ADV Summit Montenegro – 2022

Pictures can barely convey 10% of what we experienced at Kolasin. We enjoyed two nights of great presentations by world travellers and legendary Dakar Winner (2003) Vasilis Orfanos. Participants could choose between a full day of off-road riding in the mountains or on-road riding to one of Montenegro’s most beautiful National Parks, leaving us with unforgettable memories!

On the first day we gathered in Podgorica to start our journey to Vranjak Katun Eko village – the location of the ADV Summit Montenegro 2022. We met in Gradski Pub, a popular meeting point of the local motorcycle club MK Familija. Here we met with Vasilis Orfanos, various riders from Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Russia, Macedonia and Serbia. Together we rode to the ADV Summit, whilst many more riders continued arriving from various locations within Montenegro and surrounding countries until late into the night.

The first night was reserved for Neven Ramic, our friend and world traveller from Montenegro, and Sandra Steliga, a world traveller from UK better known as ADV travel bug.

Neven spoke about his travels to India, his struggles with altitude sickness, experiencing Indian culture and riding his Royal Enfield through mud, rain and the highest motorable road in the world. The crowd was fascinated by his story and Neven had a tough time answering all the questions!

After Neven, the stage under the stars, was reserved for Sandra and her story about how a 3 months motorcycle trip in the USA turned into 4 years (so far) of travelling the world by motorcycle. She spoke about her riding experience in the UK, picking up her first Adventure Bike in the USA, falling in love with riding two up, off-road adventures, climbing volcanoes and various highlights from her trip from Canada to Colombia.

We spent the night in wooden bungalows and tents under the starlit sky at Etno Katun Vranjak. They also put on a spread of organically grown and home-cooked local specialties! We all enjoyed the unlimited delicious delicacies, keeping our engines going and preparing us for the next day’s riding. It was a perfect evening for all Adventure Riders.

Day two was reserved for riding. This year we organized two different rides, one off-road and one on asphalt. After a quick breakfast we split into two groups. Vasilis shared his experience with us and gave us some great tips for off road riding. The first group was led by tour guide Ilija Masonicic from Right Route and our friend Mitar Jestrovic from MK Familija. This group rode from Kolasin up north, to the small town of Mojkovac. From there they left the main route and continued along the Tara river with a quick stop at the famous Tara bridge. After following the river and reaching Savnik, they continued through the beautiful forest and village Boan back to Etno Katun Vranjak. 250km of beautiful scenery and twisty roads.

The second group was led by our friends Srdan Kazic and Marko Resetar and tour guides Neven Ramic and Marko Dosen from Right Route. This group took the off-road path from Etno Katun Vranjak over the Bjelasica mountains to the Sinjajevina mountains. Beautiful views followed us back to the main asphalt road that we used to connect to Biogradsko Lake. From there the group continued off-road and connected the route from Biogradsko Lake back to Etno Katun Vranjak. About 85km of off-road and 15km of twisty asphalt. One of the riders had a punctured tube along the way but Vasilis was able to change it in record time and the group was barely delayed by more than 15 minutes. A great opportunity to learn how to deal with tire punctures in the middle of nowhere!

After returning to Katun Vranjak we were greeted by a generous dinner and the night was reserved for Vasilis Ofranos and Roki Rogosic. Vasilis spoke about how he started competing, his road to winning his first Dakar Rally, and the huge amount of work and dedication that was put into preparing and winning the race in 2003. He spoke about his biggest crashes and all the personal experiences that you don’t hear about in any Dakar documentary.

After Vasilis, the stage was set for Roki Rogosic. His story about Teriberka, the people, the poetry and all ups and downs a traveler can encounter. The questions and comments run deep into the night of our second day of gathering.

Our last day was mostly focused on packing and finding out reasons to stay longer. A lot of our guests had a long road back home and we were sad to see them leave early… However our biggest joy was seeing a group of riders, that met each other for the first time (on the summit) leave as friends. This group of new friends even organised a ride back home through the mountains. It was EPIC!

To us, one thing was certain: Montenegro has been missing such a gathering allowing like minded people to get together and continue to share our passion for adventure riding! A lot of nice moments, sweat, falls, smiles and great experiences makes us impatient to start planning for the next year.

We want to thank our friends of the summit:

Magnus Moto, K-Sport and Red Bull Montenegro. We also want to thank all the participants, presenters, tour guides and friends without whom this event would not be possible! When you have guests that behave like hosts and enjoy every moment, what more can you ask for? See you all for the ADV Summit Montenegro 2023 and let’s enjoy more free rides!