Korçë to Sotirë (day 4) our longest day!

Evening sun across to Sotirë cabins

A day of ups and downs literally! Lots of up and down but also Mikes bike was not behaving. Apparently after the cassette on his wheel broke late yesterday afternoon the wheel Armand swooped out did not have a speed sensor on it so it did not pick up the ‘requests for more power, or any power for that matter’. Mike was okay on the flat first 12 kms but when the first pass came into sight he decided enough was enough and sought Armand’s help. It was not until the end of the day that Armand realised what the issue was and how to solve it. In the meantime we swopped out the e bike for a small manual and Mike and I shared uphill duty. Coffee once again was most welcome.

Mike and I were at the back for the first ascent, due to the problems with his bike. Glad that was the case as we decided he would get in the van to get up the hill whilst I would go ahead on power and catch up with the group. Imagine my surprise when I shortly saw them all cycling downhill back towards me! Alas Kristi was not convinced he had taken the right route and so just before the top had asked everyone to cycle back down the climb. Turned out they were on the right route so they had to turn round and redo the climb. Gave me a good opportunity to catch up.

Quirky entrance to our shady coffee stop

To compound the fun and games I accidentally took Gordons’s bike. It was not until I was a way up the climb and looked down – no Coospo sensor. Panicked as I thought it may have fallen off so turned round to go back down the hill explaining to all that passed me that I had dropped something. After a bit I came to my senses as it was improbable the mount had also fallen off and checked my saddle only to realise I had the wrong bike and someone else’s ‘heavy’ pannier! Back up the hill. Gordon was a true gentleman and said he had taken my bike and also liked my saddle. Laughter and joshing all round.

That aside today’s ride was delightful. Our cycle route took us into the heart of the Gramoz mountains over the Barmash Pass (1,159m). This was our initial climb of about 350m (plus!) on a quiet main road before heading off on an even quieter county lane, which used to be the main route, downhill to our coffee stop.

I cycled with Jackie (Irish) on the way down which was nice as we took it slowly through the poorly maintained back road, quite a broken surface. However, it gave us a good opportunity to look at the views and have a good crac.

After coffee, a delightful shady haven, we had another much shorter climb before heading along a longish bumpy / undulating plateau. Very rural and relaxing. Bounded by higher mountains to our left and the plateau to our right. About halfway along we stopped for lunch at Ersekë (the highest city in Albania at about 1,000m). Lunch wasn’t the greatest today. Food a bit heavy and a few grumbles about issues with other bikes including Paul’s which was stuck on eco. Brendan and Ann also had bike issues. Yesterday’s rain definitely didn’t help the electronics and made Armand’s job much tougher. Enjoyed the riding after lunch in particular the ride down to Barmash where we had beautiful hairpins and an excellent road surface.

We crossed over a wide valley picture opposite, very dry, from where we could see our route climbing back up. I think I need to invert the saying to what comes down must go up!

Another pass to climb, about 150m, which was pretty brutal glad Mike shared the uphill and did the first stint which was really welcome. After a team regroup at the top we swopped back the manual for an e-bike and both had an excellent afternoon ride. Kristi took the manual bike. Again a fantastic downhill section no traffic and great fun on a perfect surface.

At the bottom we crossed over a river and had a lovely shady climb, last of the day before heading down to our final destination. It felt like we had entered an airconditioned room. This section was longer than we had anticipated and it was really helpful that Paul stood by the farm entrance with his bike, flying the Irish flag, to wave us in. Very helpful and from then on it became a feature , the whole group appreciated, to help us find our coffee stops etc. He was definitely happy to have had his bike fixed!

Lovely shady campsite with wooden cabins (Farm Sotirë). We shared ours with DD which worked really well. After an hard day enjoyed showing getting clean and then walking across to a pretty Boma. This was set next to a small river with trout pools where we could enjoy a well deserved beer with the group. Sitting there now writing my post.

Later on in the evening enjoyed sitting on the bench outside our chalet watching the shepherd grazing his flock of sheep whilst the dogs stood watch. A couple came over to investigate me and give me a sniff before having a pee on the bbq pit to mark their territory. Didn’t fancy my chances trying to shoo them off! Bought some dried flowers to make herbal tea (very nice) and some dried Chinese dates – horrid they went straight in the bin! Oh well.

See below for a video of our ride. Note to see the full controls click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.