The 2500 km route, very important!

Most of use a Garmin to follow tracks. I still use my trusted 2015 Garmin Montana 680t on my trips. And I always check the track beforehand using Google Maps in 3D mode. Amazing how you can zoom in and pan the view, giving you a crazy view on what to expect.

2021 KTM 690 Enduro maintenance & tools

Basic maintenance before every trip. Change oil and filters, check all the rest. I'm also getting fresh tires, Michelin Trackers this time and with Bib Mousse instead of inner tires to battle the unavoidable punctures with inner tubes.

Getting my equipment sorted.

Had to get me a new sleep and cooking system and pretty much everything else too. As I also use it for backpacking so everything I got is as light and small as possible. Tent is a 2 person MSR Freelite 2022 model, weighs only 1035 grams and the heaviest item in the kit.

I managed to keep all my equipment, that's everything above including the 21 brothers bag, my toolkit and some other things, excluding water and fuel bottles, at an amazing 12.6 kilos!

New luggage system from 21 Brothers

I came across the Polish company 21 Brothers and these guys make amazing luggage systems. I always go for the easy simple solution so I got the Rogal 30 liter horseshoe rear bag with roll top. Light and sturdy!

The ride

This trip started in Venice, all cars and trailers left on a lot in a industrial area. We took the ferry to Ladochori in Greece and from thereon the trip went south through the Balkans, back to Venice. However, the trip ended for me high up in the Albanian mountains with a shattered left lower leg, leaving me with 29 centimeters of stainless steel and 26 screw in my leg. Now, in 2022 they're still in there and I'm, against the orthopedist advice at the time, still riding off road, running, mountain biking, hiking.

The fall

Riding 20 kms per hour, waiting for my mates to catch up after crossing a stream with some boulders I fell. Never found out what happened but I was on the ground, my foot facing in the wrong direction. Trouble for sure, in the mountains, on a small trail, in Albania of all places. Third world in Europe as far as the health care and complex surgery is concerned. I will spare you the details but after 7 days my partner managed to fly me home in a private Lear Jet. 3 weeks later I was operated in Amsterdam and 6 months later I was sort of recovered. Sort of, it took longer but at least I was on my bike again :)

Very diverse trip, tastes like more

The trip with the steepest rocky trails. Blown out clutches, broken off levers, deep scratches, it happened more then a few times. Also some more boring parts as the trip also took us through flat and dusty agricultural areas.

The best trip I ever made?

Our trip also brought us through a bit of Slovenia and Hungary but especially Croatia was truly awesome with planes, forests, mountains and even snow rides in June. But also minefields, which are still there. And still a lot of damaged villages, remnants of past but recent wars. And what struck me most is how empty and quiet the country is. What a journey!