Cycling the Western Balkans: A wild, yet welcoming, mountain tour

"Hey mate!" a cyclist called to us in an Australian accent as he pedaled by on the rocky dirt road that serves as the main street of the village of Theth deep in Albania's Dinaric Alps. Along with my friend and travel companion, Dave, I had not seen another bikepacker in four days.

In June, Dave and I rode a section of the new 2,500-mile Trans Dinarica cycling route that connects Albania and the other countries in the Western Balkans through the Dinaric Alps, known as the "Accursed Mountains." The route starts in Slovenia, crossing through remote parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia on public roads with a mix of gravel, dirt and asphalt. By covering so much terrain, the Trans Dinarica is able to offer something for different types of cyclists, regardless of experience and skill.

As we quickly learned, biking...