We left the old city of Kotor on the bay and commenced the clmb out of Kotor. I had researched the route a couple of days earlier and had told Peter that we should consider going over the mountain instead of the route most cycling tourists take, and that's to Budvar and then up to Cetinje. I'm never one to take a short cut if there's a mountain in front of me.
The climb to the top of the ridge is 25kms out of Kotor and it goes up all the way. We had 25 signposted switch backs to negotiate till we reached the summit of Black Mountain. The only touring cyclists we saw were the pussy's going down the mountain.
Each time we negotiated a switchback it gave us the chance to pull over and take some photos of the bay below. I've seen some pretty cool views when cycling in the past, but this has now crept into the top 10 of all time.
We reached the summit after 4 hours of riding and hauling our 45kgs of gear with us. So I thought it was a huge achievement for both of us.
We found a nice cafe at the summit and ordered a cold coke and some local food. Now everyone knows cyclists can eat like horses and the dish we were served filled the whole perfectly. I thought that this would be the end of the climbing and that we should now descend to our final destination to the town of Cetinje. We roared down into the valley below and then before us was a huge mountain. Bullshit, not another climb. Yep, we had to climb to a higher altitude which took another hour of climbing. We were both tired and were happy to finally reach the top of the mountain. There's no way we could climb anymore for the day.
During both climbs today we had people cheering and clapping us as we struggled up the mountain.
After making it over the final mountain it was all downhill to Cetinje. A fast descent was just fantastic. I passed an elderly gentleman riding his motorcycle and having a cigarette as I roared down into the valley. I suppose any time is a good time for a cigarette.
As we cruised into town we asked for assistance and this lovely old lady took us to Pansion 22. It was a place that Peter had found when researching accommodation the other day. We took a room for 30 Euro for the night. I took first shower, laid on the bed and had a sleep. The sleep last night was not that good due to the heat in the room.
So, we've accomplished Black Mountain and rode 45kms in total today. 30kms uphill with 45kgs of weight.
Tomorrow is a short day to Podgorica to recover from today's beating.
Until tomorrow, safe riding.
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