Hello Internet I hope you’re well so this year we’re taking you to a new country we’re going to Northern Macedonia as yeah I’m sorry I had to take rodolph back with me but before we share all this with you this adventure and this wonderful country I think you know the song intro For on you I will sing the truth into the dark I will use my fighting words oh I’m so tired of forgetting what I’m worth so I will use my fighting words It’s just too Beautiful it’s a place for Philosophizing my learning path continues on the Internet and each time it’s new stuff it’s complicated because you have to remember the old stuff and keep the New in there so it’s true that in that period I really had a hard time of it damn the old guy took a lot didn’t he it was extraordinary and I learned a Lot so that’s it the big departure arrived in tyan last night at 3:00 we’ve got real boots and the hippopotamus we’re safe with that we’re off by everyone we’re off Sal yeah you’ll see it’s a bit of an unusual freeway entrance ah yes it’s true that it’s true that what does he
Have to do well it’s not that I have to do it it’s that it’s the right thing to do ah it’s planned there’s a stop sign you’ve got a stop sign look you’ve got a real stop sign oh boy here we go again back the other way right
Okay ah yes it’s quite folkloric as it sounds it’s Albanian Right one year damn it a year has already passed since our adventure in Albania with rodolph internet with all that that implies another year on the clock and another year of accumulated fatigue this year compared to last year we only have nine days for our adventure
Half of last year and that’s why if we have to be totally honest with you we cheated a bit with rodolph he joined me by playing in tan the capital of Albania where we had our first Adventure this year we’ll be exploring a new country and I love going to places
Where few people Venture so the information available is inevitably quite hard to come by I really can’t offer this to just anyone but rodolph has an honest and healthy search for true adventure not the touristy stuff where you tell yourself you’ve been on an adventure but in reality if you’re
Totally honest backstage everything is orchestrated to the second no rodolph wants the real thing the authentic thing with all that that implies so this year we’re heading for North Macedonia I’ve heard a lot of stories about this country but personally I’d rather tell them than listen to them
Them let’s set off on a route I’m starting to know really well Lakes Tiana elbasan Lia progard and then of course there’s the Hotel Victoria on the Lakeside so it’s only natural that rodolph should ask me to stop by and say hello to those who had waited for us all night last
Year all my life I will remember you where are we now what’s going on we’ve barely left and we’re already stopped what the hell we arrived at our friend’s house last year yes we are ready and look we’re in Victoria now extraordinary we’re going for a swim
Right here and then top we’re off to Macedonia but we couldn’t leave Albania without visiting a friend we can’t do that we don’t know what to do they shared with us that several motorcycle groups had come to them following our video on Albania starts the trip at a
Friend’s house is it beautiful or not and nothing makes us happier than to hear that kind of thing so they wanted to invite us to thank us but no way that’s not the point if we share a place it’s because we felt good there not to
Get something the next time we come they wouldn’t give up and as Roto is stubborn too they found a compromise we paid for at least half the meal just enough time to take a dip and head for North Macedonia just across the road from the Hotel crossing the border into a personally unknown country is always a bit special what happens depends so much on the Goodwill of the Customs officer present at the time as is often the case you have to manage your emotions well and if you have water and time everything will go
Smoothly personally I was really curious to see how it would go I’d heard so many legends about this Frontier that it was difficult if not impossible to cross that many people had had to turn back even a few kilometers after crossing the border escorted back by shall we say unwelcoming macedonians all
Right then can we go now thank you bye-bye oh you think this is Albania aren’t we both ah since you didn’t do the assembly when you leave Europe there are always two Customs the exit customs of the country you’re leaving a few meters away and the entry customs of the
Country you’re about to enter enter turn off your camera but as is so often the case Legends far exceed reality this border crossing for us it was as simple as possible so here here we really are in North Macedonia the Thunder and the wind a to be the same these ail why North Macedonia you might ask I’ll simply answer why not but beyond that rather succinct answer because it’s the Balkan country that in my mind is the most mystical let me explain when I think of the Balkans I
Think very quickly of Bosnia or Montenegro or Albania of course but absolutely not of this small country mainly covered with lakes and mountains this country which is slightly smaller than Belgium reminds me more of an inward-looking dictatorship than anything else but that’s all just nonsense in my head since 1,991 and the
Fall of Yugoslavia North Macedonia has been a republic one of the few republics not to have experienced war after the collapse of Yugoslavia but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have to play hard ball the bulgarians wanted to take over the Greeks disagreed as Macedonia is part of
Greece hence the need for this small country to call itself North Macedonia after having gone by many other names the serbs and kosovar also wanted to monopolize this little piece of land and what can we say about the albanians who also have a large community of Nationals in this country
In short this is truly a Cosmopolitan country that has had to fight hard to establish itself as a nation well now that we’ve said all that we’re going to start by crossing the gala National Park I have no idea if that’s how you say it oh no it’s
Incredible look at the well and everything wait let’s stop for 2 seconds photo photo photo with the cows in the background no no with the weather and everything this is saved de flowers I’ve got the power and I’m moving on [Applause] a short break at the foot of Lake prpa
To allow Roo to work his magic and find us lodgings for the evening and so ends our first day functional or not yes it’s too functional it’s so lovely huh yeah if you want to join something for a party you can just say it this [Â __Â ] moment we’re having here
Buddy damn look at that look the Macedonian salad it’s almost as good no it’s different it’s almost as good as the salad flu another Macedonian salad I haven’t tried we’ll even it up what the hell is this all right then ah ah wait look oh no it’s incredible we’ve stumbled into a
Completely mythical Place found by rodolph once again he knows all about hotels and Gast ofes in Northern Macedonia we’re in a pretty isolated area to get out you either have to make a big detour by Road or you have to go through Greece then come back to North
Macedonia we chatted a bit with the locals we asked if we could go over the mountain on a motorcycle attacking dread in the pon they said yes I don’t have any maps to show me that it’s possible I have no trace of it on the Internet or anything no one I could
Contact who might have been there before or anything the only thing I’ve got is to go to the end of the road like he told me to and there’s a big map at the end of the road with all the ways to get over the mountain to the other side it’s a huge
National park that’s really very pretty and here motorcycles are completely authorized so tomorrow we’re going to try to get over the mountain it’s going to be a great experience and rodolph a hotthead but I really don’t think he’s expecting what we’re going to find Well there’s no Road on any map that crosses the mountain zero I’ve searched all night there’s nothing on the other hand the guy we met last night told us it went right through yeah exactly you were transferred this morning to the guy at the cafe who said it’s fine too we’ll
Check it out this is great it’s 11:00 so it’s a good time to go not at all 11:00 from what you say what time is it we’re impeccable we’re early today well we haven’t left yet when he says Village bar he means meeting place so we’re going to take a little time to
Chat with this Macedonian living in New York who’s come back to his native Village for the vacations to see his family and and certainly to recharge his batteries a little from his daily speed we also met this charming lady a retired teacher in short this kind of of
Timeless moment exactly why we travel incredible Bola so the big city just behind and twined with epanel after this wonderful exchange we go in search of that famous map and although it’s more complete than anything I found so far it’s still enigmatic as to the success of our
Project never mind let’s have a look left or right left it is then right besides it’s longer let’s try on the left we’ll give it a try let’s give it a try besides the monastery is on the right on the left sorry left I think we’ll be okay
Today I don’t know why but you’ve been anxious about it since yesterday no I’m not anxious about it I’ve got a feeling you see but I’d like to lie that my premonition is false I don’t think this one’s borrowed every day fortunately when there’s a big Stone
Tom is the one who discovers it it’s a bit like a first date we’re slowly getting to know each other in Northern Macedonia and what we learn is that the trails are very rarely mapped and beyond that they’re even more rarely Used do you think some of them started a fire right where I’m standing it’s the same [Â __Â ] but it’s still going On you’re going to tell me we’re being stubborn stubborn stubborn and yes you’re right but we really want to get over this mountain and at the same time we’re clearly extremely Lucid as for the success of our project we know that our path has very little chance of
Succeeding and obviously it was written and it ended the way it was supposed to well that’s okay first attempt failure but we haven’t said our last word after descending all the way to the bottom of the mountain we finally find a second path that seems to take us to the
Summit it looks a lot busier but it also looks like it’s worth the effort damn well that’s Roo’s first fall yeah yeah it’s true that I’ve been through some so what happened well I’ll explain I found myself almost at a standstill in the hair pin so instead of
Applying the rear brake I applied the front brake that’s my usual [Â __Â ] so the bike slipped it slipped so I put it down what should you have done steady steady oh yes by yes when it doesn’t go uphill you stall what did I do I didn’t turn I stall
That’s right St I put the bik back here we go again and now you’ve fallen on the side where we’re going to struggle to get it up again do we age my signature your replica does something different now that’s a signature do something we’re in deep [Â __Â ] now you’ve got a signature at
The we’re in deep [Â __Â ] we’ve got maximum weight to raise here because that’s the way we are way I have it is this nugets for the moment going I don’t know if we’ll make it to the top but for now it’s going up but for now it’s going up
It’s a real treat well we’ll keep moving anyway we’ll keep moving anyway I’ll film you in case you in case I’m having a hard time no in case you’re doing really well right take a look so you’re giving me a nice little maneuver again where’s your right Foot yes it doesn’t move from the clipboard we agree and stand on your left leg stand on your left leg that’s It it’s hard isn’t it yeah yeah it’s hard up There yeah it’s good it’s good no why not why not why not you’re all set you’re all right you’re all why are you pulling my right foot out did you hurt yourself no why are you pulling my right foot out because we need to make a nice video here
Goes take a look the video I think that has a lot to do with it it’s that the notion of riding with the bike leaning something that’s complicated I’d have to go a lot stra we’re going to be good we’ll just think to the left who cares
Absolutely not well yes but not too much because then we’ll lose time no but it’s on the left it’s on the left we agree so I’d be in a lot less trouble so since I want to keep it straight like less of the little stuff it’s not hard enough on my left leg
Agreed come on up come on stand on your left leg it’s a shame brage that’s it I did it Why didn’t it work because you need to be more flexible on the clutch I’ll do that you really need to take your time lighter yes lighter right now you’re in a
Situation where it’s hard for the bike to get going again you really need to help it get going again yeah it’s very good it’s great it’s perfect it’s perfect keep going it’s perfect Bravo so internet steep the only transportable fruit is orange I’ll try pears peaches apples the
Orange the rest is fruit but it feels really good we’re going to catch up what order damn right we don’t have a time we’re free in mdova there are times boys mdova no Northern Macedonia it’s a good thing there wasn’t a Macedonian there we’d have been shouted at there there’s a lot of
Weather Big weather like that we resume our progress toward Wards the summit and if I’m being totally honest with you internet at this point I still have high hopes for the success of our project a well-designed marked and maintained path like this can’t just stop it’s bound to go
Somewhere in any case it’s technical but we forget to mention how beautiful it is all the same crazy and then all of a sudden the vegetation begins to invade the track gradually and increasingly until it almost disappears we continue on foot but I soon realized that we’ll have to stop
Here as there would be far too much maintenance to be able to pass with the bikes even on foot I have to knife my way through I can see the existing track on the ground but then again it hasn’t been maintained for a very long time we’re back where we started we
Were but it’s going very well now I regret having taken so much stuff on my bike I’m at the end of my life in the flesh the old man took a lot didn’t he that’s good luckily I’ve got the jacket the airbag the T-shirt so I’m not hot see it’s
Not what can you see behind the rodolph it belongs we’re going to have a hard time finding out who put his bike there the poor guy I’m fine mine’s higher up quieter but the guy who put it there it smells bad I guarantee it of course yours is higher already arrived
Here what’s going on rodo what’s up what’s happening we’re screwed guys here we are this is the end of the game so we’re going back down and we’re going to aim for something very important it’s a cold Coke by the water at the little Bridge there and maybe we can swim
Thomas in the river let’s go back to top it all off I think I’m in the middle of my first clutch with a Suzuki what a way to make up for life you didn’t make it over the mountain I don’t have a clutch ahead of me it’s not a problem of organization
But rather one of availability as the bike is new the parts simply weren’t available before I left for Albania so the only solution was to return to toron to pick up a clutch from aotus but the cow the difference with the other one it’s amazing have you seen the difference the
Other one’s totally dead dead dead you know I’ve been thinking about it I pulled a motorcycle 60 km to help out there you go that explains it in fact I did attack him there and besides if we’re going to be in torona we might as well spend a nice evening
With our friend Raman so we’re not in bed yet but tomorrow we’re getting up early we’re heading back to Northern Macedonia and we’re off again tomorrow for New Adventures come on internet tell us about it in the next episode see you then