TRAVERSE 36
side and the surf on the other, with boulders scattered like hazards in a giant slalom. Timing was everything: a retreating wave could offer traction, but the next would threaten disaster.
Leaving the sand behind, the route climbed into jagged mountain roads. Hairpins came in rapid succession, each strewn with rocks, loose stones, and slippery mud. Stopping to help another rider forced me into a standing start on wet rocks— a near-impossible task. Fifteen enduro bikes returned down the hill, reporting the next bend as impossible. I turned around. There was no shame in retreat; judgment and self-preservation had to balance bravado.
At a small medical clinic on a flat bend, relief came in the form of
Turkish coffee from a kindly nurse. Other riders who had abandoned the climb joined, and a few lemonades were shared. Moments like this— brief, human, absurdly comforting— punctuated the relentless grind of the rally. The route diverted to easier roads, highway miles replacing treacherous mountain tracks. My GPX still bounced violently, and the headlight cowling hung precariously on the bike, lashed with para-cord. Precision welding would have been ideal, but practicality ruled: the rally had become a test of adaptation as much as endurance.
Lake Ohrid greeted us in Macedonia with an almost cinematic stillness. I had never heard of it before, yet the architecture, the clarity of the water, and the openness of the surrounding land offered a stark contrast to the claustrophobic forests and snow-blocked passes of Montenegro. Stork nests perched atop telegraph poles, an unhurried rhythm of life against the backdrop of mountains. It was a place to catch a breath, to let the bike rest, to appreciate a fleeting sense of calm in an otherwise unrelenting adventure.
The raid dipped briefly into northern Greek Macedonia, but I opted for the easier route, following smooth roads to the next stop: a large, modern casino at Gevgelija. By this stage, the attrition of the rally was obvious. Bikes were being carried by support vehicles; riders were exhausted, some broken. Maintenance became as much a part of the event as riding. Everywhere,
TRAVERSE 36