Out of the Ashes of Conflict Rises a Great Ride
The savage and bloody war in Bosnia ended only 25 years ago. Tens of thousands of Canadian Forces personnel served in the Balkan republics in the early 1990s, trying to make and keep peace as Yugoslavia fell apart. Twenty-three Canadians lost their lives in the line of duty. From the ashes of the old Yugoslavia, the Balkan states of Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina arose. Yet, today that region, torn apart by a most vicious war, offers some of the best motorcycling roads in the world.
Arriving in Split, Croatia, I had time to tour that old city, most of which was spared the ravages of that terrible conflict, although there was an exceptional influx of more than 45,000 war refugees in 1992. However, Split has seen successive invasions involving the Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Germans, French, English and, more recently, hordes of tourists.
I visited the famous Diocletian’s Palace, toured some museums and managed a coastal hike before meeting up with my motorcycle group, with whom I would ride the Adriatic region for the next nine days. I met a McDonald’s cartel; the three of them collectively owned 33 McDonald’s franchises in Upstate New York. Including some family members and various hangers-on from Lebanon, Austria, Germany and Canada, our group comprised 14 intrepid travellers on 12 adventure bikes. (My ride was a BMW F750GS.) The BMWs, Ducatis and a Suzuki were provided by Edelweiss Tours, along with two motorcycle guides (one of whom had lived in Croatia and knew its dark secrets and,
