I am currently in Montenegro and the riding is great. This is still considered a combat zone, so you have to be careful where you go and to ride in groups. These pictures are not a ride report, I took them while walking in Tivat and Kotor. Yesterday we did a nice ride and I will follow it up with a ride report later today or tomorrow after I retrieve the pictures from my laptop and onto the ships LAN. The first shot is the waterfront of Tivat. The bay is part of the Adriatic Sea. Next is the walled city of Kotor along with follow-on shots of the harbor and city. The roadway shot shows one of the nicer roads. This area was heavily involved in the wars of the 90's. We are here on a state department visit to represent the US and enjoy the nation. The US officially recognizes Montenegro and now has partnership with their military. The nation has been independent since June of 2006 when it voted to seperate itself from Serbia. US relations with Serbia are still a little shaky, Milosevic and all. The people are nice, most speak some english, and the food is delicious. Back in the day, people here had to speak english to communicate with Russians. The Serbian language and Russian don't cross over at all, so english was the common language.

Would the place be safe for visiting American cyclotourists?

yes - most of the Balkans is now safe for a visit with the exception of Albania and Kosovo which can be fairly lawless (if culturally hospitable) and lacking in basic infrastructure - even Sarajevo in Bosnia is safe - I would avoid the Republic of Srpsk (hardline Serbian nationalists still sheltering war criminals) - there is crime and organised crime but I'd expect you'd get left alone as that's generally directed inwards - still a "rich" tourist is easy pickings in DC, London or the Balkans for those with ill intent - Croatia is still a popular tourist destination for western Euro folks

Would the place be safe for visiting American cyclotourists?

Although the scenery is beautiful, the riding is a little scary. Motorists here are not used to cyclists and most of the secondary roads are one lane. When we ride in a group, we put a point man up the road to call out cars on the corners. Because of the undeveloped land the place is pretty wild and most corners are blind. The people in the rural areas are very nice and the cars that pass you on the narrow roads usually follow with a friendly beep of the horn. I would avoid Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. What is funny is that in the war, Montenegro was part of Serbia and their sworn enemy was Croatia. Most of this was due to propaganda from Serbia. Now Serbia and Montenegro are tense and Croatia is Montenegros ally. The decision to split from Serbia was only a 55/45% vote so the subject is still touchy. If I was looking for a former Yugoslav republic to be a cyclotourist, it would be Slovenia. They avoided the wars and have a developed economy and infrastructure. They are also part of NATO in case that matters.

Nice shots. Are you on leave?

Awesome- we went to the dalmatian coast of Croatia for our honeymoon last fall and were hoping to spend a couple days in Montenegro, but it didn't happen. Def on my list for the next time I make my way to the Adriatic.

Nice shots. Are you on leave?

No, we are here as part of a state department sponsored visit. The ship is anchored out in the harbor. The US is building relations with Montenegro and we are part of that. I am heading out in a few hours to lead a community relations team on city cleanup. Since we are a repair ship, we are also fixing stuff such as park benches and anything else within our capability. The public is a little suspicious of us with good reason. The US really bombed this part of the country back in the 90's. It is still a combat zone so I am making some extra bucks this month. I will probably blow it all on bike parts.

Thats great that you can take your bike with you. I guess I always thought of cramped living quarters where each sailor could only bring one duffle bag and share cots ("hot cotting"). I took a tour of the USS Alaska Trident Sub in Norfolk last fall, space seemed pretty "limited".

I'll be off to a place south east of you in a few weeks for a 90 day stint in lovely Baghdad. Not a whole lot of commuting going on there and no room for a bike. Although the PX/BX's in country are selling lots of bikes on the larger camps. I may pic me up a "beater" for getting around on. I hear its all the rage.

What ship are you on?

Thats great that you can take your bike with you. I guess I always thought of cramped living quarters where each sailor could only bring one duffle bag and share cots ("hot cotting"). I took a tour of the USS Alaska Trident Sub in Norfolk last fall, space seemed pretty "limited".

I'll be off to a place south west of you in a few weeks for a 90 day stint in lovely Baghdad. Not a whole lot of commuting going on there and no room for a bike. Although the PX/BX's in country are selling lots of bikes on the larger camps. I may pic me up a "beater" for getting around on. I hear its all the rage.

What ship are you on?

I am stationed on the submarine tender Emory S Land out of LaMaddelena, Italy. As far as space, I have a large stateroom, an office and a storeroom. I have a shipment coming that has my commuter and two more sets of wheels. Good luck in Iraq, this place is a combat/hostile fire/imminent danger/tax free zone as well. At least until November.

The scenery reminds me of Czech Republic. I gotta go back there (with a bike this time...). Nice pics.

If you keep this up -- Sardinia one week, Montenegro the next -- Philippe definitely is going to feel the competition when it comes to work-related travel bike reports. As someone who spent many years dealing with antitrust law, I definitely think that competition is good. Bring it on.

Thanks for posting.