We’ve written about contrasts a bit before in this blog. Ups and downs, high and lows. This last week and a bit in Croatia have absolutely epitomised this theme with the most stunning, awe-inspiring cycling yet, contrasted by some of the most challenging roads.
When we set off on this journey – we always had in our minds that we wanted to cycle down the Adriatic. A lot of people cycling across Europe stick to EuroVelo 6 (the Danube route) to continue their journey eastwards. We were ready for a change from riverside cycling as already mentioned and also wanted to do some ‘proper’ climbing. So south through Austria and Slovenia it was and a descent to the Adriatic.
We last posted from Krk Island, the Northern-most and largest of Croatia’s islands. We may have mentioned that we were joined there by most of Germany who had descended on the island on a weekend which happened to coincide with a Bank Holiday, as well as the beginning of the school holidays as we later found. Krk, and the north of Croatia in general is well within reasonable driving distance for the south of Germany in particular. This meant that for our first few days cycling in Croatia we were amazed to find that on occasion there were more German vehicles on the road than Croatian. This also meant that some of the roads which on paper looked like they shouldn’t be too busy, really were and at times, particularly on Krk and Pag Islands, just weren’t enjoyable to cycle on for that reason.
The cycle infrastructure in Croatia is honestly not good at all. Despite the EuroVelo 8 making its way down the coast, it is more or less a work of science fiction (as another blogger wrote) – we have seen only very very few dedicated cycle lanes and the necessary dropped kerb coming on and off them being completely absent.
We’ve reflected on this and why the contrast all of a sudden. Croatia is a very developed country with its biggest industry being tourism. Surely cycle tourism should be encouraged? Well maybe not as they already have tourism in the bag so to speak (and have done for decades) so don’t need a USP like Slovenia (who in contrast have a well developed, and developing, cycle infrastructure which didn’t seem particularly well used by locals and more there to attract tourists). Either way, we’ve felt at times like second class citizens on our bikes here, vying for space with the motorhomes and locals who it seems drive everywhere, for everything.
This has meant more careful route planning and consideration than previously (and therefore more ‘admin’ and work for tired brains) – with attempts to avoid busier roads leading to in some cases… Croatian gravel – my least favourite surface to cycle on, so far.
Gravel on our bikes is generally good. In an upcoming post, Matt will describe our overall set up including our tyres in some detail (lots of you will be excited by this prospect, others less so). Suffice to say, the bikes are ready for many terrains but with me in the saddle, my bike is 100% not ready for Croatian gravel. On reflection, it’s probably not gravel but really rocks or sometimes boulders and involves steep ups and downs, hot and bothered frustration and dreaded hike-a-biking.
There was one particular highlight which we identified as a shortcut and was in fact a national cycle route and therefore on paper a great plan. Even Matt struggled to hike-a-bike up it (this is saying something as Matt can cycle or hike his bike up and down everything, in my experience).
So caught between roads which are busier than we’d like, and on occasion un-cycleable gravel we were wondering if we’d ever find good cycling in Croatia.
And then we got a bit further south, and went a bit inland, as well as out onto a quieter peninsula (Pelješac) with the motorway taking most vehicles off the roads and discovered this:
Three days of the most amazing cycling followed, of nearly empty or very quiet roads with appropriate surfaces and views at every turn. Of course this has meant doing a lot more climbing than just taking the main coastal road. But it has been completely worth it.
In other news:
Despite the cycling challenges – it is absolutely clear to us why Croatia provides the full package for any tourist. Not only does it have the most spectacular scenery for those who love the outdoors, it has endless beaches:
History and architecture:
And of course… delicious food. We have found ourselves some days on a solid diet of burek – a local speciality (there are other varieties in bordering countries) coming filled with cheese or sausage and in a pie or rolled formation. Delicious.
Our appetites are well and truly stuck in the ‘seafood’ diet – i.e. we see food, and eat it.
But there has also been some delicious actual seafood too, which we have thoroughly enjoyed.
We are currently enjoying two days of solid rest (it’s been a while!) before we head just c.30km onto Dubrovnik (the ultimate Croatian tourist magnet), then Kotor in Montenegro (both visited by us before, but we’re excited to see again) and then onto Albania.
Thinking ahead probably deserves a bit of a postscript as this has been on our minds a lot the last few days (particularly mine). We originally set out with the intention of making it to Istanbul, before flying onto Bangkok for Luke and Jiji’s wedding near the end of July. This is still the intention but as we get further south and east I have had a few crises of confidence – about the terrain (gravel!) but also about the potential for other dangers (border crossings, dogs). I think anyone who knows me would say that I am generally a confident person but this whole trip is taking me way beyond my comfort zone on many levels and at times I’ve wondered if I ‘need’ or want more of that. (Matt meanwhile is essentially built for this kind of adventure, both physically and even more important mentally).
Having said that about where I’ve been at, at this point the plan is still Istanbul. But – the plan was also to have a relaxing time which challenges us but which we also both enjoy. We’re keeping an eye on that balance and if it tips away from enjoyment too much then we might vary our route or fly out sooner or even CATCH A TRAIN! Watch this space 🙂
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