I was going to title this something like "further thoughts on Albania", but I figured it would be more equitable to narrow it to something like "thoughts on bicycle touring in northwestern Albania"
We had a terrific first day, as detailed in previous posts. However, even ignoring the food poisoning, it's really not a great area to ride a bicycle. There are three types of roads through the area - the unbikable freeway, the poorly paved secondary road, and dirt roads. So, we bumped over potholes, gravel, and non-pavement for much of our time here. There are less cars, but when they are there they are also weaving around potholes, making us nervous.
The small villages and farm roads we passed the first day were great - happy waving people and friendly kids. Now, we were in slightly larger, more decaying towns. And there's lots and lots of trash here. It's everywhere. I'm sure there are socioeconomic reasons for it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't wear on you throughout the day.
I really want to like Albania. I want it to be an undiscovered jewel that I was lucky enough to pass through. I heard that the mountains are beautiful (although you'd need at least a mountain bike, and possibly a jeep) and also the south. So it's entirely possible that we passed through a less attractive part of the country. So, I won't judge the entire country or all the people, but I'll report that biking through the area we did was not great.
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