Ups and downs of cycling in Macedonia. An interview with Bojan Rantasa

North Macedonia is one of my favourite cycling destinations, and few people know more about the history and state of cycling there than Bojan Rantasa, mostly known as Rante. He is a cycling guide and advocate from Skopje. Last week, we met to discuss the history and current state of cycling in North Macedonia, including infrastructure development, government support, popular routes, and challenges facing bicycle tourism in the country.

I was impressed by how many people were cycling in Skopje and Ohrid. Do you think cycling is gaining in popularity in North Macedonia?

Cycling in Macedonia has seen ups and downs in the past hundred years. Historically, the first bicycle-related event happened in 1907 during the Ottoman period. My favourite cyclist from this period is the most significant Balkan photographer, Milton Manaki, who promoted bicycle culture in the Ottoman Empire.

The second rise of cycling occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. This is because the infrastructure of cities developed so that cycling was possible. Most Macedonian cities offer relatively easy terrain for cycling; the roads are quite flat. At that time, the bicycle was the primary means of transport.

But somewhere over the 80s and 90s, especially with the transition from socialism into capitalism, people started valuing cars more than bicycles. Bicycles were seen as something that only poor people had. The public lost interest in cycling because of this stigmatisation of cycling as something for the poor. 

I started cycling more in high school. I was not only going to school by bike but also going to other towns for adventure and fun.

Over time, my friends and I started having more adventures, and eventually, I decided to do something more about it. In 2010, I organised a bicycle festival in 12 towns in the country. That bicycle festival sparked other people to think more about cycling.

The year after the second festival in 2012, a group of people approached me, saying they wanted to organise the critical mass. It was great to see that the festival we organised inspired other people to promote cycling.

What about the infrastructure? The cycling infrastructure in Skopje seems pretty decent.

To understand it, you need to know the history of Skopje. In 1963, an earthquake destroyed the city, turning 80% of the buildings to rubble. Then, thanks to the United Nations, a new city plan emerged. Many countries, including Poland, helped build the city’s new infrastructure. In the 1970s, Skopje had fewer than 300,000 citizens, but the architects built it with the thought that it would grow.

They were very visionary about the city’s growth. For example, the most prominent boulevard, the Boulevard of Partizan Divisions, was developed into a six-lane road with bicycle lanes and pedestrian paths on both sides. As I mentioned, in the 1960s and 1970s, bicycles were the primary means of transport in the city.

But after the 1980s, especially after Yugoslavia’s fall, the bicycle lanes were neglected. They were turned into parking spots or other things. Eventually, the asphalt decayed and had so many holes that they weren’t usable.

That’s why the critical mass was established: to pressure the city government to make the infrastructure usable again and further expand it. This was very successful. Within several years, most of the infrastructure was repaired.

In my opinion, it is essential to have cycling present in the media. I achieved that with the festival. We had so much media coverage, and even though the festival didn’t last many years, the media continued to report on cycling, especially urban cycling.

Suddenly, people read articles about cycling, and the more cycling is mentioned, the more people think: “That’s a great idea. Why don’t I cycle?” 

That led to more efforts from the city, the national government, and local municipalities to promote cycling. Nowadays, I can even say that cycling is abused in promotion to a certain extent, in the sense that it is treated like a panacea to the climate crisis. However, to solve that, you need much more work than just making a bicycle lane here and there.

Is the government cooperative and eager to support cycling, or is there a lot of resistance?

It’s a pull-and-push cooperation. If the cyclists are not pushing, the government is not very proactive.

We’ve seen examples of new boulevards proposed, and we see that the new project includes bicycle lanes. We’re happy. Then, the boulevard goes into construction, and by order of the mayor, the bicycle lanes disappear. They are turned into more car lanes. Then, there has to be a push to make those bike lanes appear again.  

Do you think Macedonia is doing better or worse than other Balkan countries?

About a decade ago, Skopje was leading. Nowadays, I see many improvements everywhere. I see a drastic change in Albania, with the bicycle infrastructure in Tirana.

This puts the momentum created a decade ago in Skopje into doubt because there have been no new developments.   

What about bicycle tourism? The whole region is experiencing an influx of tourists travelling by bike. Does that contribute to the government being more enthusiastic about investing in cycling infrastructure?

No. The government doesn’t see the bicycle tourists. We have to defer at least two types of bicycle tourists. One is bicycle touring travellers that use, for example, Warmshowers and these kinds of platforms. That’s what I do when I go somewhere. The government doesn’t see them.

Then you have those bicycle tourists who come in an organised manner on a guided tour. These are more visible because travel companies like mine like to show off with these tours. When we met some officials, we said we had many tourists.

However, the sheer volume and number of bicycle tourists in this country are peanuts compared to any bus tour. So, there’s not enough money to make an argument for the government to invest in cycling.

We always explain that it brings a different kind of income, specifically to rural areas that otherwise would never attract tourism.

But it’s interesting that, as you mentioned, there is a lot of cycling lately in this country. Locals cycle more.

Every weekend, when the weather is nice, you see plenty of people on bikes. Already next weekend, there is a bicycle event, and already last weekend, there was a bicycle event. And at these events, there are a lot of cyclists. This is how things are promoted.

Things are improving because the local people see the need and the wish to improve things about cycling. Some of these cyclists sometimes are, for example, government officials. Not very often, though. That group of people is not keen on cycling or the other way around: The cyclists are not very keen on government official positions. 

It is a small country, with less than 2 million people, but everyone knows each other. People talk, show pictures, and share them on social media, which is how cycling has become more popular.

Last week, when I was in Skopje, I saw many people with bicycles there on Vodno with the cable car. This kind of infrastructure, a cable car that brings it to the top of the mountain, also helps immensely.

This is a perfect example. The cable car was built with the government’s complete focus on tourists. The business plan developed for the cable car assumed it would be mostly used by tourists.

And what happened? Local people use it much more than tourists.  

The local mountain bike downhill community was thrilled because immediately after word spread that a cable car would be built, they started influencing government officials to include bicycle-carrying racks on the cable cars.

That was successful, so downhillers were thrilled, and now, they are regulars there. 

Having a place like this right outside the capital is such a luxury. 

You’re wrong about one thing. It is not outside of the capital; it is within Skopje. The mountain bike trail begins where the houses end.

I haven’t had a chance to use public transport with my bike in North Macedonia. How does that work?

That’s another story. It is dreadful.

There were some attempts about a decade ago to have bicycle racks on public buses in Skopje, but it turned out the worst. It was one of those things when politicians sat down at a table and drew up a plan that had nothing to do with reality. They mounted roof carriers on the back of the bus. 

You needed five people to mount a bicycle on that roof carrier, and it was in the back of the bus, where the driver didn’t even see you. All of this made it absolutely unusable. Eventually, those roof racks were removed from the buses.

And what about trains and buses between cities?

Buses are the only option. In 2016, the train company decided to ban bikes, or in other words, to allow bikes only in trains with compartments for carrying bikes, which is equal to zero.

Before that, I was happy to take my bike on trains. You just had to find a spot with enough space for it. There was no official policy regarding bikes, so the conductors tolerated it.

Now, technically, no train has a space for bicycles and, therefore, you cannot use the trains for cycling. So the only option is public buses, the intercity type of buses with big compartments. 

But again, you’re left to the mercy of the driver. One driver may be happy to pick you up; another driver will ask for money, and a third driver will say, sorry, no way. Sometimes, there are too many passengers, the luggage compartment is full of luggage, and there is no space for the bike. 

So it requires a dose of planning and avoiding travelling on weekends or to places like Ohrid in the high season because the buses are packed with luggage, so there’s no chance for any driver to come up with space for the bike.

What are your favourite cycling routes in Macedonia? Where do locals cycle in their free time?

Vodno is definitely number one in Skopje. It’s wonderful because you can hop on a bike, go up to the top, and come down within an hour or two to enjoy the city life again.

But for me, there are too many people in Vodno. I want more variation in the landscape.

One of my favourite destinations or routes for road cycling is in the east of the country. The mountains there are much less steep, making the ride very pleasant.

For mountain biking, there is one location close to Skopje: the Yakubica mountain, an alpine mountain just 40 km from Skopje. So, you don’t need to travel somewhere with a car. 

For longer, multiple-day adventures, one of the first in my life and the most sought-after by many tourists, is the ride from Skopje to Ohrid.

You can do it on a road bike, a mountain bike, or leisurely, going from hotel to hotel. You can also do it like a crazy person, cycling and hiking to the highest peaks along the route.

There is another ride that I’ve been wanting to do for the last three years, but I never have the time: going along the border.

Yugoslavia had a very capable army and made a dirt road that followed the border of Macedonia. It’s a challenging road, and it would take about two and a half weeks to cycle it. 

Unfortunately, as a tourist guide, I usually have a lot of work when the weather is nice, so it’s hard to find time for my own adventures.

Are you experiencing more tourists recently? Has North Macedonia become more popular as a destination?

It is popular but on a small scale. Compared to other countries, the numbers are tiny.

Last year, I went to Montenegro and spent a few days in Kotor. I sat down on a bench by the seaside in Kotor Bay. In one hour, I counted more cyclists than Macedonia had in the entire year.

I have a lot of people coming for tours and renting bikes from me, but compared to other Balkan countries, it’s still a niche destination. But I like that. I like that because when I cycle somewhere, I enjoy it. I have the mountain for me, my mountain.

Last year, a new Trans Dinarica cycle route was launched, connecting eight Balkan countries. Have you already noticed that it brought more cycling tourists?

Not yet. Last year, the Transcontinental bikepacing race passed through Macedonia, and many cyclists visited because of it. But I haven’t seen an influx because of Trans Dinarica yet. It is still the first year after the launch, so it’s a bit early to tell. 

How about the Eurovelo route? I saw on the Eurovelo website that the Macedonian part of EV13 is still under development.

Yeah, it’s been under development for the last 500 years. I’ve tried to initiate local movements at several official levels of government to define the route on the governmental level. Why? If we define it on a governmental level, then it will not be destroyed in the next whatever kind of infrastructure project the government will have. 

Otherwise, some local investors may decide to build something and close the road or who knows what else.

It’s a bizarre issue with property here. Many dirt roads lead to private or public property; you never know when someone will decide to put a fence there. 

That’s why I want to officially have the Eurovelo designated. 

However, to this date, I haven’t found a Government institution that would say, “We will stand behind it.”

No institution at the governmental level wants to invest in coordination and development. They say they don’t have the authority and must be done at the municipal level. However, the route runs across the whole country, so you need coordination at a higher level. 

Other Balkan countries, such as Albania, are experiencing a boom in tourism and bicycle travel. But many travellers still skip North Macedonia. How would you convince them to come there?

Wherever you go, all over the Balkans, the people are friendly, and the landscape is mountainous, sometimes to the degree that it’s exhausting. 

Local people are still very friendly to tourists in little-known places. In the Balkans, if you’re a traveller, you’re welcome in any person’s home. But when tourism booms, there is a shift in mindset. Tourism becomes viewed as commercialised; people start looking at you as someone they can squeeze some money out of. I have experienced this, especially on the coast of Croatia. 

This kind of thinking still doesn’t exist in Macedonia. People are very kind to travellers, especially cyclists.