WHEN I JOINED THE TRANS-EUROPEAN TRAIL – TET for short – to make my way to the most southerly point of the planned route, I was surprised to find a smoothly tarmaced road that wound up into the hills, past some spectacular monolithic war monuments before turning to the more-expected dirt as it dropped down to the warm sunny coast of Albania. A spectacular ride, not too challenging, and finished with a pannier-cooled beer on the beach watching the sun go down. A trail rider’s dream!
The next day I began making my way back north and inland, using tarmac roads to skip the section of TET I’d already done. When I rejoined the dirt trails they once again wound into the hills, passing tiny villages made up of makeshift homes, friendly farmers herding livestock, rivers cutting their way through gorges, and precarious bridges. The picture you sold to yourself when researching and organising a trip like this? At that point, I was in that picture. It’s a very unexpected relief when, on these tough trails in the
