Gostivar to Kicevo and the Union Hotel.

We both slept pretty good last night and I certainly woke feeling just about 100%.  Back is still a little tight but much better then the previous day.  Peter is still not 100% and the medication is not working as quickly as one would expect.

We hit the road around 8.30am and immediately came across another cycling nut, Daniel from Sheffield in England.  His bike looked like it needed a good service and the seat was just about falling off.  No wonder he said his ass was sore.  We exchanged details and parted ways, we had a mountain to climb.

The 20km mountain started straight away up into the green pine forested region of the Manrova National Park.  This mountain is like climbing Macquarie Pass 3 times with panniers on. We could see the town in the distance as we climbed and climbed, but this was not a steep mountain just a long one.  With a lot of stops to recharge and a good lunch break, we only had about 3kms to the summit.  Peter was not feeling well on the climb and at times I had to wander whether he needed more time off the bike to fully recover.

Once at the summit it was a mad dash down the mountain.  Now we all know the faster you go on a bike the better, but sometimes you can come unstuck.  As I was entering one corner at around 55kph, I came across a large roller coming towards me.  The roller was pressing down the freshly laid tar. I didn't see any road signs or traffic controller indicating danger ahead.  I jammed on my brakes and hoped for the best, coming to rest about 2 metres away from a couple of workers and the roller.  I told them what I thought about their road safety program in typical Aussie fashion, but I was surprised no one understood some of words.  I thought that some words were known all around the world, obviously not in the middle of Macedonia.

Peter had caught up to me by now, and we waited to be directed around the roller and continue down the mountain.  The rest of the ride into the town of Kicevo was straight forward assisted with a gentle tailwind. We arrived in town at 2pm and headed for Hotel Kicevo.  Peter tried his negotiating skills all to no avail.  The old cow on the counter was not prepared to budge, so we left and looked for something cheaper.

As we rode off towards the centre of town this boy about 12 years old rode past us on a motorcycle.  I said 'hello', and the next thing he had pulled over, had a brief chat and then followed him through town to the cheaper hotel.  He must be the go to man in town.  He walked into the hotel like he owned the place, spoke to the hotel staff, asked for 1000 Denar from us to pay the bill, and we were handed the keys to our palace.

The room is something you would not like to stay in on a permanent basis, but it has  balcony overlooking the town, and it's cheap. 

The photo above is of the palace we are staying at.  You can just make out Peter's shirt and some clothing on the top floor of the building.

Tomorrow we take on the big mountain between us and our rest day.  The town of Ohrid awaits us.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.