the cycle route.  Except they forgot to build the new one before they turned the old one into a “cycle route”.

This has to have been the most terrifying day we’ve had so far…a mild low traffic start, then thrown into the chaos of the M17, with hurtling trucks and cars just centimetres away and white vans which just sit on their horns until we somehow manage to find a space in the non existent verge to get off the road.

Finally got to turn off on a quiet road (just in time for a decent hill), and found a lovely quiet bit of forest to regroup. And the perfect spot for Neil’s birthday lunch of emergency tuna and yesterday’s bread…🤣

30th September, Zepce to Zenica, 48km

Spent a LOT of time working out ways to avoid the formidable M17 and managed to come up with a route that had us on the highway for a max of 4km.  Phew!

Some very quiet (and muddy) little tracks to keep us safe.

Nevertheless, our ride was largely shared with many a truck and the constant presence of works on the new and fancy superhighway. 

We were definitely pleased to arrive in Zenica, with plenty of time to explore the the town. 

Had a lovely meal at a local restaurant, not at all marred by the gruff and indifferent attitudes of the staff.  It seems to be the Bosnian way.  No English outside of hotels really. Not a lot of smiles, rather curt, but maybe it’s an understandable bluff to cover the language awkwardness?🤷‍♀️

To be fair, we have made zero effort to learn the language for our few days here, so they are definitely one (or two) up on us.

1st October- on the Bus! Zenica to Mostar

Planning our route for the next few days, we realised with dread that there was going to be no way of avoiding a decent stretch on the M17 down the track a bit.

Coupled with cold and drizzly rain that looked like it was set in for the day, and a forecast for snow for the following day, we decided to explore alternative  options for getting to Mostar. A stern faced woman at the bus station spoke enough English to assure us that we could get ourselves and “probably” our bikes on a bus in the afternoon. Sold!

Back we came,all loaded up, parted with some cash and hopped on a bus!

So, Bosnia is quite mountainous in this section.  What I learnt is that the mountains are equally beautiful from a bus, and much less terrifying than on a bike navigating narrow roads shared with buses and trucks.  Naturally I was gutted to miss out on the couple of thousand odd metres of ascent…ahem. 😂  Neil may have a different perspective!

We arrived in Mostar in the dark, a short easy ride to our booked accomm, which wasn’t quite what we expected, but then again we’re learning that we shouldn’t build expectations really! Neil valiantly carted the bikes upstairs and they just fit in the room so all is good…

Slap bang in the middle of the old town, which is quite beautiful. Our first impressions were of a quiet little village, plenty of options to eat, and gorgeous night views.

2nd October, a day of exploring Mostar
Bosnian Brekky on the house, then we spent a couple of (frustrating!) hours trying to sort flights and for me, catching up on some work.
We ventured out in the late morning to find that the quiet streets of last night had turned into scenes of chaos, hundreds of tourists everywhere and tour groups with flags blocking the way wherever we went.

Even today the tensions are still simmering. Nearly half of the country is under the governance of Republica SPRPSKA, with an autocratic president, who ruled from 1998 until 01/10/2025 (yesterday). The ethnicities are polarised into regions and flags are widely flown.

Mostar was definitely worth the effort and the bus trip. Charming buildings but visible scars in many from the 93 war- bullet holes still showing in many of those that haven’t been completely renovated. But how amazing to see the painstakingly rebuilt old bridge. We spend a couple of hours in the war/genocide museum reading the stories, but I think Neil wants to talk about that…

Neil’s Notes
The breakdown of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the independent states striving for independence was a tumultuous time. Civil wars, genocide and ethnic cleansing. Bosnia was especially affected, many buildings still showing the pock marks of gunfire and substantial damage from heavy artillery.

Three different ethnicities were living relatively peacefully. The Croats (Catholic), the Bosniacs (Muslim) and the Serbs (Orthodox Christian). The Bosnian Serbs had substantial armed forces and were fighting for an independent state under the banner Republica SPRPSKA. They were responsible for the genocide of Bosniaks, with Serbian assistance. Multiple massacres took place, notably Sebrenica, declared as a safe zone by UN peacekeepers, the limited UN forces were out armed and over 8000 men and boys were slaughtered.