Route in North Macedonia.
Coming to North Macedonia.
Customs formalities completed. I'm taking a selffie with a Welcome to North Macedonia sign as backfround, when a car stops next to me. A young man starts to chat. He asks all sorts of things, among others if I with my trip support some kind charity theme. "No", I reply, but in my mind I would have wanted to say that endeed the whole trip has been a fucking charity deed. He tells me that he lives in Skopje and gives his phone number. He also recommends a hostel, which is located right next to the old town.
I continue my trip. Sun is shinig and it is quite hot. The road becomes worser, when approaching Skopje and the last ten kilometers are awful, lot of traffic, exhaust fumes and dust.
Skopje, near main bus station. I'm wandering where I could find a cafe with free wifi. A man about in my age comes to chat with me. He offers a cigarette. Oh no, I think I will not take one now. We talk about all sorts of things and he tells me that near here is a shopping center, where I could find free wifi. He tells also that the nearby house is a hostel. I leave him.
I decide to check the hostel. The appearance of the house rings bells in my head. I push my bike through the gate. On the dry lawn there are several cats, big ones and kittens. When I ring the doorbell, I notice a kitten, which is half eaten. I begin to feel sick. Smell is awful. Luckily no one opens the door and I slowly tiptoe away.
The shopping center. There is a small pub with a terrace. I take a seat from the terrace, so I can keep eye on my bike and order a beer. Internet tells that there are couple of hostels nearby. The other of them, Hostel Mickitos, is the place the man on the border told me. I decide to check it first. So, onwards.
Hostel Mickitos. Full. Fortunately a guy from the hostel guides me to the next one. And how come, it is just behind the corner.
Hostel Inbox. There they have a bed for me with eight euros. Good, I book myself for couple of nights and get one euro discount! I'm surprised, when the young receptionist introduces the place. Here you are sleeping like in mortuary. You have to crawl into a space which is like a coffin. Fortunately, there is at least light in every box. No kitchen. Shit! OK, I'm far too tired to go anywhere else. After all, it is only eight euros per night and the shower facilities are good.
Shower and clean clothes. I'm hungry like a wolf and ready to go and buy some food. The guy behind the desk tells me where I could find a shop. It would be in the old town, in the bazaar. I go to check it. Here and also else where on my way people seem to have a strange conception of a shop. In Finland we a chain of kioks. Well, this ain't even a kiosk. There is only some dry beans, lentils, canned tomatoes, rise, bread and tea. The guy specifically told that there you can find everythig you need. Ok, I have to continue to the shopping center I visited earlier in the day. I hope there is a hamburger place too, so I will get some strength to do the shoppings. Overall I hope that I will not collapse before I get there.
End is well, all is well! I did get my hamburger and did my shoppings. Now I have eaten and ready to sleep.
In box in Hostel Inbox, Skopje.
I spend three whole days in Skopje resting, eating and walking in the city mainly in the old town and in the Fortress Kale.
In the old town bazaar 1, Skopje.
In the old town bazaar 2, Skopje.
In the old town bazaar 3, Skopje.
Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, Skopje.
In the old town bazaar 4, Skopje.
In the old town bazaar 5, Skopje.
River Vardar, Skopje.
Skopje.
Kale, The Skopje Fortress 1.
Kale, The Skopje Fortress 2.
Kale, The Skopje Fortress 3.
After three days I continue south, towards Greece. The weather is great. No wind, sun is shining and now early in the morning it is even a little bit chilly. My map app tries to get me on a lap of honor around the city, but this time I will not be cheated.
First you can drive along a cyckle path out of the town and then along a road which is apparently the old highway to Veles. Both of them are in pretty good condition and the further you get the less traffic there is. Vardar River is somewhere on the right side. You can't see it, but you are in the same valley with it. When you come to Petrovac the old road starts to follow the motorway A1 called Friendship road on its right side. Village called Katlanovo, about 30 km from Skopje, I have a brake in front of the village shop. There are couple of male cyclists from the capital. It's nice to have company, when you still are strong. I lend to them a screwdriver, when we are talking, surprisingly, about cycling.
After Katlanovo the lanes of Friendship Road separate from each other and my road, the old Veles road, goes in between them. Funny situation, because the lanes are so far from each other that you don't see them both at the same point. There are even some small mountain tops between them. First the old Veles Road follows the lanes, which lead to Skopje and in some point it chances to the other side of the mountain tops to follow the lanes to Veles. My road is now in quite bad condition, gravel and full of pots. There is also an ascent from about 200 m to 500 m. The temperature is again quite high, maybe 25 C or even more. After 45 km from Skopje I can see a lake lower in the valley. It is a good place to have a brake and eat some bread, suosage and cheese with an apple and orange. Still ten kilometers to Veles.
Veles. Small city in a valley of Vardar River. I drop in a shop on my way. Again I wonder the poor assortment of food stuff, but potato chips, candies and lemonades (not light versions) you have. Something I have to buy.
I want out of the town for night so I continue still some ten kilometers along the road on the river side. The road is now covered and easy to ride.
I put up my tent a little away from the road to the top of a small hill in a place where you can't see me from the road. I have to unload my bike in order to get my stuff to the place.
Dimness is turning into darkness when a big flock of sheeps is herded by my tent. When I open the door a huge shepherd dog is just passing by. Luckily it just gives a lazy glance at me and continues its way. I crawl into my sleeping bag. Here it is so peaceful!
"Flowering" brushwood south from Veles.
The night was quite chilly, but in my sleepingbag it was warm enough. I'm doing my morning activities and dismantling the camp in the light of my headlamp. Somewhere in the darkness a muezzin is calling believers to pray.
I continue along the old road. It gets even worse. Here and there is a piece of asphalt left, gravel, potholes and water-grooved ditches. After few hundred meters the front mudguard starts to rub the tire. One of the mounting screws has dropped off. Luckily I have some spare parts. I decide to check and tighten all the screws.
Motorway A1, The Friendship Road, is now a few tens of meters away on my left side. In Finland it is forbidden to cycle on a motorway, but I don't know how it is here. It would be impossible to continue along the old road. Each kilometer would take at least half an hour. There is a broad strip of asphalt next to the lanes, so I decide to try until someone says something. It takes quite an effort to get the bike through the bushes on the highway.
Here I am on A1. A sign on the roadside indicates that there is a road toll after two kilometers, so soon I will know, if it is allowed to cycle here.
Wrong choice, few kilometers south from Veles.
Road toll, payment point. I'm ready to hear some admonitions, but the ticket-collector waves me to continue. What a relief! After few kilometers I turn to right to a road to Prilep. First the it runs in the valley of River Crna, which is a tributary of Vardar. There is a lot of viticulture in the area. It is the time of harvest.
Lunch break on the way to Prilep.
Soon after the lunch break begins a twenty-kilometer-long ascent to a height of 998 meters. It's not much compared to for example to Kotor serpentine, but it is hard and in many places I have to push my bike. It is hot again and I'm sweating like a pig.
But when you struggle your time, in the end you will be the winner. Now some ten kilometers downhill and I will be in Prilep. It is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia with a population of 66,246.
Again I just do some food shopping and continue my way some ten kilometers out of the city and put my tent up in a place where I think I'm safe enough.
From now on, today is just a downhill, Pletvar.
It is cloudy in the morning as I continue towards the Greek border. After twentyfive kilometers I have to stop and eat something, because didn't have any breakfast. The sun is coming out from behind the clouds. The view is peaceful, in the foreground a shepherd is keeping eye on his flock and in the background the mountains are bathing in the morning sun.
Shepherd, Krklino.
Landscape, Krklino.
Bitola. Some food from a shop and on my way again. After five kilometers a man stops me and asks where am I going. When I tell him that to Greece, he explains that this is the old road and it is impossible to cross the border here. So back to Bitola and to the right road. My first intention was to spend next night still in North Macedonia, but now I want to Greece.
At 14:30 I'm in Niki, Greece.
