Author: Steph

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in Croatia on Friday, 4th-October-2013. Sibenik to Makarska. 84 miles. I’ve been cycling with Albert from Sheffield this afternoon and began to wish I wasn’t! It was all me me me! He was a triathlete, or so he said! And your typical sporty type! What he hadn’t done, I don’t know. It seemed he’d done and was good at every kind of sport going! But to be fair to him, he was in his sixties and still looked pretty fit. But didn’t he like to talk about it! Not much!! He also seemed to have very little respect for other road users and would quite happily ride alongside me and get in the way of other road users and then think it was them who was in the wrong when they tooted him! Even though he was in the middle of the road!

Luckily for me, despite him being such a great athlete! He only cycled about forty miles a day and stopped before I did, as he’d done nearly sixty miles! Thank god for that. I thought I was going to have to spend the night with him (not literally, but you know what I mean!) When we parted company, he thanked me for riding with him. And said it was the best day’s ride he’d had in the two weeks he’d been here! Which made me feel really guilty, considering all I wanted to do was get rid of him! He also said that he didn’t like his own company! If he didn’t like it, why would I!! I only cycled another five miles or so before I stopped myself!

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You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in Croatia on Thursday, 3rd-October-2013. Karlobag to Sibenik. 106 miles. Much better day today. Although it was still very blustery. But thankfully, today, the further I went, the more the wind decreased. It’s not been so mountainous as it has been since arriving in Croatia. It’s still been hilly but nothing to what it has been, and dare I say, my leg is feeling a lot better!

I got a bit carried away today. And could have stopped a lot earlier. I passed loads of places to stay but thought I’d just go a bit further. Eventually, I reached Sibenik, the town or, rather, the city I was aiming for. But I didn’t see one single place to stop. Whether I went the wrong way or whatever, I just didn’t even see any signs for hotels or campsites!

Keep Going

I resigned myself to having to cycle another 20 miles to the next town. I left Sibenik and continued on my way, in the dark now. After about a mile, I saw a sign for hotels and camping, so veered off my route. The hotels turned out to be part of some leisure complex, a bit like Butlins, maybe! With all the different hotels and campsites in the same complex. Thinking I couldn’t be doing with this, I started to head back to the main road just as about five coaches went past me. Full of people on their way to that resort. Luckily I spotted a little pension on the way back, which is where I’ve ended up staying!

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You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in Croatia on Wednesday, 2nd-October-2013. Bakar to Karlobag. 75 miles. This whole trip is starting to feel like a real battle of attrition! Every day there seems to be something. If it’s not the relentless hills, it’s wind and rain and, of course, the ongoing saga of my sciatica! Which I must admit is really starting to get me down now! It’s so annoying and frustrating that I feel fit and fine when cycling. But as soon as I stop, the pain starts, and everything is a struggle, and I’m still not sleeping that well! I think I’ve only had a couple of good days since leaving home!

It’s been another battle with the wind today! Admittedly not all the time, but there were a few occasions when I struggled to stay on the bike! Which, when you’re cycling on a road with no barrier! And a 100-foot sheer drop next to you! It’s no fun! Luckily the roads haven’t been that busy. So I’ve taken to riding in the middle of the road! I think the wind along this coast must be a regular occurrence. There were signs here and there saying road closed due to strong winds! So maybe I was lucky to get through!

I’m staying at an all-inclusive hotel tonight. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include any alcohol! Maybe my reputation proceeds me!

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You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in Croatia on Tuesday, 1st-October-2013. Trieste, Italy, to Bakar in Croatia. 62 miles. The weather’s been a lot better today! It’s still windy, but at least the sun’s been out! I also crossed into Slovenia, my fifth country, which soon came and went. I’m now in Croatia.

Coming out of Trieste and cycling up to the Slovenian border this morning was a hard slog! It was uphill all the way! And I never stopped climbing until I reached Croatia!

On entering Slovenia, the first thing I noticed was the hog roasts. Outside every restaurant, there was a pig roasting on a spit! The smell was unbelievable, and it didn’t take long before I had to stop and try some! I wasn’t disappointed. It was delicious, served with roast potatoes and plenty of crispy crackling! As much as I would have loved to stay in Slovenia and sample some more hog roasts, I had to get on.

I reached the Slovenian/Croatian border at around 2 pm. That must be the quickest time I’ve ever cycled across an entire country! I’m not too sure about Croatian drivers. They all seem to drive rather close!

I had a nice downhill ride into Rijeka at the end of the day, which I’ll probably pay for tomorrow morning. But I’ll worry about that then. I’m not staying in Rijeka; I never saw any hotels. I’m just down the coast.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.