Heh

well, I thought like, Stefan Gruber is a pretty unusual name for a Pole
I'll second what Caglivla said on Kosovo. It's a filthy shit holle in the middle of Europe,
and if You are not into ruined buildings and all that adrenalin rush that some people get when they visit unsafe places,
you should definitely skip it.
Even if there IS something interesting there (Prokletije mountains for example) there are sure as much as nice things and places to see
in surrounding countries which are safe and clean, and where people are much friendlier.
And if there are girls in your group, then you can truly forget about riding in Kosovo,
as they will get sick of all the horny monkey like behavior that they will get from men of any age, when they see girls on bicycles,
not to mention "free minded western girls" on bicycles in tight clothes ..
I've been there, with a girl, so just trust me on this one

Sooo, if i was to plan a tour like that, with as little asphalt as possible, and include all of the nice and wild places in eastern serbia,
(you got me drooling all over the keyboard now, just thinking about it!

)
i would definitely include Juzni Kucaj mountains, and then work my way south towards Stara, and end on Vlasinsko jezero,
from where you can get down to the main road/rail that connects Macedonia with the north, where you can easily get a lift up to Belgade or thereabouts.
The starting point would be somewhat difficult to determine, since you would like to leave your car there,
and be able to train/bus back to your car at the end of the trip.
And of course, there is always a question where could you safely park your car for a week, and still find it there when you get back,
untouched and whole, and ready to roll
If I was you, I would probably leave my care in Belgrade, or thereabouts, preferably at friends place or something like that,
and then either train/bus near the beginning of the tour, or even better, have someone drive me there,
not to waste time riding asphalt roads from the bus/train to the mountains and waste a day or half of it.
Now, here is what I would plan if I was to go:
Start with Kucaj/Beljanica. From Zagubica(bus or car options) and then down to Busovata river valley,

and up to 1339 Beljanica peak,
which is easily accessible with a bike all the way to the top.
GPS trek,map,descp. here:
http://www.freebiking.org/Atlas/SI/Trek ... anica.html
Then along the Beljanica ridge down to Raskova livada (technical single trail)


and then a veery loooong and beautiful down hill to Resava canyon, down the Jelov potok

GPS trek and map,well actually just the part from Beljanica peak down to Resava here:
http://www.freebiking.org/Atlas/SI/Trek ... skova.htmlThen after admiring the deep Resava canyon, you could go up Klocanica river to Valkaluci,
which is arguably the quietest place on earth with crystal clear night sky and brisk fresh air
http://www.freebiking.org/Atlas/SI/Trek ... zerak.htmland then visit the nearby Prskalo waterfall

From there, you could maybe make some detours over eastern part and revisiting Lazarev kanjon and Malinik?
and finally climb it ? ;->
or a possible 2 day round tour like this one (if you have time for it):
http://www.freebiking.org/galerije/main ... temId=5535Then from Prskalo you could go towards Grza, via Velika Brezovica and Javorak(really cool dirt mountain road descent before the end!!)
At Grza there are accommodation options (ultra cheap "mountaineers hostel".nothing nice, but there is hot water

, or a motel ..)
Then after having a real shower, and possible a laundry job, with fresh body and fresh clothes you could do the Samanjac narrow track rail road route.
A really nice route along the south side of the mountain, with very gentle grade (15-20km/h uphill no problem)
which has a 2km long dark wet tunnel on it's end, for a cherry on the cake effect
http://www.freebiking.org/Atlas/SI/Trek ... anjac.htmlhttp://www.freebiking.org/galerije/main ... temId=4588After the tunnel you can take the road to the south, and approach the Rtanj mountain(aka.
the pyramid) from the high plateau

And if you fancy, you could even
climb it! with the bike ! it's really hard work, but it can be done by a combination of riding/pushing/carrying your bike to the summit.
I have unfortunately never been there, but the look must be awesome!
Then go towards Stara Planina, but I don't know how, cause I've never been there

On Stara you could do the whole, or a part of this ride:
http://www.freebiking.org/galerije/main ... &g2_page=1which includes climbing Babin Zub i Midzor (with bike)
I'm sure Aleksandar can provide some treks for that, and other Stara rides.
And I have no idea how to get to Vlasinsko jezero off road only,
http://www.freebiking.org/TUROTEKA/2001 ... adrzaj.htm but in any case don't miss the Kanjon Jerme !!


Check out what Google
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&s ... f&oq=&aqi=and there are probably dozens of photos on Panoramio, locatable via Google Earth.
Sooo

as you see, there is plenty so see here! Just show all this to your friends, and they will be hooked in a minute!

Cheers!
