We leave Greece behind and ride into Albania—then continue across mountain roads, quiet farming valleys, Lake Prespa, and the border into North Macedonia on the Trans Dinarica bike route.

This episode follows our first days outside the European Union as we climb into the Albanian mountains, pass through the historic towns of Leskovik and Korçë, camp beside remote lakes, navigate barking dogs and cash-machine problems, and find some of the best wild camping of the entire trip. Along the way, we learn more about Albania’s layered history: Ottoman trade routes, Greek and Balkan influences, religious diversity, World War II memory, and decades of communist isolation that shaped the country until the early 1990s.

From Albania, we cross into North Macedonia and descend toward Ohrid, one of Europe’s oldest and most extraordinary lakeside cities. We explore Ohrid’s old town, the 11th-century Church of Saint Sophia, Samuel’s Fortress, and the Ancient Macedonian Theatre of Lychnidos before one member of our group has to find a bike box and fly home.

In this episode
Crossing from Greece into southern Albania by bicycle

A 3,000-foot climb into the mountains near Leskovik

Albania’s Ottoman, Balkan, Mediterranean, and communist-era history

Wild camping beside lakes and reservoirs

The Borove memorial, honoring 107 civilians killed by German forces in 1943

Riding through Korçe, an important Ottoman-era trade town and Albanian cultural center

Crossing the mountains toward Lake Prespa

Entering North Macedonia

Arriving in Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage city on Lake Ohrid

The Church of Saint Sophia, Samuel’s Fortress, and the Ancient Theatre of Lychnidos

The practical reality of international bike travel: bad goat, friendly strangers, surprise dogs, cash issues, heat, climbs, and finding a bicycle box in a small city

This is part of our six-week bikepacking trip from Athens, Greece, to Ljubljana, Slovenia along the Trans Dinarica route. The route covers roughly 1,600 miles and 115,000 feet of elevation gain across the Balkans.

Albania surprised us with smooth roads, dramatic mountains, generous camping opportunities, and a sense of history that was visible almost everywhere we rode. Ohrid felt like a reward at the end of a long climb: narrow stone streets, ancient walls, Byzantine churches, and Lake Ohrid stretching out below.

Next episode: Josh flies home, and Charlotte and I continue north—back into Albania—with more heat, climbing, and a very different version of the trip.

#Bikepacking #BikeTouring #TransDinarica #Albania #NorthMacedonia #Ohrid #LakeOhrid #Korçë #Leskovik #LakePrespa #BalkanTravel #CyclingAdventure #WildCamping #DocumentaryTravel