The second running of Neighbourhood Gravel’s Pecha Kucha night was held on the 14th of October at the St Leonards church hall in Hove. A total of 6 people presented to a lively and enthusiastic crowd! Presentations were delivered with style, questionable questions were asked, facts were learned and the community built by Neighbourhood Gravel was there for all to see and enjoy.
What is Pecha Kucha? PechaKucha (meaning “chit-chat” in Japanese) is a fast-paced presentation style created in Tokyo in 2003 by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. The format requires a speaker to show 20 slides that automatically advance every 20 seconds, resulting in a strict, non-stop presentation length of 6 minutes and 40 seconds (the 20×20 rule). Designed to cut out fluff and focus on visual storytelling, it is widely used in design, business, and education to keep audiences engaged.
This time we are sharing Claire Frecknall’s presentation on her trip with Jo Burt to Montenegro. We hope to be able to share as many of the presentations from the night as possible.
Words and 📷 by Claire Frecknall – Full gallery at end of article
1- Various Montenegro route options laid into Google maps for ease of accommodation and shop finding
2- leaving Podgorica, it was kinda scruffy and i briefly thought I’d made a mistake in bringing Jo here after spending years banging on about how great the Balkans are .
3- The cafe that was closed when it was 40 degrees and we had no water- but suddenly an old man appeared and bought us homemade cordial and grapes from his vine
4- There was hiking- 2 hours to cover 14km on this first offroad climb
5- But the views from the summit were incredible, it was so quiet up there, just the caw caw of the birds overhead
6- Did I mention it was hot? This climb was just on the way to a plateau where the accommodation I was hoping to stay at was closed for the season
7- luckily I went off route a little and came across this place, we mimed sleeping and eating to the lady and she beckoned us in
8- The food she bought out to us, cured meats, homemade cheese and freshly baked bread, washed down with a jug of homemade wine
9- there were huge thunderstorms overnight and we awoke to thick cloud and terrible visibility for the descent
10- The guys who lead us off the path… but just to share Uncles homemade Rakija.
11- that’s Uncle in the background, the source of the 30yr old Rakija
12- Up the hill at our Katan, the most beautiful spot on the trip
13- The tiny wooden house had thick woollen blankets for a cosy nights sleep
14- Leaving our Katan- we thought there would be a easy fast descent- it was in fact a hiking trail
15- The Tara Bridge. Temporarily closed to everything… luckily I spotted this before we had to do a 140km detour to the next bridge…
16- chasing the rain clouds to Durmitor
17- A “rest day” only a ride up to the Sedlo Pass- the highest paved pass in Montenegro
18- A love story
19- She followed us about 5km- barking each time we pulled away but catching us again on the climbs
20- I was so sad to leave her, if I could have taken her home I would have 🥺
That puppy was very cute indeed. Hankering for a balkans bikepacking trip after seeing those pictures and hearing about the awesome people.